How many of you guys use bullet sealer?

[spitballer]

Some months ago I started using bullet sealer fairly regularly out of concern for the hygroscopic properties of rifle propellant. Couldn't hurt, right? But is it worth the trouble to use regularly?

I try to thin it as much as possible to avoid fouling, but even so, I've found that I can remove a certain amount with the lacquer thinner after a day at the range.

As a practical matter, I suspect that moisture is actually more likely to be absorbed through the primer pocket than it is through the bullet joint if it has a proper .001" press fit. Therefore I'm likely to at least seal the primers. But what of the bullet joints?

Anyone have any input here?

 

[rcmodel]

Never sealed a primer or a bullet in 50+ years of reloading.
And never ever had a problem.

IMO: It is a total waste of time & money, unless you are a Navy S.E.A.L. and spend a lot of time swimming under water.

Or you store your ammo in the back yard on the picnic table.

rc

 

[Sam1911]

Never considered it. I've got ammo I loaded in the '90s that seems to shoot just as well. (And others can beat that by decades.)

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I have never considered doing so either.

After all, we are not loading Black Powder.

 

[jwrowland77]

Waste of time. No need to as long as everything is done proper and you're not planning on going swimming with a pocket full of ammo.

Never even considered doing this.

 

[plmitch]

Never seen the need to.

 

[moxie]

Don't think rifle propellant, smokeless powder, is actually hygroscopic. If it were, it wouldn't last very long stored the way most of us store it. That is, in the proverbial cool, dark, dry, place in the original container. But the containers aren't especially airtight. Yet few report problems with powder related to moisture, even after a jug has had the original seal broken for years. No, if it were hygroscopic we'd be using small batches only, forget the 4-8 lb. kegs. We'd have very airtight, hermetically sealed, containers and we'd be using dessicant galore. Plus barrier bags, vacuumed, and heat sealed. Sealing bullets and primers? Overkill.

 

[gamestalker]

I actually tried it way back when I had just started reloading, once.

GS

 

[ReloaderFred]

I live on the Oregon coast, where we once in awhile have a little humidity...... I've never sealed a bullet or primer, and every round goes bang. I had one box of a couple hundred .30 Carbine rounds that sat in about 3" of water overnight, so I gave them to a friend who said he'd shoot them, rather than me pull the bullets. He reported exactly 3 rounds that didn't go off out of the 200+ rounds.

Like posted above, unless you're a dedicated beach assaulter, there's no need to waterproof them anymore than the friction fit of normal reloading provides.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[BruceB]

On a number of occasions over the last 45 years or so, a few of my handloads have made inadvertent trips through full cycles in the washing machine...usually in jeans pockets or similar places.

Being of a curious nature, I naturally tested all these rounds (maybe a dozen or so, over the years).

EVERY SINGLE ONE fired normally; some were loaded with cast bullets, some with commercial jacketed bullets.

I use modeling enamels to color-code primers for load identification, but the sealing effect is purely incidental and NOT REQUIRED.

 

[Swampman]

@ spitballer
If, as many others here seem to believe, sealing ammunition is a waste of time, effort and materials, why is virtually all modern military small arms ammunition sealed? Good quality defensive ammo also usually comes with a sealant as does virtually all ammunition manufactured for hunting waterfowl.

I don't seal much of the ammunition I load, but for certain critical applications, I think it's worth it.

Incidentally, while I use a "nail polish" type sealer made of acetone and old IMR 4895 to seal primers, I've had better luck sealing case mouths with liquid Alox. Just paint a band on your bullets, let dry, then load as you normally would. After crimping remove any excess Alox with acetone or carb cleaner (wear chemical resistant gloves).

I haven't noticed any negative results from sealing ammunition this way and the results I've gotten are considerably better than the 3% leakage rate considered acceptable by the US military.

Also, as others have already said, modern smokeless powder isn't hygroscopic. If it were, every time you opened the can and allowed moist air inside, your powder would get heavier. As I stated above, the sealer I use is actually MADE of IMR 4895 dissolved in acetone. Once the acetone evaporates, you're left with a layer of pure dissolved powder that's essentially nail polish without the coloring. It is very much waterproof.

Unless you want to make your ammo reliable after prolonged immersion in water, sealing probably isn't necessary. Certainly not to protect powder from humidity.

 

[788Ham]

^^^^^ Still a waste of time and energy, JMHO.

 

[rcmodel]

why is virtually all modern military small arms ammunition sealed?

How many reloaders might have to spend six hours, days, weeks, or months living in a water-filled fox-hole up to their crotch in the rain?

Rc

 

[1SOW]

RCModel +1!

I've dropped 9mm cartridges in my pond, been rained on drpopped in mud at a match, and re-stored etc and never had one FTF normally.

 

[spitballer]

Thanks, guys. I'm inclined to agree that smokeless powder isn't hygroscopic enough to warrant a bullet sealer under normal conditions, although I might continue to use it on the primers. Thanks to swampman for thoroughness. - TH