9mm bullets

[Gullwing]

Have a large amount of dodgy 9mm military ammo that I am taking apart. I notice that some of the jkt heads dont drop free from the bullet puller as most do seemingly due to a slightly larger diameter. Can these oversize heads go through a Lyman 450 sizer, or is it restricted to lead only.Didnt want to try it first before asking in case I damaged the 450. Any replies appreciated.

 

[CZ9shooter]

How big are they?? Did you measure them with a caliper?

 

[Gullwing]

Apparently this 9mm ammo was made for the Egyptian Army some 15yrs ago.Im having to dump the powder & the cases as they are Berdan primed,& as the primers are still mainly live, but very unpredictable, I cant sell them for scrap,& to sit out in the yard pulling the trigger on a P38 just to fire them off by the thousands would take the next 6 months. Or by using a water filled decapper,The powder is also suspect, I think it had been stored for to long in the Sun.Measuring the diameter of the head shows very little difference in sizes,just the odd 10% of every 6/700 or so.The heads themselves are of a lead interior with a thickish copper jkt.I was hoping to salvage them all,as I would weigh them and bag them in 100s of near equal weight for future use,its just Id have liked to have them all sized the same as near as possible if safe to do so in the 450 sizer ?

 

[rcmodel]

I don't think you will be able to do it in a 450.

I think I tried something like that years ago with some over-size plated bullets?
And it took a lot more force then sizing & lubing a lead bullet.
More force then I was willing to subject my Lubrisizer too anyway.

You could try it, but be sure and use case lube on the bullet jackets or you will get brass galled to the sizing die.

The other thing is, even if you can do it?
The jacket has more spring back then the soft lead core.
And you will likely end up loosening the jackets on the cores.

rc

 

[GLOOB]

And you will likely end up loosening the jackets on the cores.

If the bullets are oversized, then this will happen in the bore, anyway.

If they chamber, I wouldn't worry about them. Leave 'em alone, and sell them as is. With a description of the diameter range of the bullets. I'd shoot 'em.

 

[Reefinmike]

If you have a lubrisizer, you have a bullet mold, right? slip a piece of pvc over your press ram, pull em with a set of cutters and cast fresh bullets. as for the cases- I'd encase them all in a wood box(or several layers of cardboard), build up a nice fire, chuck the box in, sit back(a distance) and enjoy the show.

 

[gamestalker]

I don't intend to nit pick here, but please refer to bullets, as bullets, they're not referred to as heads. In fact, if you were to try and order bullets, or walk into a LGS looking for some, and refer to them as heads, you might get some strange looks. and an online search wouldn't likely come up with much either.

As far as the primer are concerned, those should be fine. If your concerned about using the loaded ammunition for some reason, just pull the bullets, dump the powder, then resize the brass to return the necks back to spec.. This is easily accomplished without having to decap them, just remove the decapping assembly, then run them through the sizing die. Then just charge the cases, and seat your pulled bullets.

GS

 

[ReloaderFred]

It sounds like you've got several thousand of these to work with. For those numbers, I'd just buy the Lee push through sizer and spray the bullets with case lube and shove them through the .356" diameter sizing die. You can tumble them afterwards to remove the lube.

If they're like a lot of military ammunition, do they have a tar sealing the bullet in the case? If so, you can soak them in Simple Green to remove the tar, and then size as needed.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[Twiki357]

As long as you’re not using them for self-defense, why not just shoot them “as is”? 15 years is not that old for military ammo.

 

[gamestalker]

^^^ this.

GS

 

[Gullwing]

As I said before,most of the Berdan primers misfire, & on about 10% of them when taken apart show the powder to be in a solid cake,& the few that did function near to correct shot all over the place, thats why Im having to take them apart Sorry if the words heads are offputting, but the suppliers in Europe of this ammo called them that,& they are a mega company over there.

 

[Walkalong]

Clean up a few and measure them. Many 9MM bores are over .355. As posted, if they will chamber freely, they are usable. If you are going to sell them, you will need to provide accurate diameters so the buyer will know what they are getting.

You aren't the first one to call them "heads" here at THR, and most will know what you mean, but yes, here we generally refer to them as bullets.

 

[Dudedog]

Maybe run them thru a Lee Factory Crimp die as is and try shooting them???


Don't know if the old possibly bad powder would be safe or not. I have no experience with old powder.

Running them thru the FCD should allow the,m to all chamber without haveing to pull bullets.