WWII 30-06 military brass ok to reload?

[Catpop]

I have 500 or so WWII 30-06 cases that look pretty good. Are they safe to reload? I've heard they were loaded with corrosive primers. I've also heard something about the danger of corrosive primers causing brass brittleness. Any help here?

 

[rcmodel]

Safe if they are not corroded.

Corrosive primers had no effect on brass.
It caused barrels to rust if not cleaned properly..

Even older still mercuric primers used prior to WWI are what you probably heard about.

The mercury residue amalgamated with the zinc in the brass and caused it to crack.

rc

 

[medalguy]

Correct. I reload WWII brass all the time. Once the crimped primer has been removed and the primer pocket swaged, it's good for probably 8 midrange reloads.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I would say you were lucky to come across 500 pieces of 30-06 brass. Load them up and have some fun...

 

[45lcshooter]

I have pounds and pounds of WWII brass, its a lot easier to work with than this new stuff.

I believe the brass back then was harder than it is today. I took 2 pieces of military brass put them in a tube just slightly larger diameter then the case and dropped the case from 10ft. The newer caseing dented the neck like someone stepped on it. But the WWII one was fine. Didn't do much science behind it. But I do then the brass was harder back then.

If your worried about being brittle, try annealing the brass. It will strengthened the walls, neck and shoulder.