Can I use old but unfired clean brass?

MD

MD

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I have two boxes of unfired CIL "Dominion" 7x57 brass on hand a friend gave me. It's untarnished and has been stored in boxes in dry conditions for at least 40 years. Can I still use it?


It is primed too. Should I knock out the primers and replace them with fresh ones? I have no idea when they were primed. It could be 10 or 20 or even 30 years ago.
 
As long as it isn't corroded I would use it.

I would deprime them just to save a PITA if the were no good. I have reloaded old orimed brass with no problems but if you dont have the patience or bullet puller to dissassemble on should it fail to fire the just reprime them.
 
Those old CIL Dominion were excellent brass, they just seem to go on forever.
I would certainly use them. Since I pretty much think a primer is a primer is a primer, I would load and shoot them.
Older CIL ammunition sometimes had longitudinal cracking in the neck, due to the tension on the bullet. I don't think your empty brass would be affected.
I have both Norma and CIL brass around which I have, in the past, reloaded many times. Some of them have sat around for 40-45 years, but I have recently loaded them again, with no problems, whatsoever.
 
I would carefully put the expander ball through the neck only, and not size them, or remove the primer. They should be just fine as they are.
 
If they are to be used for hunting I would reprime. If for target not as critical. If you decide to reprime, just as an experiment, why not fire the primers off in your rifle and report back how many went off and how many failed if any. I am willing to bet they all go off.
 
I don't think you'll find any Canadian civilian ammo with corrosive primers. You'll be fine to shoot these if its for target practice, or just pop them out now or fire the primers off.

Old Western Countries surplus (WWII or so and back) and East Bloc or 3rd world surplus I would be suspicious of.
 
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