What do I have here

[ncbearman]

Excuse my ignorance, but I wanted to be sure what I have here before I process or sell. Picked up about 50 of these at the range. It appears to me to be military 30-06 but I don't know for sure. They have different headstamps and are mostly FA51, LC54 etc. They are not berdan primed. My question is, can I swage pockets, size, trim, load etc. as I would my normal 30-06 bras? Thanks.

82599

[Zymurgy50]

The crimp ring on the neck is a dead giveaway for blank cartridges. I have heard of people using them for low pressure cast loads, but the ones I come across go in the scrap bucket.

[mikeym1a]

It doesn't appear to be annealed. I guess you would need to fire several of those, and then check for case length. I would then anneal the case neck. After annealing, just treat it as you would any empty case, resize, prime, charge, and load boolit. I have heard people say that the brass in blanks is substandard, but, I doubt that. I have made shootable rounds out of some Pakistani blanks that I got last year. After annealing the brass, they worked fine. The case necks split on the ones I tried working without annealing. All of my annealed case performed normally. What's the worst that could happen? you might split a neck. On the other hand, you might get a usable case. It's an experiment. Mine worked out okay. Good luck, and good shooting.

[Skunkworks]

Well for starters the case is to long to just reload and fire!

Why bother with crummy brass? Proper 30-06 brass dont cost much.

[Dan Cash]

Well for starters the case is to long to just reload and fire!

Why bother with crummy brass? Proper 30-06 brass dont cost much.

It is the THRIFT of the matter. THRRRIFT mon.

[oscarflytyer]

DEF blanks. No clue about length and/or shooting them...

[Eddie2002]

It's a 30-06 blank cartridge, picked up hundreds of them back in the early 60's after the National Guard did thier 2 week training in Jamestown RI. All the kids in the area would head out after the training and load up buckets of them, the machine gun pits would be 4-5 inches deep in spent shells and there were always a few unfired M1 clips to be found along with the occassional smoke bomb. Boy have times changed, I was a 14 year kid old with access to military smoke bombs and blank rifle cartridges and didn't blow anything important up or kill anybody, go figure. The brass I still have is berdan primed and pretty corroded, not good for much except good memories.
Can't think of any reason not to reload your cases, military brass is good stuff, just anneal the necks before working the crimps out and start low on the powder charge.

[10-x]

M 1909 .30 Cal. blank(s). Fired 1000's of them re-enacting WWII years ago.

[Artful]

In the back of my mind there was a warning about using blank cases for reloading full power loads - something about the brass not having to be up to spec as was required for regular ammo. I'd tread lightly.

ah ha
http://www.ar15.com/archive/topic.html?b=6&f=42&t=387727

Just be aware that a blank cartridge is made to make noise/smoke/flash.
It is NOT made to contain 50,000+ psi of internal pressure.
The size and shape may be the same; however, the strength of the case may not be designed for full pressure.

http://books.google.com/books?id=bEnpgMbBFv0C&pg=PA21&lpg=PA21&dq=strength+of+blank+cartridge+brass&source=bl&ots=HkHQgJF0OP&sig=bUh7KP1_ODeMGaRxmEHHADh0NMg&hl=en&sa=X&ei=TwtBUtDtB6ixiQK5-IDQAQ&ved=0CFAQ6AEwBDgU#v=onepage&q=strength%20of%20blank%20cartridge%20brass&f=false
Abc's Of Reloading: The Definitive Guide For Novice To Expert
books.google.com/books?isbn=0896896099
Bill Chevalier - 2008


Finally, a final word about blank cases. Even with the powder removed, these are not fit for reloading.
Blanks are made from substandard cases not capable of meeting pressure and dimension standards for full-power ammunition.

[ncbearman]

Well for starters the case is to long to just reload and fire!

Why bother with crummy brass? Proper 30-06 brass dont cost much.

I kinda like this strategy now that I know what I have. Thank you gents, as always great folks here.
Russ

[mikeym1a]

I cannot imagine the US Government putting out a contract to use substandard materials to us in anything! That is not the government way. And even if it was not meant to hold 50,000 psi, how many cast loaders approach that level? If the OP has a bunch of these, I would suggest firing them, to clear the old powder. Check the first to see if it is boxer primed. If it is, then check case length, trim to proper length, anneal the neck and shoulder, then re-prime, re-charge, seat a boolit, and then go SHOOTING!!!!!!
It's what I've done to a bunch of Pakistani blanks that I got. Making this work for me is a challenge, and is quite rewarding when it works. Mike. :cool:

[Artful]

Substandard and Government - nah, never together
http://publicintelligence.net/fbi-counterfeit-lithium-batteries/
http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2012/05/22/probe-finds-flood-of-fake-military-parts-from-china-in-u-s-equipment/
Besides it's not substandard for use as blanks - just substandard for use with full power loads, there's a big difference.

But Mike, you just go along with doing what you want to do - just be careful.

[Gtek]

If I remember correctly the change from corrosive primer was in 53'. Last brass on earth- maybe, or I would be putting that launcher thingy on the end of something launching some things across a field somewhere. Gtek

[Mk42gunner]

If I remember correctly the change from corrosive primer was in 53'. Last brass on earth- maybe, or I would be putting that launcher thingy on the end of something launching some things across a field somewhere. Gtek

That's not so safe either there, Gtek. The US Military uses totally different blanks for making noise (Combat training) and throwing grenades. Big difference in the almost flash powder used for balanks and the slower powder used for line throwing or rifle grenades.

Robert

[Boyscout]

I just decapped and scrapped a bunch of these that had been given to me.

[bob208]

I form 7.65 or 8 mm out of the blanks I have.

[TCFAN]

As a kid in the early 60's I found lots of these blank 30-06 cases just like Eddie2002 said that he did.Even some of the live smoke bombs.Did manage to set one of the smoke bombs off in my bedroom one time, but that's another story.
As for the brass I used some of the 30-06 blanks to form 6.5X55 brass and even though it is a bit small at the head it worked for low power cast loads.This was back in 1960 or 61 and Sweed brass was hard to find and I did not know any better............Terry