old ammo advice?

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vega

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Heya. I've got hold of some ancient bp copper cased cartridges I want to shoot. The bullets are outside lubricated, but the lead has oxidized quite a bit and the little remaining lube is hard as a money-lenders heart.

Opinions? Should I clean up the bullets down to the lead and relube? Was thinking of just dipping them headfirst into a pan of my secret-no-telum beeswax and olive oil glop.

If I shoot them as is, do I risk scoring the bore?

Ta.
 
vega said:
Heya. I've got hold of some ancient bp copper cased cartridges I want to shoot. The bullets are outside lubricated, but the lead has oxidized quite a bit and the little remaining lube is hard as a money-lenders heart.

Opinions? Should I clean up the bullets down to the lead and relube? Was thinking of just dipping them headfirst into a pan of my secret-no-telum beeswax and olive oil glop.

If I shoot them as is, do I risk scoring the bore?

Ta.
Click to expand...

I got a pile of Orignal 38 RF BP Cartridges i shoot em all the time.
Collectors might want one or Two but if ya got lots have fun.
Some wont go off but it surprised me how many Did!
I just turn the case Around if it miss fires and try letting the hammer hit in a Diffrent spot.
It works alot of the time.
Outa 20 i think i only had two Duds.
Mine are Copper cased 38 RF outside lubed.
As long as there not all Gritty then just Shoot em.

Mine make a hell of a boom big kick them Cloulds of smoke. :D
 
I haven't been as lucky as Dingus with copper shells; some worked but an awful lot didn't presumably because the priming deteriorates. I think you are probably better off to save some for display and shoot composite shells with .22 blanks or with hilti shells for primers.

cheers mooncoon
 
Thanks guys. On the hilti shells, wouldn't they have a lot more force than the old Acorns, and where dya get those Acorns anyhow.

As to shooting conicals instead of rb in the Dixie rigs, is there a mould out there in .375 with a heal? Or, dare I say it, swagged or commercially cast?

And I guess while I'm on the subject, how about lube with the rb loads? Over powder wad with a lube disk over that? OR?

Cheers.
 
I swaged the heels on the bullets that I shot. Only lube I used was outside the case and no over powder wads at least for the bullets. I used the lowest power hilti shells plus black powder although I suspect I can use the hotter shells as well. .22 blanks are just about the same price as hilti shells and the hiltis are much easier to find. About the only place tht I would use the .22 blanks now would be in .25 rimfire

cheers mooncoon
 
Thanks Mooncoon, but ya knew I'd have to ask. How did you swage the heels? I suppose if I had a lathe, I could turn them but I don't. Also, if you crimp them in, what die do you use?

Thanks a lot.
 
vega said:
Thanks Mooncoon, but ya knew I'd have to ask. How did you swage the heels? I suppose if I had a lathe, I could turn them but I don't. Also, if you crimp them in, what die do you use?
.
Click to expand...

I have a lathe so I cheated and made up a swage. Basically a tube with a nose punch to get the bullet out and a punch for the base that was recessed to match the swage. I can't remember if the bullets were undersize and swaged up, or if only the base stamped onto them. I think I may have used .357 pistol slugs and swaged them up in diameter. I used them in a Whitney Phoenix rifle which is a single shot so I didn't have to worry about them being particularly tight. They were just pressed in and would not drop out but neither were they particularly tight.
I think in a revolver, if the chamber was tight enough that I had to use a healed bullet, I would try putting some airplane glue on the base of the bullet and glue them in place or perhaps better would be loktite.

cheers mooncoon
 
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