Unknown bullets

[JMtoolman]

I just had the same type of situation this last week. I had purchased a hundred rounds of empty belted brass from a fellow member. The brass looked great! Then when I started priming after sizing and trimming, I found extruded marks on the case heads. They were half round marks from a ejector hole in the bolt head. The primers almost fell in the pockets! Several ones I could seat primers with a fingertip! The seller has promised to return the sale price, and all went into the scrap bucket after having the case necks smashed with a hammer. I think these were proof loads that someone got ahold of, for they looked like they had to be around 80,000 psi to flow like that. It was a shame for the brass is an old caliber one and it is hard to find. The toolman.

[D Crockett]

+ 1 pull them it not hard to reload them again like people have said it just not worth the chance of messing up a good gun or getting hurt if the gun blows up besides the old powder is good for your yard makes the grass green D Crockett

[bedbugbilly]

Kind of sounds to me like you already know what you are going to do with them so why even ask?

Everyone has "free will" . . . if you choose to shoot them then it's on you if there is a problem with them . . . . that's a decision that nobody else can make for you. If you choose to risk your firearm and your safety . . . then there's a fifty fifty chance that all will be well . . . . and a fifty fifty chance that the guy who reloaded them didn't know what he was doing.

Personally, I'd never shoot anyone else's reloads. I'd pull 'em, use the powder for fertilizer and reuse the primed brass and bullets . . . and for the components you end up with, you still did o.k. on your "buy". But then, I guess I'm a wee bit cautious as I picked up too many individuals when I worked ambulance and fire rescue who chose to "fly by the seat of their pants". If you are a reloader, then you know what the prudent thing is to do. Just sayin'

[mdi]

Lot of "discussion" on terminology used to describe unknown ammo, but any sane shooter would pull the bullets, toss the powder and reuse the components. Just like the majority of the above posts. I might play with measuring powder charges, measuring cases, etc. but I have 30+ years of reloading experience and understand just what OOPS! can occur. I will never put an unknown cartridge in any of my guns (with risk managed, assumed or guessed at)...

[blackthorn]

I am in the camp that says pull them. At our last gun show I bought 50, handloaded 300 Weatherby cartridges. I know the guy who loaded them and he is an experienced loader and careful. I do not shoot other peoples' reloads. I pulled one and weighed the charge---a full five grains over book max for that bullet with that powder! As I pulled the rest I weighed several and all were consistently exactly five grains over max. I did re-use the components, including the powder, but I reduced the charge to a safe level. Be safe.

[HangFireW8]

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.

No, not often. The early editions had loads from whatever sources he could get them. Some were too stiff.
Later on, when he had access to factory labs, and even later, when he owned and ran his own pressure testing laboratory, he annoyed Elmer Keith multiple times by pointing out the actual pressures of Elmer's loads.

[swheeler]

Pull them all, 190 reloads or one eye ball, your choice.

[45-70 Chevroner]

This guy is a fairly new member and I think we may have just ran him off. If your not willing to listen to good advice, it might be prudent to not ask questions. My vote was with the obvious concensus.

[Steelshooter]

This guy is a fairly new member and I think we may have just ran him off. If your not willing to listen to good advice, it might be prudent to not ask questions. My vote was with the obvious concensus.

I kind of hope that is the case and not that he had issue shooting the reloads.

[mrbill2]

[Hardcast416taylor]

Do you have a good long handled shovel and a very remote place to conduct the `funeral` at?Robert

[rintinglen]

If you knew the man who did the reloading, knew him to be a painstaking, careful reloader, who kept careful notes, I'd be fine with shooting his reloads. When I was first learning, I shot a bunch of reloads done by my mentor Bill Williams. When he passed away, I'd have shot any of his stuff I could lay my hands on. He was an old-time, diligent reloader who took great care that each cartridge he made was as perfect as he could make them.

However, I just finished tearing down the last of 256 or so 32 HR reloads that I bought, because I do not know the skill or attention to detail with which they were assembled. Your gun, your health, your eyes, your call.

[fatelk]

If I happened upon a batch of my own reloads from 30 years ago, I'm not sure I'd care to shoot them.

Actually I did just dig out an ammo can full of some 12 gauge shells I loaded maybe 25 years ago, heavy buckshot loads with Blue Dot and my own cast 00 buckshot. I don't shoot buckshot so I'm tempted to pull them all apart for the lead and Blue Dot.

[john.k]

I gave away two packets of my old 6.5 Dutch loads,with the instruction to pull and use the cases and bullets.Needless to say,he fired them.He never said anything,but told everyone else that would listen that half were loaded with blackpowder.Now,out here the Hornady 160gn RNs are worth 0.50c each,so i gave him $20 worth of bullets,without the cases.Next time,I ll save the bullets ,scrap the cases,no more favors.

[Andy]

Don I think there is no way to be 100% sure those cartridges are safe to fire, no matter how careful you are about it. I believe you're suggesting weighing the loaded cartridges and that's a smart thought, but case weights can differ a good amount and you never know if one is containing a powder type that it shouldn't or some other problematic trait (worn case about to separate) that wouldn't be obvious by weight.

Yes you can disassemble some and if those are fine and you correctly guess which powder is in there you can make an educated guess that the remainder might be safe to fire. But there are still things you could miss and you're playing a high risk for a low reward which isn't worth it in my opinion. Maybe that guy you got them from got interrupted while loading and came back drunk later that night and loaded the last five with the correct weight of bullseye and you've got a bomb waiting in there. Not worth losing a rifle or a hand or an eye.

If you pull the bullets and toss the powder, all you are probably out is 10-20 cents per round when you reassemble them with your own, known powder. That to me is a small price to pay to be sure you aren't going to blow up your rifle or hurt yourself or others around you on the shooting line.

I would use this as an excuse to get a press-mounted bullet puller with a 30 cal collet, no mess or frustration and you'll be done with 200 rounds in less than a half hour with no damage to your bullets.

[David2011]

+1 for the collet puller! Get one, pull the bullets and live happily ever after.