Rifleman700
Regular
- Location
- Trenton, Ontario
Hows it going? I was wondering can igman factory brass be reloaded? i am assuming it can because its brass but if someone knows let me know anyways thx in advance
Will
Will
Igman Brass?
- Thread starter Rifleman700
- Start date
Rifleman700 said:
Until a scientist proves to me that it is in fact brass, I would say the jury is still out on that one
Igman can be reloaded, as long as the following conditions are met:
1) the flash hole is the proper size and not the miniscule size that for some reason alot of it has (the depriming pin gets stuck/breaks)
2) the flash hole is somewhere remotely close to the centre of the primer pocket (sometimes it is not)
3) you have some means of de-crimping the flash hole as Igman utilizes a military-style crimp
4) you are ready to anneal it to soften the neck
Now, the above 4 conditions is my relatively minor experience with Igman (800 cases). I have found that the brass (if that is really what it is) is very very hard right from the get-go. Even on first fireing with the factory load, I have had split necks. For it to have proper bullet grip, I find I have to anneal, neck-size and re-anneal again before I am satisfied it is gripping the bullet sufficiently.
Also, the flash hole was so small that I had to drill it out from the neck, and then decap the primer. There was no way in heck my decapper would have ever fit in one of those cases. I think I have a few non-drilled ones, I will cut one in half and post a pic.
Often, the minuscule flash hole is severely off-centre.
The primer pocket de-crimping is just a pain, but at least it is a once-only pain. I just use a normal Lee chamfer tool and shave off the crimp. Works great after. Leaves the pocket nice and tight, likely good for many loadings.
NOW THE GOOD NEWS:
Once I have beaten the Igman into submission, it then becomes great brass, tough as nails. A bit more work, but since it is all I have save about 100 winchester cases, I use it all the time. It makes the case prep all that more enjoyable, gets me away from the usual drag of life
Its boxer primed so yes, it can be reloaded. Be aware that the flash hole may be undersized and can cause depriming pins to become stuck and break. Lots of guys will deprime the first time with a small finishing nail or something similar and then drill out the flash hole to a larger size. Its a bit more work initially but the brass is decent enough to warrant the effort.
Looks like Proutfoo beat me to the punch!
Looks like Proutfoo beat me to the punch!
CanAm said:
CanAm, I love these tidbits you always throw us
I assume that being in Bosnia also had them producing ammo for local customers/warlords as well?
And do commercial factories even care how relodeable their brass is?
I will try and put together a few pics of my Igman tools and procedures
Can Am;
Unis produced high quality ammunition under many trade names before the war in Bosnea, in the US, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, etc, etc....
They even produced ammo for us when we had the ammo contract for the Kuwaiti forces in Gul War 1.
However they have suffered from some minor problems since they recently went back into commercial production.
I would certainly not hesitate to reload it....
John
Unis produced high quality ammunition under many trade names before the war in Bosnea, in the US, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, etc, etc....
They even produced ammo for us when we had the ammo contract for the Kuwaiti forces in Gul War 1.
However they have suffered from some minor problems since they recently went back into commercial production.
I would certainly not hesitate to reload it....
John
PROUTFOO;
Having dealt with Unis and it's many companies for well over 20 years I can assure you that if they claim the ammunition is loade in brass cases, IT IS. These people are not amateurs.
Yes you may get a decap pin stuck, this depends a lot on what brand of dies you use, some have larger diameter pins than others (Dillon for example, Lyman for another) If you us a decapper with pins that are retained with a head rather than by a collet chuck arrangement, the problem goes away.
I have been in their factory many, many times, I have never observed the flash holes being off center, things must have really changed recently....
I assume you mean the primer pocket and not the flash hole is crimped, this will normaly be found in commercial loadings using military cases, 7.62x39, .308, .30-06 etc.... But was not the norm.... Do you have some in "non military" calibers ?
In some calibers the brass is thicker that what we are used to her in North America, one has to back off on max loads.
John
Having dealt with Unis and it's many companies for well over 20 years I can assure you that if they claim the ammunition is loade in brass cases, IT IS. These people are not amateurs.
Yes you may get a decap pin stuck, this depends a lot on what brand of dies you use, some have larger diameter pins than others (Dillon for example, Lyman for another) If you us a decapper with pins that are retained with a head rather than by a collet chuck arrangement, the problem goes away.
I have been in their factory many, many times, I have never observed the flash holes being off center, things must have really changed recently....
I assume you mean the primer pocket and not the flash hole is crimped, this will normaly be found in commercial loadings using military cases, 7.62x39, .308, .30-06 etc.... But was not the norm.... Do you have some in "non military" calibers ?
In some calibers the brass is thicker that what we are used to her in North America, one has to back off on max loads.
John
