500 old reloads pulled

Take the ones that have crappy primers and don't put anything in them and shoot them to see if they do actually work. I have straightened bent rims and resized some really bad looking cases. 90% of them worked out and got reloaded. What did the powder look like?
 
Ganderite said:
I would deprime the bad looking primers. I would load all the bullets with 6 gr of HP 38 and shoot. A good target load.
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Please forgive my ignorance but "if " I were to reuse them I'm confused on how powder charge works. Reason I say this is because when I loaded some .45 last week following the Campro data it recommended max 5.3gn of HP38 for a 230gn bullet. These bullets are 154/157gns. So how does it normally work... Lighter the bullet larger the powder charge ( depending on powder ) ???
 
tigrr said:
Take the ones that have crappy primers and don't put anything in them and shoot them to see if they do actually work. I have straightened bent rims and resized some really bad looking cases. 90% of them worked out and got reloaded. What did the powder look like?
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There were two different powders. I already made up my mind to toss it so I just combined both types in a Baggie while taking them apart. I'll just spread it in the dirt behind the house in the field.
 
dearslayer said:
Please forgive my ignorance but "if " I were to reuse them I'm confused on how powder charge works. Reason I say this is because when I loaded some .45 last week following the Campro data it recommended max 5.3gn of HP38 for a 230gn bullet. These bullets are 154/157gns. So how does it normally work... Lighter the bullet larger the powder charge ( depending on powder ) ???
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Yes loading manuals that publish pressure tested loads always have smaller charges of a given powder the heavier the slug used.
The higher the pressures involved with your load the more you have to adhere to this safety consideration. Very low pressure loads have a bit of lea-way . I load 700 fps .38 sp cowboy loads with whatever bullet i can buy at the time, 130-158 gr with the same Titegroup charge but i sure wouldnt do that with anything I was loading to make the action work on a semi-auto.
 
I'd not even use the old primers that might have been stored in an old barn. For the bullets if you are within 5 grains of difference you won't notice any difference, just une a slight crimp.
 
The crushed primers you should scrap but if they look like they are seated properly use them. Same with the bullets. Unless they are really dinged up they are perfectly fine for plinking. A 3 or 4 grain differential in 150 grain bullet is only a 2-2 1/2% deviation which is nothing for a plinking bullet. You should probably run them through a sizer, however, to eliminate burrs.
Crushed, wrinkled, chipped or badly dented cases go to the scrapyard. Minor dents will pop out when the round is fired.
What I said when you first posted is the same. Most of the components except the powder are salvageable.
 
ted_dent said:
The crushed primers you should scrap but if they look like they are seated properly use them. Same with the bullets. Unless they are really dinged up they are perfectly fine for plinking. A 3 or 4 grain differential in 150 grain bullet is only a 2-2 1/2% deviation which is nothing for a plinking bullet. You should probably run them through a sizer, however, to eliminate burrs.
Crushed, wrinkled, chipped or badly dented cases go to the scrapyard. Minor dents will pop out when the round is fired.
What I said when you first posted is the same. Most of the components except the powder are salvageable.
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I don't have a sizer so it would probably cost more to get one then what the bullets are worth no?
 
MRP said:
I'd drop them in a bucket of water for a week. Then decap em and resize.
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Waste of time. First, experiments have shown that water won't necessarily deactivate the primer (sometimes even oil doesn't). Second, if you ease the primers out the chance of a detonation is virtually zero. I have probably deprimed literally a 1000 or more rounds and never had a detonation. Primers go off from impact. Guiding them out instead of ramming them out eliminates the impact and thus the risk of one going off. Also, if the primer looks OK then remove the decapping rod from the sizing die and size the case with the primer in. Then bell the case mouth, drop the powder and seat the bullet.
 
dearslayer said:
I don't have a sizer so it would probably cost more to get one then what the bullets are worth no?
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Well, cast 45 bullets are going for at least 10 cents each so you're looking at saving $50. Budget Shooter Supply shows the .452 Lee Lube and Size kit for $31 + tax & shipping so it's probably a wash cost wise. However, if you ever get into bullet casting you will need the size die so it's not a loss. Also, if you know any bullet casters i'm sure one of them has a 452 size die kicking around that they might loan you for this one job. I guess I'm just a scrounger by nature and hate to see anything usable go to waste.
 
dearslayer said:
I don't have a sizer so it would probably cost more to get one then what the bullets are worth no?
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The bullets are fine. They didn't get bigger by going in and out of the cases. As I mentioned before, it's a possibility they got smaller but they are probably fine.
Load up 20 and test them out before going all in.

Btw. I have to say I admire someone who asks questions, thinks about the answers they get and engages with the people who respond. You are looking to understand all the variables and effects instead of just fast easy answers.

So many show up without doing any of their own research and want to know "is it worth it to reload?" Or "what's the best load for 3006?" giving no background. 3 pages of responses later they're never seen again.
 
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dearslayer said:
Please forgive my ignorance but "if " I were to reuse them I'm confused on how powder charge works. Reason I say this is because when I loaded some .45 last week following the Campro data it recommended max 5.3gn of HP38 for a 230gn bullet. These bullets are 154/157gns. So how does it normally work... Lighter the bullet larger the powder charge ( depending on powder ) ???
Click to expand...

Yes, heavier bullet = less powder. That's why you would choose a load for the heaviest bullet you have, and it will be safe for the lighter ones. I would re-use the bullets, but don't expect stellar accuracy.

Btw, to get rid of the powder, put it in a pile (outside) and throw a match on it. It won't decompose and you can't use it for compost.
 
Is there any danger in using those primers? Or just an expectation of unreliability?

My mind says try the primers just to see if they work, but maybe I'm overlooking something..?
 
vagrantviking said:
The bullets are fine. They didn't get bigger by going in and out of the cases. As I mentioned before, it's a possibility they got smaller but they are probably fine.
Load up 20 and test them out before going all in.

Btw. I have to say I admire someone who asks questions, thinks about the answers they get and engages with the people who respond. You are looking to understand all the variables and effects instead of just fast easy answers.

So many show up without doing any of their own research and want to know "is it worth it to reload?" Or "what's the best load for 3006?" giving no background. 3 pages of responses later they're never seen again.
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I may take a few of the cases with the " worst " primers to the range when I go this week to see if they go bang. If they do, then I know the better ones of the lot will and will at least salvage those brass.

Like all my hobbies I'm in it to learn and usually not happy until I know as much as I possibly can about it.I hate doing anything half a$$ed. I'm a little bit of a compulsive behaviour that way or at least that's what most folks including my grown kids tell me.
 
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