Pull Down Powder

[Denver]

I can't help but wonder why someone would go to the trouble and bother to break down loaded ammo in order to sell the components instead of selling the loaded ammo itself. Is it because the ammo was found to develop dangerous pressure, or some other reason? I would think that if that were so, it would have been known before loading huge quantites. Maybe it's for job security.

Ron

[felix]

Ron, it's a function of where and when the ammo was stored. The stuff could be quite nasty looking and probably could not have been sold anyway, even if "legal". Also, testing after 20 years of storage might show a 200 ft/sec loss from the initial for that lot. ... felix

[Iron River Red]

From my understanding, the pull down components are from government contractors that are contracted to reduce the surplus down to components for resale. The reason for this is the ammo won't be sold directly to the public for liability and security reasons. The components will generally come from ammunition that is more than 5 years old. The lots are recycled to maintain a level of consistency and guarantee functionality when called upon.

This is information that I have gotten from people like Jeff Bartlett and Pat McDonald as well as others. They have the facilities to handle the quantities they are required to buy under contract.

I have purchased several hundred pounds of surplus powder and bullets and asked these questions myself before buying the first time.

I have had a lot of success with the pull down components and only wish I were close enough to go and pick them up myself.

The bullets will typically have a pair of pull marks that run parallel to the bullet and will need resizing or cleaning the be shootable again. Most of the time I take a small file and just lightly hit the raised marks before loading them. To date, I have shot 5 or 6 thousand rounds like this with no problems with any of the recovered components. I have not shot any primed cases. I don't know if they are sold as pull down surplus.

[Denver]

Thanks for the info. I've used some surplus powder and have a little left. WC 820 I think. It was sold as Magnum Pistol Powder and a number of the guys at the club, including myself, used it for loading 410 shotshells. There was loading data with the powder that said to use H110 data. Also was data for several handgun rounds which is what I used it for mostly. I think we bought it for about $4-5 a pound at that time. Don't know if it was new or PD, but it worked great.
I'm looking at buying more 820 and thinking of getting some WC844 to use in 30/30 and 35 Rem. I have a great load for 30/30 using 22-23 grs of IMR 3031 and Lyman 311041 sized to .308. I'm hoping the 844 will do as well and will be able to use it in a measure instead of weighing every charge.

[Willbird]

I have a friend that buys re-claimed primers (small rifle) for $2.00 per thousand, he uses them in 9mm for a M11 and an Uzi, he gets maybe 2-3 failure to fire per thousand. The guy he buys them from thinks he's nuts.


Bill

[beagle]

It's a gobernmint thang brought on by the Klinton bunch.

Not a thing wrong with the ammo as it is. I've seen it before breakdown and it's bright and shiny and stored in government bunkers.

They just didn't want to turn the ammo loose on the general public as we'd get a break in ammo prices so they specified that it had to be demilled. Nothing was said about selling the components so we got a break there.

Just wish there was more of it./beagle

[KCSO]

Beagle is right...
We bought a 55 gal drum of 45 ACP one time and we had to guarentee that it would not be sold as ammo. We were required to pull the bullets, dump the powder and deprime the cases. We had to furnish proof that this was done to the whole lot or we lost our ability to bid on any further surplus. Unless you have a special set up for doing this it is a real PITA and we never bid on anymore for that reason.

[felix]

We bought a 55 gal drum of 45 ACP one time and we had to guarentee that it would not be sold as ammo. ... kcso

What about a registered NRA pistol team exclusively using the ammo? Would that be sanctioned as OK? ... felix

[Ballistics in Scotland]

Just as an example, I know of a former Royal Marines musketry instructor who got very good groups by reloading bullets from .303 rounds excavated from First World War battlefields. A lot of them he found already pulled, in derelict farm buildings, presumably by experimentally-inclined French kids, and/or for lighting fires. (I used to find the same around former Iraqi positions in post-Liberation Kuwait, and since it was mostly captured 7.62x51, I think chilly Iraqis did it.) So those bullets in Flanders are unlikely to have been pulled with the most scrupulous care.

[TCLouis]

We bought a 55 gal drum of 45 ACP one time and we had to guarentee that it would not be sold as ammo. ... kcso

What about a registered NRA pistol team exclusively using the ammo? Would that be sanctioned as OK? ... felix


Felix

Just knowing what the intent was I am SURE that there were NO exceptions to the complete and total breakdown requirements. That ALL of the ammo must be decommisioned.
That may well be the reason future supplies will not be available from the breakdown. I bet the rules were changed during by someone to prevent sales of resultant components.