Be careful buying ammo and components from private parties.

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Shh! Don't spread that around too much or you'll drive up the last remaining deals on primers.



To each his own.

View attachment 980950

These primers chronograph right alongside the new style flat bottom primers.
The FA Arsenal primers are corrosive, but I like the way they look in re-loaded '06 ammo for my '03 Springfield.
JT
I thought I had some oldies, lol. So far all of mine still go bang.
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You realize that unless those primers are contaminated with oil or urine they will work no matter how old right?

Actually no, I don't. I'm fairly new to reloading and all I know about the shelf life of primers is the conflicting info I've read, a lot of people saying they're good for decades if stored properly, others saying they degrade over time. I haven't been in the game long enough to know from experience. Thanks for pointing it out.
 
As long as there are red flakes in that powder based on what you said about the rest , I personally wouldn't have a problem

I will check. Had to go digging for 9mm cast 124gr bullet data, but if it's right, I might try it. Everything else my mysterious benefactor delivered was excellent. I THINK it was an estate sale thing.
 
I did that a few times for brass nothing else I'm not that trusting with powder.
 
Also, a lot of scam websites going around too. When in doubt, look at the bottom of the website and see when it was established.

The bottom of the site doesn't really give you the CORRECT one, since I can make a site say whatever I want (Basic HTML knowledge, not even coding).

Instead, check the domain name from who.is - it'll tell you when it was registered down to the day.
 
I think of “not shooting another’s hand loaded ammo”every time I take my wife. grand daughter, sons and daughter in laws or friends to the range. The only thing they shoot that I haven’t hand-loaded is 5.56.
Prudence would dictate that I stock only factory Ammo for those outings I suppose.

You bring up an important point, viz. anybody who shoots our handloaded ammo can come back at us if they injure themselves. It doesn't have to be negligently loaded ammo, either. Anybody can sue anybody. Even if they used it improperly and hurt themselves, they (or their parents, whomever) can sue. And in today's climate, they could win.

Like the guy who improperly loaded his old model Ruger single action with all six chambers loaded. Most shooters knew better, but he dropped the gun, shot himself, sued Ruger and won millions. That's why we have a billboard on Ruger barrels, can no longer buy three screw Blackhawks except on the used market, etc.

I'll take my wife or son to the range and we'll mostly shoot my reloads. But anybody else I might take is responsible for their own guns and ammo.
 
Caveat emptor! But I am still loading lead bullets from a deal I made over 20 years ago. I have had good luck with the “Pay it forward” from here. I have donated and traded brass with a few good members here. I would try some old primers if I found them. Old opened powder and someone else’s reloads is where I draw the line.
 
I am sure some of you sharp guys can build a cartridge just as good as a factory

If my reloads were only as good as factory loads I'd quit reloading.
All my reloads are either tailored to a gun or application with tolerances better the factory.
 
Ford8nr, I stand corrected. I've spent enough time at the range to know that many of you guys handload to find the optimum load that performs best in your particular firearm (s). Example: At the range last year, I was shooting next to a guy that works in a local sporting goods store, and he was shooting his handloads, seeking the right load to take with him to an antelope hunt a few states away. He might have tested a half dozen rounds, before saying 'Bingo'. I wished him the best. Several months later, visiting his store, I asked how the hunt went. On his phone he showed me pics of the the trophy Antelope he bagged. I congratulated him on his marksmanship and handloading skills.

When reading the first post in this thread, I thought, well, there's another reason not to trust someone else's hand or reload. Add that to my other reasons (like the warning in the owners booklet of the last gun I purchased (maybe all of them) that the use of such ammo was dangerous and would void the warranty), and in any event, I can afford to buy brand new factory ammo. No insult was intended, and I still think most of you 'Sharp guys' can at least put together ammo as good and safe as factory stuff.

Respectfully,
U
 
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Ford8nr, I stand corrected. I've spent enough time at the range to know that many of you guys handload to find the optimum load that performs best in your particular firearm (s). Example: At the range last year, I was shooting next to a guy that works in a local sporting goods store, and he was shooting his handloads, seeking the right load to take with him to an antelope hunt a few states away. He might have tested a half dozen rounds, before saying 'Bingo'. I wished him the best. Several months later, visiting his store, I asked how the hunt went. On his phone he showed me pics of the the trophy Antelope he bagged. I congratulated him on his marksmanship and handloading skills.

When reading the first post in this thread, I thought, well, there's another reason not to trust someone else's hand or reload. Add that to my other reasons (like the warning in the owners booklet of the last gun I purchased (maybe all of them) that the use of such ammo was dangerous and would void the warranty), and in any event, I can afford to buy brand new factory ammo. No insult was intended, and I still think most of you 'Sharp guys' can at least put together ammo as good and safe as factory stuff.

Respectfully,
Justin

I haven't bought "factory ammo" in nearly 30 years for most of my guns for this very reason, except the 22lr. A couple of my guns are no longer in production, think obsolete antiques. Want to shoot an obsolete gun caliber, welcome to reloading. Want to have the absolute best ammo tailored to a specific gun to insure success as in your example, welcome to reloading. If the nth degree of accuracy isn't on your agenda, then factory ammo is fine but that doesn't mean the factory is infallible.

That said, I'm not buying any opened powder from anybody, even somebody I know. And in this market climate, I'm not giving any money to an opportunist.
 
Well, I don't see any red flakes....
The sticky note says Red Dot but there are no Red Flakes would take me to plan B. For me that means keeping it until July 4th and making a fireball. If you have never done this, start with little bity piles first and work your way up in size until you get the desired effect. I'm betting the sticky note fell off of something else and inadvertently was stuck back on the wrong container.
 
I acquired most of my reloading stuff via an auction estate sale. Guy was a huge reloader and was a super clean and organized individual. I purchased about 25 lbs of different 1 lb containers of powder. About 3/4 of them were sealed/new. The other 1/4 of the powder lot was open. Before I used any of the open containers, I at least would compare it to the other un-opened containers for shape and consistency of the powder. But the guy was so anal and labeled everything. I felt confident that what was on the open containers was what they contained.

I have given some hunting loads to a friend recently because he could not find any at all. Crazy times we are living in for ammo and shooting!
 
Based on the experiences I've had at the range lately, I don't think I'd even let anyone shoot my factory ammo. I definately wouldn't trust anyone on opened powder. I just left a gun show and there were some iffy packages of ammo in zip-lock bags. Range brass, yes. Dime bag of 308 220 grain projectiles with the copper colored bluish, hard pass.
 
Actually no, I don't. I'm fairly new to reloading and all I know about the shelf life of primers is the conflicting info I've read, a lot of people saying they're good for decades if stored properly, others saying they degrade over time. I haven't been in the game long enough to know from experience. Thanks for pointing it out.

Well you learn something new every day, I hope you are able to find primmers. Not to rub it in but I bought 1600 "old" cci small rifle primmers at a local gun show for 90 dollars. I don't like using cci in my progressive but they are better than nothing. Point of the story is I watched people handle them all day Saturday and Sunday and they would not buy, they did however buy 1000 qty new Remington small rifle primer case.

If it makes you feel better to buy "new" then you should, it's your money, your guns, and more importantly your investment of time and if it does not feel right you should not feel pressured to do it.
 
Wait you dont store your primers in your depends?

It's not so much urine that kills as much as ammonia, if you review julian Hatcher's note book or his book on handguns in one edition I believe he talks about faulty 303 ammo the British encountered was due to being stored in a barn previously inhabited by cattle and the ammo became contaminated.

I recommend using quality gi ammo cans for storage to avoid any type of contamination at any point in time.
 
It's not so much urine that kills as much as ammonia, if you review julian Hatcher's note book or his book on handguns in one edition I believe he talks about faulty 303 ammo the British encountered was due to being stored in a barn previously inhabited by cattle and the ammo became contaminated.

I recommend using quality gi ammo cans for storage to avoid any type of contamination at any point in time.
I have a thought about testing some things. Soak a few loaded rounds in different chemicals. Alcohol, different types of oil, ammonia, water, heavily chlorinated water etc.. and testing them in a cheap pistol from a distance away just in case. Might do that when things calm down. And I find a place to test it.
 
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