Unknown bullets

[Don1357]

This may not be the best section and if so, please move as needed.

I picked a number of things form the state of a reloader. Among them a bunch of 30-06 bullets. I got seven boxes of 20 in plastic cases plus a plastic case with 50, for $8 per box. I figure the cost of the plastic case alone was at least $2 so that made it about .30 per bullet.

To trust or not to trust... Some have incomplete scribbles, some have none, and even those with scribbles I have no idea if somebody moved them around while sorting the stuff. I also don't know how how good this guy was with his reloading, and I would hate to blow up a gun I haven't even bought yet (looking for a Remington 7600).

The plan is to sort them, crack one open per lot, get the bullet and powder weight (the latter rather pointless considering that I don't know witch powder it is but I'll write it down anyways) and weight each bullet in the lot to make sure none are off. I also have a chrono, I can shoot a bullet on each lot to make sure it ain't trying to break any speed records.

There are some nice silvertips, soft points, and fully jacketed bullets here. I figure most of the heavy soft points I'll reload for hunting and plink with the rest. I'm trying to avoid having to disassemble 190 bullets.

[runfiverun]

you know what is the prudent thing to do.

[HangFireW8]

Sounds like unknown cartridges not unknown bullets. Weigh the bullets after you have pulled them all; then they won't be unknown.

-HF

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

"incomplete scribbles"
On the outside chance that I'd consider shooting someone else's reloads, incomplete scribbles would surely change my mind.

[Don1357]

The most prudent thing would be to stop with the reloading nonsense and leave it to the pros and their highly calibrated methods. none of us are doing that so the real question is one of risk management.

For instance, the FMJ boxes are all +/- a gram, it looks like they are commercial loads so I'm thinking to chrono and plink with them. A box of the heavy silvertips seems to be all over the place so I'll reload those with a known powder. They are 200 grains, ought to do wonders on Moose. The box of 50 with the minuscule soft tips seems to be a bit all over, so I'll chrono a light one and see what it is trying to do. If the lightest one is trying to do something ugly, it follows that i shouldn't shoot the heavier one on that lot.

[lightman]

This is kind of a personal thing, but I don't shoot unknown reloads. I recently, like last month, pulled several hundred bullets from someone else reloads. You can weigh the risk and take your chances. I just don't.

[Dusty Bannister]

The most prudent thing would be to stop with the reloading nonsense and leave it to the pros and their highly calibrated methods. none of us are doing that so the real question is one of risk management.

For instance, the FMJ boxes are all +/- a gram, it looks like they are commercial loads so I'm thinking to chrono and plink with them. A box of the heavy silvertips seems to be all over the place so I'll reload those with a known powder. They are 200 grains, ought to do wonders on Moose. The box of 50 with the minuscule soft tips seems to be a bit all over, so I'll chrono a light one and see what it is trying to do. If the lightest one is trying to do something ugly, it follows that i shouldn't shoot the heavier one on that lot.

Not risk management, but assumption of risk. You know there is risk, but you do not know how much risk there is. Lightman states it in a kind manner.

[Don1357]

Risk management implies the assumption of risks, else there is no point in managing it.

I get where folks are coming from and it is appreciated. I'm still pondering if there is a methodology that can be applied to this process. The laws of physics did not stop applying because the cartridge was loaded. There is a given bullet, with a given unkown powder charge, over a sampling of cartridges. A flow chart can be made to safely test what's what. I can weight a given lot, Crack open the lightest and the heaviest. Don't know which powder but does the load in grains exceed any known powder from the loading table? Yes, suspect; bring the charge down. No, proceed. Put the bullet back in, shoot and chrono it. Is it trying to fly at a stupid speed? Yes, not good. No, it should be fine.

For starters later today I'll take apart the 200 grain silver tips that I'll reload for hunting. Measuring the powder of each bullet will give me an indication of how much a margin of error he was producing.

Rather than a blanket 'that's stupid' I would be helpful to challenge any of the assumptions I may have wrong, or any other parameter I could test for.

[baogongmeo]

Have you measured bullet diameter to be certain that they are .308 and not .311 or something else? How about case over-all length? Lots more than just powder charge will influence pressure. Will they even chamber in your rifle?
Myself, unless I was absolutely certain that I had positively identified the powder ( and then I would pull and reduce them all to the starting load) I would pull and throw away the powder and load back with a known powder. Better safe than sorry.
Dump the powder!

[runfiverun]

well the best you can hope for is they didn't screw up the powder type or read the powder amount wrong.
I made a batch of 25-06 and transposed the last 2 numbers and ended up re-thinking things when it nagged at me.
I got in a nice afternoon of shooting pulled bullets.

if you had something/anything to go by, and the weights matched,,, and the loaded rounds fell within a good bell curve around the pulled to check rounds.. then maybe you got something to work from.
what I'm seeing is I dunno, and more maybe?

[HangFireW8]

To me there's another reason why I wouldn't bother shooting those loads. Are they reproducible? If I got a fantastic group, could I reproduce it?
My range time is highly limited.
My reloading time is somewhat limited.
My gun's lifetime, measured in shots, is limited. One of the reasons I am shooting more cast now. I get more bullets per barrel lifetime.

When I "burn up" somebody else's reloads, what does that accomplish? Making brass to reload that is already lifetime-limited by an unknown factor? Or am I just shortening the life of my barrel? Maybe a non-issue for a 45ACP. A big issue for a magnum rifle. Somewhere in between for everything else.

I have to wonder, if you have all the risk managed, why did you bother to even ask here? Risk management means managing all the manageable variables. Not just powder weight. Wrong powder? More powder and a lighter bullet? Less powder and a heavier bullet?

But hey it's your gun, and your face.

[Bzcraig]

You asked the question, "to trust or not to trust?" People have given you their opinion and reason(s) for that opinion yet it seems you are discounting/arguing and have already made up your mind.

[Traffer]

Don't be foolish...pull the darn things. There is nothing to gain, really. Mystery bullets? Say nope to dope.

[fatelk]

Personally I'm one to normally experiment and tinker with stuff like that if I can ascertain with a level of certainty exactly what the components are, but I've also gotten to where I just won't take chances with someone else's reloads, especially some random estate ammo.

Odds are they would fire fine, but personally the risk would be too much for me. I would pull them all down for components if it were me.

I did fire some old 12 gauge reloads a couple years ago. They were some that were in my grandfather's stuff when he passed away. He never reloaded so who knows where he got them. I thought it would be ok and took the risk. That was a mistake! I was lucky and only had to replace the extractor on my old Remington when one blew out at the rim. I just won't take the chance on random reloads anymore, never again. I think that's why everyone is telling you pull them.

[big bore 99]

I'd pull 'em

[Wayne Smith]

Did he, by any chance, have a well worn copy of Phil Sharpe's books? Simply pointing out another unkown in the process. Phil's starting loads are often overloads.

[ascast]

Phil Sharpe ? wow ! He's the guy that promoted the "303 Savage is not a .308 inch bullet" concept. But, he has data for the 11mm Gras. Go figure?


however, always enjoy reading/ re-reading over his reloading equipment reviews.

[Steelshooter]

Another candidate for a Darwin award. Play stupid games win stupid prizes.

[texassako]

Pull them all. Pulling one doesn't tell you if all the charge weights are consistent. +/- 1 gram is 15 grains, could be a heavier case or could be a heavier charge of powder.

[WHITETAIL]

+1 on pulling them.
And toss the powder.