Range Scrap: Reloading Undamaged FMJs? + PICs

[rugerglocker]

OK not exactly casting, but related. Last range trip I found a bunch of jacketed 9mm when I was scrounging for brass/lead. Basically I was wondering if anyone has ever reloaded FMJ range scrap that was pretty darn good looking except for the rifling marks. Is this just a real bad idea and should I just melt the lead out?

I just mic'd the bullets (should have done that first off) and I might have answered my own question. Spinning the projectiles in my calipers gave a range from .355 to .349, a .006 difference between the "landed" and "grooved" diameters.

2 pics of the good ones, and then the tub are just melt scrap.

[stubshaft]

You probably could but accuracy would be non-existent.

[rugerglocker]

Ya that's what I was afraid of. I guess I'll have to say "screw it" and melt em down.

[stubshaft]

You would only get about 45gr of pure out of each one. They look like they have thick jackets.

[JeffinNZ]

Actually, a guy in NZ wrote an article some years back about shooting recovered .308 FMJ's from a target range. They shot almost as well as new. Give them a go.

[rugerglocker]

Well damn, I guess it can't hurt to give em a try. I'll get around to it one these days and I'll yet y'all know. G'night.

[HighHook]

We use those for rapid fire in our neck of the woods...

[ricksplace]

I have shot many once fired fmj ball. Shooting in winter snow leaves them on top of the dirt when everything thaws. They shoot as well as new fmj bullets.

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

Clean them very well . . . give it a try . . .

[Tatume]

Finn Aagard and Craig Boddington both wrote of Africans recovering bullets from game animals and reusing them. They would extract powder and primers from 7.62x39 ammo, and crimp the bullets using pliers. Accuracy is of no concern to hunters so skilled as these fellows. They leave powder burns with every shot.

[frkelly74]

I was of the belief that I was the only one cheap enough to try reusing bullets recovered off the ground but in pretty good shape over again. I guess not. The ones I find in the spring when the snow leaves shoot no differently than new expensive store bought bullets. I even once in a while now find bullets with two sets of rifling marks on them. One right hand twist and one left. Snow slows them down gently and even polishes them up a little. I have several hundred waiting now to shoot. Some in found steel cases and some in aluminum.

[Bwana]

I was of the belief that I was the only one cheap enough to try reusing bullets recovered off the ground but in pretty good shape over again. I guess not. The ones I find in the spring when the snow leaves shoot no differently than new expensive store bought bullets. I even once in a while now find bullets with two sets of rifling marks on them. One right hand twist and one left. Snow slows them down gently and even polishes them up a little. I have several hundred waiting now to shoot. Some in found steel cases and some in aluminum.


Someone will be along shortly to admonish, chastise, or otherwise berate you for using steel or aluminum cases for reloads.

[Freightman]

Someone will be along shortly to admonish, chastise, or otherwise berate you for using steel or aluminum cases for reloads.
That is right don't you know that steel will hurt your bore! that is what I was told by a expert at the range. So I picked up all the 45ACP steel cases and brought them home to keep anyone else from hurting there bore. Loaded them up to.:kidding:

[Cadillo]

That is right don't you know that steel will hurt your bore! that is what I was told by a expert at the range. So I picked up all the 45ACP steel cases and brought them home to keep anyone else from hurting there bore. Loaded them up to.:kidding:

Come On man! Steel cases don't touch the bore. They contact the chamber. I'll bet though, that they are hell on sizing dies.

Mild steel jacketed bullets will not hurt a bore. The throat and muzzle erosion will kill it first. During the second Great War the U.S. fielded a great amount of mild steel jacketed ammo that had a copper wash over the bullets to prevent the bullets from rusting.

Maybe you already knew that. I sometimes find it hard to navigate through the maze of sarcasm I often find here.

Good Day! :)

[shooterg]

I "recycled" a few FMJ .45's from the berm, just for grins. No accuracy testing but good enough for "minute of steel plate" at 10 yards on the rack. Now I know there are others out there doing this I can come out of the closet !

[Doby45]

My only concern would be copper fouling. Think about it, you have less "metal" for the lands of the barrel to grab. Would they shoot, sure. Would they be worth the hassle of cleaning the copper out of your barrel, prolly not.

[luvtn]

Geeezz guys is nothing sacred anymore? Can't keep secrets! Now I'll have competition at the range scrounging.
lt

[Freightman]

The steel cases actually size easier than the brass, but I only reload them one time. I do not know if you can do more as there is a constant supply.

[rugerglocker]

Geeezz guys is nothing sacred anymore? Can't keep secrets! Now I'll have competition at the range scrounging.
lt

Now that I'm realizing that this is OK, I was thinking the same thing. Oh, well there's no way for me to delete the thread, that I can find.;)

[bigjake]

If you're lucky you'll find bullets fired from a glock. They seem to leave much shallower rifling grooves.
Has anyone noticed this before?

[rugerglocker]

I think I have some, they are squished to a more hexagonal shape?

[Harter66]

I'm sure it was here that someone was on about running them through a LEE sizer to get them round and was on about having launched them 3-4 times. I did run some through a 357 those lil bitty 90gr fmjs splatter pretty well on railroad slip plates at 20-25 yards. It is tough to pick them all out w/the same nose shape sometimes.

[Intel6]

I had a buddy who used to dig up .45 aCP FMJ's out of the sand at the military pop up handgun range and reload them. Since it was sand the noses were sometime "sandblasted" but other than the rifiling marks they were still the same shape. He would throw them in the polisher and make then shiny and then reload them. He said they shot fine, just like new 230 FMJ's.

Neal in AZ

[AZ-Stew]

Has anyone considered the grit from the backstop that's embedded in the jacket material? I guess if you need to lapp your bore...

Regards,

Stew

[Centaur 1]

I was thinking the same thing about using the Lee push through sizer. Like Stubshaft said, you get like 45 grains of lead from each so if they're good enough to use as is you might as well try it. I have about 100 pounds of range scrap out in the garage ready to smelt, I'll definately be looking at them closely before putting them in the pot. If the sizer makes them round enough I'm going to try it. I wonder what Glock would say about reusing jacketted bullets since they don't want us using cast?

[Bloodman14]

I have recovered some Lee 230-R's cast from WW's that I have shot twice, and 3 times I shot the same boolit 3 times. I'll find and post pics of the recovered boolit.

[RKJ]

This is just one of the things I love about this place. I've recovered a bunch of range lead but never gave a thought to re-shooting them. It's something to keep in the back of mind though.

[fireball168]

I've shot recovered 50 BMJ FMJ projectiles that were shot at or near subsonic velocities out of my various .510's, 50 Alaskan, 50-70, 500 BFG, 50-140, etc.

I run them through a .510 CH4D sizing die before loading them again.

Generally can't tell any difference in accuracy whatsoever.

[Jailer]

melt then to recover the lead and scrap the jackets. I was shocked at how much I just got for a bunch of copper jackets at my local scrap yard. That was after I melted 300 lbs of lead out of them.

You can't beat it. Free lead AND get paid for the jackets.

[Centaur 1]

I'm actually getting ready to try this. I was able to seperate 1000 good looking 9mm bullets from the bucket of range scrap that I had. I ran them all through a .356 Lee sizing die and I cleaned them in an ultrasonic cleaner with dish detergent and citric acid.

Here's my idea, tell me what you think. Since the bullets all have rifling grooves in them, I was thinking about giving them a coat of either LLA or Recluse lube. I don't think that it's necessary but it might help with the copper fouling that Doby45 mentioned.

[imashooter2]

That's because stock Glocks don't have land and groove riflling at all. They're polygonal rifled.

[mpmarty]

My only concern would be embedded grit abrading my bore.

[Centaur 1]

All of the bullets I have came from a crushed rubber backstop, that and the fact that I ran them all through the ultrasonic cleaner, so I know that they're clean.