I used a cruder method. A side cutter to clip off the tip[ and then a file to clean it up.
what velocity loss expected
- Thread starter nanuk
- Start date
I used a cruder method. A side cutter to clip off the tip[ and then a file to clean it up.
Interesting. I would have thought they'd swap out the barrel too. Well, colour me corrected.
Well that's a good point there. I swap steel core for SSTs... all the leftover steel core just sits in a drawer. But you folks are saying I could be recycling them as plinking ammo for my .308s? Hmmmm... That's intriguing.
Anybody got a 123gr .308 recipe they like?
I use 125gr Ballistic Tips in my 308 with great success out to 700+ yds. Powder is Varget.
Thanks!
No. That brass must have been very old or very hard from repeated firing. I re anneal all of my brass after a maximum of 5 firings or if it is getting noticeably hard to work.
Hey kids. Sorry it took so long to get back here.
I think it was ganderite, now that he mentioned backwards bullets, that led me on the trip to find out more about the 303brit using the pulled bullets and recycled powder.
As for why? Powder is getting expensive and the x39 already has some! Bullets are not cheap. And with surplus going for less than the price of heap bullets.... Well why not?
I have read enuf from guys I trust to try this as stated.
Pull bullets. Dump powder directly over. Seat bullet. If I was going to hunt for food I would burn the tip off in a sander or file.
I have a couple lever guns but this is for my single shots and bolts. I have several of them. I want a cheap way to shoot them. Guys are selling 1500 rounds for $300. That's 20 cents per pop! Can't beat that!
I am now confident this can be done safely as stated and i see no reason to try to hotrod a load like this with the limitations induced by using surplus components.
As an aside, i remember a Canadian Ranger telling me up north they would pull the bullets from 303brit, turn them backwards and kill moose with them. Very effective within 100 yds broadside he said. I knew him well and I believe he did as he claimed.
Thanks for the info! Looks like I need to check on that ammo for sale locally!
I think it was ganderite, now that he mentioned backwards bullets, that led me on the trip to find out more about the 303brit using the pulled bullets and recycled powder.
As for why? Powder is getting expensive and the x39 already has some! Bullets are not cheap. And with surplus going for less than the price of heap bullets.... Well why not?
I have read enuf from guys I trust to try this as stated.
Pull bullets. Dump powder directly over. Seat bullet. If I was going to hunt for food I would burn the tip off in a sander or file.
I have a couple lever guns but this is for my single shots and bolts. I have several of them. I want a cheap way to shoot them. Guys are selling 1500 rounds for $300. That's 20 cents per pop! Can't beat that!
I am now confident this can be done safely as stated and i see no reason to try to hotrod a load like this with the limitations induced by using surplus components.
As an aside, i remember a Canadian Ranger telling me up north they would pull the bullets from 303brit, turn them backwards and kill moose with them. Very effective within 100 yds broadside he said. I knew him well and I believe he did as he claimed.
Thanks for the info! Looks like I need to check on that ammo for sale locally!
Do some research before doing that. The fear is that the core of the bullet can squirt out and leave the jacket behind in the barrel. The next shot can be... eventful.
Remember when your mom said, "If someone jumped off a cliff would you follow them?" I expect, but who really knows, that the pressure peak will not be much more using a lead core bullet unless you are jamming into the throat. Add steel core and steel jacketed then the swaging down requirement in the throat is going to cause some increase in peak pressure. Will it be enough to cause a kaboom with light loads? I don't know. Do you really want to find out? Do you really want to trust your safety and firearm to surplus powder that was loaded in some Chinese factory? Weigh the risks and consider the savings. Is it worth it? BTW, velocity is not a reliable indicator of peak pressures. Powder burn rates are a critical factor. Look in a list of published loads for a given bullet/caliber combination. Note that some powders give better velocities with less peak pressure.
Last edited:
do you have the same fear with ANY standard C&C bullets?
a larger bullet would theoretically hold the core better than a groove diameter bullet, yet I have only heard of the core separation in the barrel with ultra low velocity loads.
if the water looked deep, I probably would.
I have done some crazy things, but usually I am not the first.
But I also have researched when someone said, "Don't, it is MY OPINION based on NOTHING that this may be deadly...."
Ruger mini 30 with the 308 bore did not have any caveat about shooting surplus. The only thing I can find is steel cases may not expand enough, and "Steel Projectiles" should not be used.
so, any bullet that has a brass/copper/whatever jacket over any core should not be an issue.
as for steel core..... are they available? are they considered armour piercing?
I haven't shot all the surplus 7.62x39 Ammo out there but all I have has had a mild steel core, a lead wrapping and a copper jacket. I have heard that some surplus has a lead core, just haven't run across it. Armour piercing ammo has a hardened steel penetrator core. The early M43 cartridge has both a steel core and steel jacket, at least according to my small arms cartridge recognition handbook. Whether this is imported I can't say for sure. Steel jacketed ammo is around as I have seen it rejected at an indoor range but I didn't pay attention to what caliber it was.
Last edited:
Most comm bloc surplus has a mild steel core. The bullets are longer than a same weight bullet with a lead core.
I have some Yugo surplus with a lead core. Of the 5 different flavours of surplus 7.62 x39 I have, all but one is steel core.
I have some Yugo surplus with a lead core. Of the 5 different flavours of surplus 7.62 x39 I have, all but one is steel core.
Well, once you've ground the tip off, it's not C&C anymore... it's... uh... UBCT&C (unbonded copper tube & core). So yeah. I'd have the same fear with any jacketed bullet that was modified to be open with exposed lead at both ends. Not sure where you're from, but there's an lgs not far from here with a burst barrel on display behind the counter that was caused by this. My understanding is that it was brought in by the widow...
Furthermore, as remote as this might be, I'd think that using an oversized (albeit slightly) bullet would increase the chances of the jacket choosing to stay in the barrel while the core continues on its merry way downrange. Just food for thought. Your rifle likely won't blow up. And even if it did, how often do you really have to count past 8 or 9 anyway, right?
As for critters, if you plan to poke a hole in anything bigger than a gopher, please PM me, and I'll personally buy you a proper bullet. I respect tasty critters, and they deserve a better end than what a bubba bullet may provide.
KJ
You'd be hard pressed to find surplus that isn't steel core. From my experience anyway.
Last batch of Czech surplus I got from crappy tire:
You can't see it in the pic, but the base is exposed and the rear of the steel core is visible. You can see how, if enough of the tip was ground down, the steel core might try to become the bullet instead, and squirt out of the softer lead and copper.
You can also see that there's not much lead in there to expand in an animal once it's ground down, either.
Dragging up an old thread...
I was doing some research, and came across this old thread I had started, and was interested in the replies.
Now, I get that a lot of folks post opinions as fact, but have never done their own testing, or have not researched other's testing.
But as I enjoy all aspects of firearms, I read a LOT, because I simply cannot afford to do a lot of what I find interesting.
Anyways, to address KodiakJack's comments, my replies are in bold.
