Any downside to pulled GI 5.56 & .30-cal bullets?

[IMtheNRA]

These seem to be a bargain in the age of rising component prices.

Is there a downside to buying and using these pulled bullets?

Do pull marks on the lower grade of these surplus bullets have any effect on accuracy, safety, and reliability?

They would be used as cheap blasting ammo for general AR range fun, but I'd still like to have at least surplus-like plinking accuracy and load safety.

 

[Kimber1911_06238]

sometimes the bullets get slightly deformed during pulling. The degree to which they are deformed will determine whether this degrades accuracy and to what extent.

 

[W.E.G.]

GI bullets, even when pristine, are only manufactured to the requirement standards of that type of ammo. In other words, don't expect match-bullet accuracy from bottom-rung bullets.

At 100 yards, you can reasonably expect about 2-3 MOA accuracy from new GI bullets fired from a new GI M16. If you achieve better than that, chalk one up for good fortune.

 

[Khornet]

I've used 'em both

2 MOA or less isn't hard to get from my DPMS rifle.

Pulled GI M2 ball ('06) bullets are fine for blasting but don't give the greatest accuracy so far in my M1. Still a good affordable way to lay in a store of ammo just in case.

 

[BigG]

I think military accuracy standards are about 3" at 100 meters so if the bullet will do that there is no reason to make it any better.

 

[fatelk]

I've experimented a little with them. I've even had some with pretty bad pull marks. My results are that as long as they are resized, and are not damaged at the base, they shoot fine. In fact, I didn't see any real accuracy difference between pulled and new sulplus.

Just for fun, I loaded and shot some M80 bullets through my 30-06 target rifle. They had significant pull marks, but still stayed well under 2moa, most inside of 1 1/2" at 100 yards. Not that I would shoot them in a target rifle normally, kind of like running regular gas in a race car.

If you buy some that are not resized, invest in a Lee bullet sizer. They are cheap and work great, quick and easy. Trying to use deformed, out-of-round bullets without sizing them first is an exercise in frustration.

 

[USSR]

I'm getting 2MOA 5 shot groups at 100 yards using 144gr CBC pulls out of my FAL. Very pleased!

Don

 

[Navy_Guns]

Yeah, but where are you folks finding 147 grain FMJ surplus these days? Seems like everyone is on indefinite backorder...

 

[trueblue1776]

I pretty curious as to who is shipping pulled bullets to you guys. I know Widners has tracers, but I have no use for those. Lot's of places have them advertised but as far as I know nobody actually has any.