WWII and Korean Surplus ammo

[kc2gvs]

A buddy of mine gave me a box full of ammunition. A whole bunch of .30-06, various head stamps, WCC (Western Cartridge Co.) 55, Den (Denver Arsenal) 42, TW (Twin Cities Arsenal) 53, and DM (Des Monies Arsenal) 42, mostly. Since I don't have a .30-06, I plan on pulling the bullets, scavenging the cases and reforming them into other cartridges I do have, or cartridges my friends can't get a hold of, and using the bullets for plinking in my .308. Based on the head stamps, I have figured out which ammo was corrosive, and I've busted 5 decapping pins on the DM and DEN primers. Darn tough primer crimps! Like everything else, they made this to last!

I have played the magnet game, and the WCC 55 and the TW 53 popped positive. The WCC 55 bullet I pulled measured 1.1055 inches, but after I probed the end with a pushpin, up to the cannelure, all I got was soft lead. Between the tip and the cannelure I have stronger results with the magnet than the cannelure to the heel.

Is this indicative of a steel core, or a bimetallic jacket? I want to know if I can use it safely on my metallic targets.

[rondog]

The jacket, AFAIK.....

[kc2gvs]

How does that account for the weaker magnetic draw near the heel versus near the tip?

[funnyjim014]

If unsure if its the jacket or core, hold it with vice grip and torch it. Cut jacket in half take a look.

[Larry Gibson]

If the bullets weigh 150 - 154 gr they are all lead core. From the length of the bullets they should be the 150 - 154 gr bullets. The AP bullets weigh 165+ gr.

The less magnetic pull at the nose taper of the bullet is because there is less steel jacket for the magnet to pull on there. The "pull" will get progressively less the closer you get to the nose.

The push pin has to displace the lead. Up the cannelure the lead can easily displace to the rear. The deeper you get it into the bullet the more lead it had to displace to the side and out the back. The jacket is not displacing at all and is holding the lead in. Thus the deeper you push the pin into the pullet the "harder" the alloy feels.

Larry Gibson

[mold maker]

I think I'd offer to trade for ammo you use, rather than, go to all the work, for the same end.

[kc2gvs]

I have about 150 rounds set aside for trading, and the rest I'm going to reform, to learn and hone the skill.

Eventually I want to have to make brass for a rifle. I want to have a rifle chambered in .280 British. Single shot, Repeating, or Semi-Automatic, I don't care, I just want one! ;) :)
:veryconfu?

[frkelly74]

I would think that any full power FMJ loading would be quite hard on a steel target, even if they are not armour piercing. I have used the lee universal decapping die on brass that is stubborn. I do not like to break my good dies but if the lee gets broken it is cheap to fix.

[kc2gvs]

I am using RCBS dies, with headed decapping pins, cheap enough to fix, just a pain in the rump when they break.