Bullet delema

[crooked stripe]

I was given about 1000 rounds of 9mm reloaded bullets that was given to me by a widow friend of my moms. No markings on the boxes as to powder bullets and such. I pulled a few for maybe some clues. I figured I would just pull them and dispose of the powder then start over. Here are the bullets. The bullet second from the right is a factory loaded 115 gr fmj. The other bullets are the ones I pulled for clues. Far left is the whole bullet. Next 2 is a bullet I cut in 1/2. Very soft cutting. Do you think the bullets are copper plated since there is no plating on the bottom? I was hoping to load them with Bullseye and use them instead of trashing them. Comments please. John

 

[rcmodel]

No, they are not plated, or they would have to be plated all over, including the base.

They are conventional cup & core FMJ bullets.

rc

 

[gamestalker]

You can do one of two things with them.

A. Pull all of the bullets, toss the pirmers and powder, and then reuse the brass and bullets for your own recipe.

B. Test fire several from each box to see if the are usable. Very risky business, and especially so since you know nothing about the reloader personally or the powder he used.

My past experiences from using someone elses reloads has never had a positive out come. So if it were me, I wouldn't hesitate to pull all of them, and reuse only the brass and bullets. Just the bullets and brass alone makes for a worthy salvage operation.

GS

 

[moxie]

I wouldn't toss the primers if they appear to be seated correctly. Worst case is they might be magnum, very unlikely, but it doesn't matter much.

 

[crooked stripe]

Since those bullets are fmj and there is no jacket on the bottom showing the lead I will have to keep the speed down, correct? I have no problem pulling the bullets and primers. It is just time involved and I enjoy every step in reloading. I did notice a few bullets had settled down into the cases. Some as much as .078". I do find that odd and I am to new to this to even guess why. I have found 7 out of the 4 boxes I have opened. Settled bullets where 124 gr. jhp in win brass.

 

[ljnowell]

Crooked, you can push FMJs as hard as you want too, within the limits of the cartridge and gun of course.

 

[noylj]

crooked stripe:
Have you read a manual or simply self-taught? These issues should be covered in a good manual.
I must be blind, but I don't see a lead-exposed base of a FMJ or any sign of the copper base plate used in a CMJ bullet. The copper appears thicker than any normal plated bullet.
Thin plated bullets load like lead bullets and should be kept below 1200fps.
FMJ, CMJ, and cast lead can go much faster.
Attached is a picture of a normal FMJ bullet.

 

[Doug b]

That bullet on the left looks like a roll crimp or a Lee factory crimp was used.These may headspace on the extractor if you shoot them,your call but if it were me I'd pull 'em.

 

[crooked stripe]

noylj, Self-taught

not at all. I have 5 different manuals that I reference constantly. I shoot mostly lead and copper coated but have loaded a fair share of fmj's. I never saw a fmj bullet that the lead was not covered at the base. I don't pretend to know it all that is why I ask. I could spend hours researching bullets but why. I figured all the intelligent folks here could answer the question and I could proceed with my project without all that work. I see two charts in the Lyman's #49 manual with cuts of bullets but never got a magnifying glass to scope them out. Sorry I bothered you with the question. You could have ignored the hole thread if it bothered you!

 

[ljnowell]

Crooked, FMJs dont have the base covered, thats what he was trying to convey. What you have seen in the past, if its not a hollowpoint and the full base is covered also, is not a FMJ.

 

[crooked stripe]

All I can go by is what I have read. The second bullet from the right in my picture is made by Ultramax and it is labeled as 9 mm 115 gr. fmj. I bought 5 boxes of them at Fin Feathers and Furs. They where on sale for 14.99 for 50. They have metal jacketing on the base. As I stated I pulled that bullet to see what a fmj was so I could compair the thousand I was given.

 

[Steve C]

The bullets shown are typical FMJ being of 2 types, bare base and complete metal jacket.

Personally I would shoot a couple in a Glock or other gun that can take +p+ ammo and see how they work. May even run them over a chrono to see if they're particularily hot but few hand loaders will push FMJ's since the bullet type is generally loaded for practice ammo where a JHP would be loaded for hunting or SD equivalent. If they shot well then shoot the rest.

If you decided to, you can always pull the bullets and reload them back in the case with a know powder and charge. I'd keep and reuse the case and primer by simply resizing the primed case without the depriming pin the the sizing die. The unknown powder can be spread on the lawn or garden as fertalizer.

 

[James2]

No markings on the boxes as to powder bullets and such.

That's too bad. I don't know about you folks, but I always label all my reloads so I know what is in them. As seen here it may help others too at some point?

Aside from that, I would be a little reluctant to shoot them not know a thing about them or the feller who made them. You can definitely use the components though, except for the powder.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I always put a card inside the box of every reload I make. I need to know what I built after all.

If you are not totally sure of what they are made with and don't have complete confidence in the reloader you should pull them apart and re-use the components other than the powder. IMO there's no reason to discard the primers. I would pull the bullet, charge with your powder and then re-seat the bullet.

 

[blarby]

Those look like ZERO fmj. They have really thin jackets, tis why they are so cheap.

 

[Lost Sheep]

There are lead bullets. No explanation needed.

There are copper plated bullets, which are usually copper plated over their entire surface. Some plated bullets have thicker plating than others. These thicker plated bullets can be safely driven harder than some others. Check with the bullet manufacturers' web sites.

There are copper jacketed bullets, which are constructed by filling a copper cup or shell with lead, usually by swaging under high pressure to squish the soft lead into the harder copper outer. These usually have their base exposed lead. Sometimes they have their nose exposed lead.

There are bullets jacketed with other materials, like copper-nickle and even mild steel.

There are total metal jacket bullets which are visually almost indistinguishable from copper plated bullets.

There are types of bullet construction for every shooting purpose. For one interesting example, go to Nosler's web site and see Nosler's Partition Bullet.

If you cannot determine the bullet construction, pick a loading level that falls within both the cast lead/plated charge and the jacketed charge. But you probably already figured that out.

Lost Sheep

 

[BADUNAME37]

One thing, it appears whoever loaded them went a bit tight on the crimp, as I do not believe that line was an original cannelure, but rather appears to be where he crimped them a bit on the tight side. I would say those bullets did not have a cannelure, much like many that headspace on the case mouth.

I don't know if that changes the way they will shoot or even the way you will need to reload them to overcome that sharp depression now in the pills.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

One thing, it appears whoever loaded them went a bit tight on the crimp, as I do not believe that line was an original cannelure, but rather appears to be where he crimped them a bit on the tight side. I would say those bullets did not have a cannelure, much like many that headspace on the case mouth.

I think you are absolutely correct. That line does not look like a cannelure which is usually knurled, it looks like an overdone crimp that creased the jacket.

I would try to crimp directly on the prior crimp so there is no additional damage done to the bullet.

 

[crooked stripe]

Crimp grove

Those are not crimp groves like I have ever seen. I think you are right about the over crimp. Couple questions though, why would you get a crimp ring on a taper crimp? Not all bullets show that ring. Do they even make a roll crimp die for a 9mm. Second question, no one has addressed the question about the bullets sliding deeper into the case. .078 was the deepest. From the amount of powder coming out of the pulled shells I don't think the bullet settled down to the powder. From my limited experience the powder looks like Bullseye or Win 231. very fine granules.

 

[rcmodel]

no one has addressed the question about the bullets sliding deeper into the case

Apparently, whoever loaded them had insufficient case neck tension to hold the bullets in the case.

SO they tried to fix them with an excessive amount of crimp, which compressed into the bullet jacket.

Since lead is softer then the case or bullet jacket, the lead compressed under the crimp, and stayed compressed.

That made the core loose in the jacket, and did nothing at all to help the case neck tension problem.

rc

 

[crooked stripe]

Thank you all for your great help.