- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
How many of us get a little careless when it comers to seating primers, particularly when we are loading a large volume caliber, say like pistol ammo? I am fairly annal when it comes to the quality of my handloads, and pistol ammo is no exception.
Not long ago I received a "gift" of some .44 magnum ammo, a mix of loaded ammo and some empty cases. The ammo was received from a friend who did not want to use them in his Redhawk because the handloader who is known to us, was known for, shall we say, loading to within fairly wide tolerances.
Well let me tell you about this stuff. The cases were sticky with bullet lube, and apparently had never seen the inside of a tumbler. There were at least 3 separate loads, some jacketed some cast, with different OAL's within bullet type, and varying degrees of crimp from round to round.
But what was really disturbing was the primer seating. Only 3 of the 21 loaded rounds had the primers seated properly. The remaining 18 rounds had the primers seated above the case heads, and one was so grossly seated that the exposed primer cup had been smeared across the case head!!
I should just ####can the whole works, but I wouldn't want someone else finding the stuff and attempt to shoot it. So I'll take it apart, burn the powder, drop the primers in a pan of oil, and junk the bullets. If any of the cases are worth saving I will, but I expect the primer pockets are all loose, some show signs of leaking from a previous firing.
Folks - if you get ammo from an unknown source, proceed with caution! My pal knew I wouldn't shoot this stuff, and he didn't want to be bothered with it, so passed it on to me - good guy that he is!
Not long ago I received a "gift" of some .44 magnum ammo, a mix of loaded ammo and some empty cases. The ammo was received from a friend who did not want to use them in his Redhawk because the handloader who is known to us, was known for, shall we say, loading to within fairly wide tolerances.
Well let me tell you about this stuff. The cases were sticky with bullet lube, and apparently had never seen the inside of a tumbler. There were at least 3 separate loads, some jacketed some cast, with different OAL's within bullet type, and varying degrees of crimp from round to round.
But what was really disturbing was the primer seating. Only 3 of the 21 loaded rounds had the primers seated properly. The remaining 18 rounds had the primers seated above the case heads, and one was so grossly seated that the exposed primer cup had been smeared across the case head!!
I should just ####can the whole works, but I wouldn't want someone else finding the stuff and attempt to shoot it. So I'll take it apart, burn the powder, drop the primers in a pan of oil, and junk the bullets. If any of the cases are worth saving I will, but I expect the primer pockets are all loose, some show signs of leaking from a previous firing.
Folks - if you get ammo from an unknown source, proceed with caution! My pal knew I wouldn't shoot this stuff, and he didn't want to be bothered with it, so passed it on to me - good guy that he is!
I'd rather spray paint the gravel green.
