Swedish Military Ball

ilovepotatos

ilovepotatos

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I am going to run out of money in about 6 months, and I am infamous for having a very quick trigger finger. I shoot fast. I need a plan if I want to continue to enjoy this sport as a PARTICIPANT, instead of a SPECTATOR.

I am trying to come up with unique ideas so I can enjoy 2008 as much as I have enjoyed 2007. I would like to thank everyone who bought a gun from me in the past 2 months, for giving me the available funds to do this!
Then I thought about the surplus garbage Marstar has for sale:
http://www.marstar.ca/ammo/792x63mm.htm

Alright, so it's not exactly garbage...the swiss aren't known for cheap craftsmanship. But it's 7.92mm stuff...I can use that. I own two Mausers that I both love very much. I doubt I'll ever be able to sell them. I cannot afford to continue to shoot centerfire rifles with what I have...reloading doesn't save me that much money in the end...they just give me higher quality loadings. So this is a solution for me...hopefully. I'll see what you guys think...here comes the math.

It's $90 for 1000 rounds. I have no use for the machine gun links. Though the fact they are pre 1945 is awesome for magazine capacity...this is about saving money. So I am personally leaning towards the $90 package. The shipping to my house on a crate of Tokarev ammo from Marstar was about 90 dollars. The weight of these rifle rounds will probably be about the same. So I can expect shipping to be in the neighbourhood of about $75 a box. Total costs of $166.06 for a box.

The total powder I would be getting would be 7.5 pounds per box. I pay about $37.50 for IMR4064 in Victoria here. I am aware it's expensive...but that's what Victoria is: Expensive. I found the same powder online for $30, so we'll use that figure.
$30 x 7.5 = $225

Good start.

Assuming this powder is of similar quality and consistency, we'll assume it's pound for pound in the amount I would use for loadings.

Then there's the bullets that I can use. I just bought 100 Norma boat tailed bullets in town at $30. That was the last of the old stuff...they will be putting new prices on the new stock...I need to find a new source. These bullets are worth say 25 cents a round to me, since I can't get anything cheaper than that in Victoria.
$0.25 x 1000 = $250

It's gotten a bit sweeter...$250 worth of bullets...but it gets better

Brass can be sold to a scrapyard or metal dealer at maybe 2 bucks a pound? I have no idea what the current rates are and if anyone would like to chime in, I'd appreciate it! I have a crap scale in my house, but I weighed a .30-06 casing and I believe it to be 25grams. I hope this is a close figure to the weight of a 7.92x63 casing. Again, if someone would know the exact weight, I'd appreciate it!

But assuming all of the above...
$2/pound x 2.2([25grams x 1000] / 1000) = $55

So I can maybe get $55 worth of scrap brass out of the casings?

If we subtract that, you end up paying about $111.06 per box after you get rid of what you don't need.
The bullets are probably military crimped in, so I would need to make a water plunger device to get the primers out...but that doesn't really matter.

I can get 1000 bullets, and 7.5 pounds of powder for a bit more than $100. If I was buying parts in town (and somehow found good prices) I would be throwing down more than $500 for it all.

Would this work? I would particularly like to hear from Andy, as I know he's done a lot of work with the Swedish machinegun stuff...but any suggestions are welcome...I'd just like to talk to a few people I trust before I throw done money for 2 crates.

Thanks again guys...your input is greatly appreciated!
 
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Your numbers seem close, although I didn't see tax included in the $90 ammo, I think you overvalued the bullets (I'd say about $0.15), and you might not fetch $2/lb for the brass. There's also the issue of the effort required to pull bullets, deactivate primers,and run the brass to the scrapyard. Still, your analysis shows a strong business case to buy some.

The powder is military flake with a burn rate near IMR4064, which is a very versatile powder. All I've used has been good. I don't know what a lifetime supply is, but I think I have it. Marstar has been selling this for years, and some day (soon perhaps) it will all be gone and we'll talk of the good old days. Think I'll buy another 1000. I sometimes forget how good I have it - I can make an appointment and drive to Marstar's loading dock to pick mine up and save on shipping.
 
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There's a little more to it than it looks like at first glance. The magazine has to be lengthened and of course, a new chamber cut. To cut the chamber, you will either have to rent or purchase a reamer.

I think "Andy" (do a search) has one that he will rent out. Maybe Claven2 can help out as well.

This ammo is cheap, but reliable. It may even be corrosive. By the time shipping is included in the sale, it's quite a bit more expensive, unless you're going to buy a large quantity.

I'm not trying to talk you out of this by any means, but be prepared to go through a fair bit more trouble than you first assumed.

I bought a bunch of that stuff and use the components in 8x57 and 8mm Gibbs. The powder itself doesn't seem to be corrosive, so it's most likely mercuric oxide primers if it is.

Andys' pages and his website will give you a lot of information

By the way, the bullets are a real bit-h to pull, they are seatedall the way to the ogive. Andy suggests a plate with a hole drilled in it to wiggle the bullets back and forth until they're loose, I built a heavy duty kinetic puller, and evn that isn't particularly easy. bearhunter
 
Claven2 said:
Hey Andy,

Next time you go, let me know - we can split gas and go together :)
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Sure, for my weekly run I usually go on Fridays. ;)

I do have a reamer, but I don't lend or rent it. It's already at the point it needs sharpening and I have at least another gun in the hopper to be re-chambered.
 
Swedish Military Ball
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Alright, so it's not exactly garbage...the swiss aren't known for cheap craftsmanship.
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You do know that the swiss come from Switzerland, and the Swedes come from Sweden, right?

I have been using this ammo in it's 8X63 form, and while many of the cases are not suitable for reloading due to cracked necks (around 15% have their necks cracked right from the factory) they have been reliable overall. Out of the 3 thousand rounds I have delivered dowrange at this point, I had one failure where there was no primer in the case.

This stuff is the bargain of the century, and I wish I could aford 20,000 more...some day I will regret not buying more.
 
I just sold some scrap brass in Edmonton. They actually have a seperate catagory for "shell cases". They seemed particularly impressed they were de-capped and clean so I think I got a good price; $1.00@lb. I think Redleg posted earlier this year he got $1.20 for range brass but maybe he has larger quantities.

It's my understanding you get a better price for scrap in Vancouver as all the scrap is shipped there and the other dealers in western Canada have to pay for shipping after they buy your scrap. So while you would likely get more than I did for my brass, I bet you won't get anywhere close to $2.00@lb.
 
Claven2 said:
Hey Andy,

If you rechamber a Mauser for the 8x63, do you need to lengthen that standard K98k mag box, or does it fit as-is?
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Yes - but all I had to do was "bump" it out a bit to accomodate the 3.35" length, no cutting and welding was required.

This ammo was made in the 1940's and was surplused in the 1970's to the Dominican republic which is from where Marstar bought it. It must have been stored in the best of conditions during its life, as evidenced by its outward condition, the excellent condition of the powder I've pulled, and the fact that I have not encountered a single bad primer - zero.
 
Joseph_Porta said:
Can I assume this ammo is corrosive? It doesn't mention anything on the Marstar website.
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Yes, but it's the primer that contains the corrosive elements, not the powder, so that's only an issue if you fire it, not if you pull it down for components.
 
i bought some of this a few years ago, shipping to edmonton was around $50 IIRC.

i also broke my impact puller, breaking this ammo down. i find the powder to be quite a bit slower than IMR 4064, i don't have my notes in front of me, but with equal charge weights in the 8x57, it was ~200 fps slower.
 
ilovepotatos said:
Alright guys...should I do it? Am I going to need to buy a special tool to pull the bullets, or would pliers do it? They're not lead so they shouldn't be that scratched...would they?
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Pliers will scratch the #### out of the bullets, I would suggest a collet type bullet puller.
 
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