Did some wheelin' & dealin', ended up with this ammo.

[Bookworm]

As the title states, I made some deals, and ended up with some "mystery" ammo as part of it.
As you can see, it's securely wrapped in... uh.... cash-register tape.
170037

Open it up, shows to be 357Mag, R-P headstamp
170038

Pulled out 4 rounds, at random, to inspect. 4 rounds, 4 different OAL.
Crimp ? We don't need no steenk-eeng CRIMP !
170041

Obviously someones' handloads. I went ahead and dismantled one, just to see...
170045
The brass appears new, un-fired.No soot or anything inside.
Weighed the projectile and the mystery powder. 124.5gr JHP, 17.8gr of some unknown powder. It looks remarkably similar to H110. It is very fine, much finer than Bullseye or the like.
I searched my (admittedly) limited books for a clue - the only thing I can find is in Richard Lees' "Modern Reloading", 1rst Ed. (1996)
He shows a 130gr JHP with 18.5gr H110. we all know that downloading that powder is not recommended.

I wonder what this load is. This ammo was probably loaded sometime in the 90's, no other clues except that. It came in a package that included a Ruger Security-Six, the revolver well-worn externally, but mechanically sound. The previous owner was foggy on the pedigree of the ammo, but thought "a friend" loaded it for him.

So ... my real question is this - Who wants to come over and shoot this stuff up for me (using your revolver, and your hand with which to hold it), so I can get the brass without having to de-mill 50 loads ?

And, lacking a volunteer to shoot this up, what am I to do with 890 grains ( almost an eighth-pound) of "mystery" powder if I do de-mill it ?

[fast ronnie]

Fertilizer. It's not worth the risk of an unknown powder. DON'T shoot someone elses reloads.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Got any roses in your garden? Old powder makes great fertilizer because of the nitrates. if you've got a collet bullet puller for your press or a "whack-a-mole" inertia bullet puller it won't take too long to break it down, and then you can have the fun of reloading it yourself--and you'll know what's in it. Uh-thanks for the invite, but fingers and eyes are hard to replace!

[9.3X62AL]

I am assuming (hoping) that the OP's remarks are in jest.

Looks like a salvage project to me for the bullets and brass.......not sure I would retain the primers in place, either. Decapping live primers is a dicey prospect, I would light off the primers with the revolver safely and start over with known make/type of priming.

[osteodoc08]

50 rounds isn't much. Dismantle and use powder as fertilizer. I'm not a huge fan of light bullets in the 357 mag using 296. Light lead loads with a fast powder, yes.

[Scharfschuetze]

Those bullets are the Remington 125 grain scalloped HP. That's a great bullet for most any 38 or 357 application short of deer hunting, so you'll end up with good cases and bullets after your salvage project is finished.

[DerekP Houston]

personally I'd pull the bullets and reload with my known powder charge, but I don't understand why people are suggesting not using the primers? Maybe yall can clue me in and save me some fingers down the road.

[Scharfschuetze]

Probably so the OP can start out with a known product.

Granted they will probably go "bang," but who knows what they are. With mild loads they probably do not present any particular threat to the fingers, but why guess when you are investing powder, bullets and time for a good product.

They could be any number of types:

Standard small pistol
Magnum small pistol
Standard small rifle
Magnum small rifle

Federal, Winchester, Remington, CCI, RWS, et cetera.

[DerekP Houston]

Probably so the OP can start out with a known product.

Granted they will probably go "bang," but who knows what they are. With mild loads they probably do not present any particular threat to the fingers, but why guess when you are investing powder, bullets and time for a good product.

They could be any number of types:

Standard small pistol
Magnum small pistol
Standard small rifle
Magnum small rifle

Federal, Winchester, Remington, CCI, RWS, et cetera.

Ahh I hadn't considered rifle primers being used in a pistol cartridge. At .02-.03 cents each you guys are right. Thanks for the info drop.

[Scharfschuetze]

Ahh I hadn't considered rifle primers being used in a pistol cartridge. At .02-.03 cents each you guys are right. Thanks for the info drop.

DerekP,

De nada amigo. I often use SR primers in my 357 Magnum loads with slow ball powders for a Marlin 1894 rifle so that's what brought them to mind.

[OS OK]

Arn't rifle primers longer than pistol, would they seat flush in the case?

As for the powder, why not make yourself some firecrackers and enjoy the stuff? A little cannon fuse and newspaper and 'blam'.

[Bookworm]

OP here.
Yes, I was commenting 'tongue in cheek' about shooting the loads. Was a time I would have filled the cylinder and banged away without a second thought, but I've settled down some in the intervening years.
I just hate to 'waste' things by throwing it away. I have a small container of other mystery powder, just a few ounces. Don't have any idea what I'll do with it, or even why I keep it, other than it's perfectly good - but unusable.
The firecracker idea is intriguing. Or perhaps when I get around to fire-lapping the barrel constriction out of my 5.5" SBH I will use it for the squib loads.

[rwadley]

Arn't rifle primers longer than pistol, would they seat flush in the case?
Large rifle primers are taller than large pistol primers, but small pistol and rifle primers are the same diminsions. That is why you can use small pistol primers in .22 Hornet and small rifle primers in .357 Mag. I believe that CCI Small pistol magnum and small rifle are the same primer. https://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=417220

[9.3X62AL]

Scharfsheutze covered my rationale pretty well. The OP mentioned some inconsistencies in the cartridges, and that trait could have carried over into primer selection.

I'm another fan of Remington scalloped-jacket 125 grain JHP bullets. I use them to duplicate my 357 Magnum carry loads (Federal 357B) with CCI 500 primers and 17.5 grains of Alliant 2400 powder.

[Ural Driver]

Even as a total noob to reloading....I would take those differing OAL's as a sign. As others have said, whack-a-mole-fertilizer-pop them primers and then recycle the brass and bullets into something of your own making. :lovebooli

[Virginia John]

You have to ask yourself, were the cases, boolits and primers worth the price. If so, the good deal wasn't all that bad. Reload and have fun.