i reloaded 1000 berdan primed cases. I picked up 1000 primers at yardsale. I was going to get more to load some K31 fodder but the supply dried up.
Tula had berdan primers for $12 1000 or $9/1000 by the case. Missed out
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What did you do in the reloading room recently?
- Thread starter DW357
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Tula had berdan primers for $12 1000 or $9/1000 by the case. Missed out
They are quite reloadable, the Europeans have been doing it for many decades as have many in the U.S......even others on this board. Depriming is the trick. I made a tool from a hardened masonry nail to pierce the primer and lever it out of the pocket. I've done a couple of thousand .308 with success so far. The brass was just much too high quality to scrap.
Once you get the old primer out, everything else is the same.
Some use a hydraulic method successfully but it's kind of messy.
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Those Snyder's Pretzel containers come in handy.
I researched the different methods when i toyed with the idea of reloading my GP11 brass, but haven't seen a single berdan primer 'for sale'...ever.
If you got 'em, you got 'em and you're not getting rid of them...if you don't, you're not going to get them, I guess.
My first club ran NRA matches each month as well as weekly league matches. They collected the brass in a 55 gallon drum and sold it to fund the juniors program.
I dug out more reloading equipment which I'll be posting for sale shortly. Eventually I'll get to the 5 or 6 5-gallon pails of brass (mostly once-fired) but I'm going to sell that to a scrap company as too much work to sort and try to sell in small lots.
38ExtraSpecial
NES Member
Might as well try offering it here at scrap price first.
I bet some people would be down with a bucket
mark2215
NES Member
I was just thinking this.
why not just sell it to us by the bucket. Depending where you are i will give scrap price for a bucket plus a,few bucks more , a coffee and even a few bucks for gas.
Local scrap prices are way down , i called yesterday and brass ammo shells are down to 1.20lb I got 1.81 this time last year.
It's all mixed calibers, 9mm, .38Spl, .40S&W, .45ACP, and .223 mostly and I just want to make one trip to the scrap yard. At this point I'm only down in MA to clean out the house a couple days/week, so I'm in NH most of each week.
where in mass , not sorted is fine.
45collector
NES Member
I hate these...
xtry51
NES Member
WTF is that?
45collector
NES Member
It's a 9mm made by "Maxxtech". I have picked up a few of these at random clubs over the years and the first time I encountered one, I had the exact same reaction as you. I guess they make them so they can load a little less powder per round and still reach factory velocities? I'm not positive but that's what I was told.
ETA: I should add that I don't separate 9mm brass by headstamp or anything when I'm reloading. I knew what this one was immediately when I stuck it in stage 1 on the Dillon SDB and the ram abruptly stopped very early in the pull. Backed it off, pulled this little guy out and just said "a**h***." I don't know if they can be safely reloaded and I wouldn't even bother to try. In the trash it goes.
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headednorth
NES Member
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I know theres not exactly a shortage of brass in the more common calibers, but Id hate to see it end up in a scrap yard if it could be put to better use by someone else.
mark2215
NES Member
I concur
JRT
NES Member
I moved within the last 24 months, I totally get this. I thought I would sell a few things cheap instead of moving them and it turned into a pain in the ass. When you are moving you have a million balls in the air, you just don't want to add another.
JRT nailed it. Even selling off my primers, projectiles, powder is a chore dealing with numerous folks wanting some of this, or some of that. I'll bet each pail weighs close to 50# and even the thought of putting them in the car and driving them to the scrap yard gives me a back ache.
mark2215
NES Member
I get this too. Perhaps throw out a price,
Then why not throw out a price and let someone else haul them away for you.
Good to know. Learning from others' experiences is one of the many reasons I like NES.
Artie
NES Member
Have 1k of Armscor 223 FMJ 55gr bullets that i picked up somewhere awhile ago. Boy do these suck. Weight and length are all over the place. Seating to mid cannelure is impossible. If you ever come across these and think you might save a penny, eff that! Plinking ammo but my OCD is making it hard to feel good about these.
headednorth
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Banged out around 350 124 grain 9mm while doing the laundry.
xtry51
NES Member
Haven't used the Armscor. I've had good luck with Hornady 55gr. Wideners used to sell them in 6k boxes and ny mailman hated me. lol
pastera
NES Member
Why you never use a Lee Factory Crimp Die!
One left is pulled from a dummy round that pwent through the FCD
Right is cast and sized
Center is pulled from a dummy round setup exactly like the first but no FCD
FCD bullet is undersize, the coating is damaged, and it easily was pulled with the impact puller
The other pulled bullet was only a couple of tenths down from the sized bullet but still .452 with no damage. Took some work to pull.
Both rounds gauged the same before the FCD - that round fell loosely in My Hornady gauge.
If your cartridge doesn't gauge - don't shortcut the process and end up with bad ammo. Figure out what is wrong and fix it. The issue might just be that the gauge is SAMMI minimum and ammo that property fits YOUR chamber is larger.
One left is pulled from a dummy round that pwent through the FCD
Right is cast and sized
Center is pulled from a dummy round setup exactly like the first but no FCD
FCD bullet is undersize, the coating is damaged, and it easily was pulled with the impact puller
The other pulled bullet was only a couple of tenths down from the sized bullet but still .452 with no damage. Took some work to pull.
Both rounds gauged the same before the FCD - that round fell loosely in My Hornady gauge.
If your cartridge doesn't gauge - don't shortcut the process and end up with bad ammo. Figure out what is wrong and fix it. The issue might just be that the gauge is SAMMI minimum and ammo that property fits YOUR chamber is larger.
Attachments
38ExtraSpecial
NES Member
Perfect illustration of a common and misunderstood problem.
This is one of the most important lessons I teach anyone when I explain the intricacies of loading cast bullets in cartridges that require a taper crimp.
Do not over crimp and do not use a Lee FCD.
Nice work man!
EMTDAD
NES Member
Any market here for .303 British once fired brass? I got a friend with an Enfield who doesn't reload. If someone here is interested, I'll ask him to hold onto them for you.
why not a lee factory crimp die ?
What I see is either a factory crimp die that was not adjusted correctly, or was adjusted at some point for non coated bullets or the brass is not trimmed to the same dimensions<<< this is not supposed to be a big issues with the lee FCD but with a the lee seater/crimp die it can be.
This can also happen with assorted brass and some brass walls are thicker.
feel like they are using some cheaper alloy that needs to be thicker? Plus its a permanent "crimp" . Bullet is noot going to set back on those cases.
38ExtraSpecial
NES Member
Are you taking rifle or pistol dies? Pastera was taking pistol dies.
A Lee Pistol FCD uses a collet style crimp die teamed up with a carbine sizing ring just like a sizing die.
The result is usually an undersized cartridge that in turn squished down the bullet inside the case. It’s pretty well documented over on castboolits.
A Lee Rifle FCD is different. It uses a collet style crimping die with no carbide sizing ring.
If you set up your sizing die properly and you load the right size bullet the chances of needing a Lee Pistol FCD are pretty slim. I load some well oversized bullets in different cartridges and have never run into a round that was too fat to chamber.
