Shining up .50 cal AP cartridges

[willtill]

Hey ya'll,

I was fortunate enough to procure 600 rounds of Talon .50 Cal AP recently. The brass is 1945's vintage; although there is nothing wrong with it, the brass is rather tarnished. I want to shine it up a little better before chambering it in my M99 Barrett.

These rounds are loaded and primed of course with fresh primer, powder and bullet tips. Steel wool does indeed brighten them up; I have been wanting to chuck them in a drill with a shellholder attached to the base of the round. And give the cartridge some twirls while holding it in a handful of steel wool.

I plan to use the Lee case trimmer chellholder to do this. Of course, since the Lee case trimmer shellholder screws down on the male portion which is chucked into the drill, how safe do you think this is? The primer will be in contact with the male threaded portion of the shellholder; although I do not plan to screw it down hard, I want to have it firmly attached.

In your best professional opinions, would you feel that this is unsafe, or a non-issue?

Kindest Regards,

-Will in Maryland

 

[morcoth]

Never seen the device, but

My first thought is to temporarily glue a washer in the base of the shellholder, just so nothing can touch the primer at all.

glwt

Morcoth

 

[50 Shooter]

They don't need to be shiny to go bang. If there's some dust on them just wipe them off with a rag and you'll be fine.

I would check those rounds really well, I've heard rumors that Talon, knowing they were going under, didn't demil the ammo. This is just rumor control but part of that rumor was from people saying that their barrels looked like they were starting to rust.

 

[willtill]

I think that is just the rumour mill running ungoverned there. I've spot checked the rounds, the AP bullet tips look new, and the primers are new as well. Meaning that those two components aren't corroded. Shells are in good shape as well, just tarnished. And there is a sort of light waxy feel to them, mimicks resizing lubricant to me.

I have also shot a wide array of weaponry and ammunition, both corrosive and non-corrosive. If anyone's barrel has started to rust, it because they didn't clean it properly and/or promptly.

Kindest Regards,

-Will in Maryland