pulling down milsurp ammo for powder.

[quasi]

Has anyone here ever pulled down large quanitys of milsurp ammo to salvage the powder and other components? The reason I ask is there is a fair amount of 8-63 mm ammo in 1919 250 rd belts available in Canada. It is very cheap By Canadian standards.

I once pulled down about 1000 rds of british made 1942 .303 ammo to salvage the bullets. I first seated the bullets deeper with a seating die, then pulled them with a RCBS collet type bullet puller. I tried using my Lee three hole turret press to do it but broke a link after a few dozen. I switched to my C-H Heavy champion press and pulling became allmost effortless. The worst part was screwing the collet handle up and down and having to tap the die to release the bullet. It gets hard on the hands after a while.

Has anyone tried the new LEVER operated Hornady collet bullet puller? It looks like a cheap copy of a Hollywood puller, and if it works should make life a lot easier for me.

[ron brooks]

Why not an inertia puller?

[pumpguy]

I do not shoot anything milsurp. Can you tell me why you would pull it apart to reload it instead of jusut shooting it and using the brass as once fired? Do you just do this in Berdan primed stuff?

[axxman928]

Think I would just shoot it. If it is Boxer primed, fire it and salvage the brass. If it is
Berdan primed fire it, save the brass and maybe sell it. Loading for Berdan primers is
a whole different ballgame. Once pulled some WW I stuff for brass and boolits. Burned
the powder in the garden. Do not trust the powder. You don't know it's past history.
Just my .02 cents worth. axxman928

[Buckshot]

.............There are several members here who have dismantled inexpensive mil-surp ammo for the powder and bullets. I think the most common was the Turk 8x57 ammo. At one time it was VERY cheap and well worthwhile salvaging the powder.

...............Buckshot

[Blammer]

...inertia puller... ROFLMAO! that was funnnnnny!

I buy milsurp pulldown powder all the time. I don't see why doing it yourself would be a problem.

[ron brooks]

Well, color me ignorant, but why is that funny? I've used them with no trouble, some times it takes more than one whack but they don't mark up the bullet.

What do I not know? Just curious.

Thanks


...inertia puller... ROFLMAO! that was funnnnnny!

I buy milsurp pulldown powder all the time. I don't see why doing it yourself would be a problem.

[Edward429451]

Inertia pullers are kind of funny to anyone who has used one (?!) to pull down a lot of ammo. I have a little collection of inertia hammer caps going downstairs, around 5 or 6 I think. I wont be adding to the collection since getting a RCBS collet puller.

I saved the collets from the hammers too. I made an indestructable inertia hammer one night from 1/2 black steel gas pipe nipples & caps & a tee. The collets fit good! It gets heavy fast if ya pull a lot...:>)

(extra cushions required!)

[trooperdan]

It is a fine idea to pull-down surplus ammo for the components; 1,000 rounds of rifle caliber ammo will give you about eight pounds of powder plus the bullets and the scrap value of the brass. Much 8x57 Turk ammo went this way when it was four cents a round.

You'd soon get tired of using an inertia puller on 1000 rounds though; even if you break the seal by seating the bullet deeper you would have a heck of time breaking down that ammo. Military ammo is usually TIGHT!

As for shooting it, this is 8x63 Swedish! Unless you re-chamber something for it I don't know of a rifle in this caliber. It was a machine gun cartridge.

[quasi]

Yes it is a MG cartridge. People are rechambering a few of the Russian captured M-98's that are common in Canada now. These cartridges are loaded with 226 gr. fmj bt bullets. I have 3500 rds to start with. They come in 250 rd. cloth Browning 1919 belts.

Ihave used an inertia puller, no thanks! I guess I will buy the Hornady and try it out.

[ron brooks]

Edward429451 and trooperdan,

Thanks. I understand all too well about military ammo. I know that the inertia puller would get old fast, but any collet puller would too. Sadly I don't really think that there is an easy way to break 1000 rounds down easily.

Thanks again guys, good answers, I appreciate it.

Ron

[jonk]

I would second breaking it down. I have about 1000 rounds of Belgian 8mm Mauser ammo that has primers that hangfire, but the bullets and powder are fine. I HAD about 1400- so far I've pulled down 400 rounds. Reduce load 10% (in my case I found that the full military charge with a fresh primer was too hot), put in a new case, and voila, cheap ammo.

The biggest problem is lack of load data for a pull down powder. I don't know how much powder is in the 8X63 case, but the only one that I'd think you could readily transfer it to is the 8mm-06 (which is, in fact, 8X63....). Anything else you'll have to start low and work your way up. Though I suspect it is pretty slow powder and most flake military powders are of pretty similar burn rates anyhow, between 3031 and 4895. I'd start at around 30 grains and use a chronograph and watch for pressure signs until I hit something good.

[Blammer]

sorry, after pulling apart 200 rnds of ammo with the "hammer" and pulling 200 rnds with the collet. the difference is like racing at Daytona with a moped then with a Farrarie.

The thought of pulling apart 1000's of rnds with a "hammer" just struck me as funny... it can be done if you got LOTS of time and patients, but definitely worth getting a collet puller.

[Ricochet]

The Swedish 8x63 is a bigger case than the 8mm/06. More of a "magnum" cartridge.

[ron brooks]

Blammer,

No problem, I understand where you are coming from. I bet though that breaking down 1000s of rounds of ammo ANY way would get old real fast. :-)

Ron

[RU shooter]

Heres a real fast and easy way to pull the bullets from milsurp ammo .

Place a loaded rd in your press raise it up through the empty die hole get a pair of cheapo wire strippers ,Using the slot for the thickest wire ga. grab the bullet in the crip groove ,Squeeze gentley enough to not squeeze the heck outa the bullet but firm enough to hold it ,Lower your press handle and let the strippers rest on top of the press and the bullet comes right out! Yea theres four little marks in the bullet but there in the groove anyways The fastest and easiest way I have found so far.

[fourarmed]

RU Shooter has the right idea. You can also use pliers. For a big run, you could spend a little time with a Dremel or a die grinder and a 1/4" stone, and cut a form fitting grip groove to hold the bullet. I have pulled a lot of them just by grabbing the bullet with ordinary pliers (handles pointed up) and raising the press handle.

[rhead]

Vice grips work well too after adjusting the cam to lock at the right place.

[Scrounger]

One thing is I'm lazy, and another is that I hate destroying things, even if parts of it are being recovered. Even if there's 45 grains of powder in there, (unknown powder yet!), it would take 150 cartridges to get a pound of powder. The loaded ammo must have some value; most military ammo is going for 25 cents a round or more. Even if you can only get 15 cents a round for it, 150 to 200 rounds should bring in enough money to buy a more useful powder. Unless you just can't think of anything more useful to do with your time....

[Uncle Grinch]

I use the Hornady cam lock collet puller. It's a simple flip of the lever. Piece of cake. Spring for one and you will never regret it.

Recently broke down quite a bit of Korean 30-06 corrosive and 400-500 (don't remember exact number) of Turk 8mm. I weigh the projectile and the powder for future reference so I can reload them at reduced levels.

Never had a problem with any of the powder or bullets.

[quasi]

I got more time than money. I payed .10 a round for these 3500. Powder up here starts around $30.00 for Hodgdons, IMR. Norma and Vitatouri are much more. A lot of stores are constantly out of stock, and some will only sell 1 pound of a given powder, at a time.

There is only a couple of bulk surplus powders available here, and they are around 20$ a pound.

[jonk]

Just out of curiosity, what calibers are you going to reload?

[quasi]

Mostly 7.62 Nato, .303 Brit, 45-70, 9.3 x57 with this powder. It has a burning rate around IMR4064, from what other salvagers have found.

[TAWILDCATT]

Yes it is a MG cartridge. People are rechambering a few of the Russian captured M-98's that are common in Canada now. These cartridges are loaded with 226 gr. fmj bt bullets. I have 3500 rds to start with. They come in 250 rd. cloth Browning 1919 belts.

Ihave used an inertia puller, no thanks! I guess I will buy the Hornady and try it out.

I have one of the hornady pullers.excelent!!never could get the others to stay tight in the press.slight tap on head and bullet drops out.
inertia pullets could cause explosion if the millitary ammo had explosive tips.
:coffee: :Fire: :coffee:

[Andy_P]

You've just gotta know who to ask. I've pulled down hundreds of rounds of this same 8x63 powder, and shot hundreds of rounds of it in a M98 I rechambered. You'll get 54.0 grains of military flake with burn rate near IMR4064, and a 218gr Cupro-nickel plated FMJ BT bullet.

Forget the inertia puller (too slow) and forget the collet puller (there's no exposed flat portion of the bullet to grip). Drill a 5/16" hole through a thick piece of metal bar, clamp it to a sturdy table, insert the bullet into the hole from the bottom, and move the cartidge head back and forth to expand the neck. The bullet will pull out with your fingers.

8x63swedish.pridham.ca

[Ghugly]

Yes it is a MG cartridge. People are rechambering a few of the Russian captured M-98's that are common in Canada now. These cartridges are loaded with 226 gr. fmj bt bullets. I have 3500 rds to start with. They come in 250 rd. cloth Browning 1919 belts.

Ihave used an inertia puller, no thanks! I guess I will buy the Hornady and try it out.

I'd sure like to try a few of those 226gr bullets. Are they .323?

[jack19512]

I do this all the time. I pulled a lot of the steel cased 7.62X54 surplus ammo I have. My RCBS bullet puller that mounts in one of my presses works great and you can pull a lot of bullets in a short time. Would highly recommend anyone planning on doing much to get one. I use the powder and bullets in a lot of my reloads and have yet to have a single problem.

[singleshotbuff]

I pulldown milsurp ammo for the components fairly often. I don't think it's terribly dangerous, as long as you have a thorough understanding of powder burning characteristics, lots of reloading knowledge, a GOOD scale (I prefer my electronic) and a CHRONOGRAPH. I think the chronograph is so important that I wouldn't pull down any ammo without one. I use the chrony to get a baseline velocity for the round in question, then I can chronograph any different/reduced loads and get a ballpark burning rate. The chrony will also tell you things like S.D & E.S., which I think can be used as indicators that a powder is burning in its intended pressure range.

Just my $0.02, your mileage may vary.

SSB

[quasi]

Andy P, thankyou for the advice, will do.

[quasi]

double post

[richbug]

Forget the inertia puller (too slow) and forget the collet puller (there's no exposed flat portion of the bullet to grip). Drill a 5/16" hole through a thick piece of metal bar, clamp it to a sturdy table, insert the bullet into the hole from the bottom, and move the cartidge head back and forth to expand the neck. The bullet will pull out with your fingers.

8x63swedish.pridham.ca

I do something similar, but use an empty case for the tool. Can do 1000 rounds in a couple hours while watching the TV for a couple hours. The brass case doesn't hurt the bullets at all. You have to replace the case you are using as a tool every few rounds.

[Edward429451]

Thats a great idea. I bet using steel cases would last longer before needing a new one. Might work for certain other calibers too.

[garandsrus]

The worst part was screwing the collet handle up and down and having to tap the die to release the bullet. It gets hard on the hands after a while.


Quasi,

Take your collet out of the die and open it up a little. It sounds like you tightened the collet without a bullet in it. This will compress the fingers a little and result in stuck bullets, as you are describing. If you open the fingers up a little, the bullets will drop right out when you take the pressure off the collet.

John

[ChuLai 68]

Get a Hornady lever bullet puller, works great. I use pulled down powder and bullets all the time......i use 7.62X54 surplus and use the powder and bullets for .303 and 7.7 Jap, with no problems. Get a Chrono and work the loads up.

[MarkK]

Has anyone tried the new LEVER operated Hornady collet bullet puller? It looks like a cheap copy of a Hollywood puller, and if it works should make life a lot easier for me.

Yes. The Hornady collet lever puller worked great for me - pulled about 3000 rounds with it no problems. Different collet required for different caliber. Never have seen a Hollywood but the Hornady should last a long time. Nice product - waaaaaaaaay better than inertia pullers.