Deconstructing Someone Else's Loads

Tim

Tim

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I was gifted 140 rifle (6.5CM) reloads this weekend. Let's just say I don't particularly trust the person who loaded them (my mom's husband), so I'm going to deconstruct.

I've reloaded precision rifle for years, so I'm not asking how to reload. I've just not dealt with pulling loaded cases before.

1. Is there a better option to pull bullets without damaging?
The bullets are Lapua, so I don't want to damage them if possible. I have this tool in my kit: https://grip-n-pull.com/
I've pulled a couple and don't see any issues with galling the jacket or any other deformity. Seems like I'm ok here.

2. Resizing/Trimming Primed Cases
None of these loaded rounds fit in a Wilson Chamber Gauge, the base is 'proud' when inserted in the gauge. Any concerns with running a primed case through the sizing die (depriming pin removed of course) and possibly trimming to length?
 
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I’ve been deconstructing 9mm loaded brass. When reloading, I also size the brass with the decap pin removed.

If I don’t, I find the brass is slightly “proud” the chamber reliably in tighter chambers. (I like that word so I’m stealing it here!).

I haven’t had any issues since starting to resize with either feeding or anything else.
 
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I don't have any experience with the grip-n-pull, but I do use a collet bullet puller from RCBS, that works very well with rifle bullets.

No problem resizing with the decapping pin removed. As far as trimming, you won't be able to use the Lee trimmer that uses the pin through the primer hole, but any lathe-type trimmer, or one that references the shoulder, should work fine.
 
Tim said:
Any concerns with running a primed case through the sizing die (depriming pin removed of course)
Click to expand...
possibly... depends on what kind of dies you're using. can you remove just the pin and keep the mandrel?

I did this with a bunch of 308 cases and I had to carefully push out the live primers while sizing. ~250 cases, not one popped and they all re-seated just fine.
 
Catfish said:
possibly... depends on what kind of dies you're using. can you remove just the pin and keep the mandrel?
Click to expand...
hmm....Hornady Custom dies. I don't recall how they're constructed. Will check out this evening.
 
If you don’t trust the construction, resize and pop the primer. He may have not seated them properly.

Use an inertia hammer, it will cause no damage to the bullet.
 
Tim said:
Let's just say I don't particularly trust the person who loaded them (my mom's husband), so I'm going to deconstruct.
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Not really the question you asked, but the first thing that came to mind is do you KNOW what powder was used? Are you certain of it and are you certain it wasn't mixed?
 
I learned the lesson I thought I knew about shooting reloads from other people. A trashed barrel from a Colt Commander sits on my bench to remind me of that mistake every time I sit down to load. I have gotten quite a few reloads from a variety of sources and have always treat them all the same except for that one time. I salvage the case and bullet if possible and ditch all burnable components. I even ditch primers and powder if I tear down some of my old reloads. I know primers and powder are in short supply at this moment, but I do not trust reused primers and powder.

I would pull the bullets, resize the case, and reload the cases with the old bullets but with new primers and powder.
 
noway2 said:
Not really the question you asked, but the first thing that came to mind is do you KNOW what powder was used? Are you certain of it and are you certain it wasn't mixed?
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I have no intention of reusing the powder. Mostly I'm after the bullet and, if feasible, the primers.
 
Tim said:
2. Resizing/Trimming Primed Cases
None of these loaded rounds fit in a Wilson Chamber Gauge, the base is 'proud' when inserted in the gauge. Any concerns with running a primed case through the sizing die (depriming pin removed of course) and possibly trimming to length?
Click to expand...

Shouldn’t have any problems at all....I’ve done the same thing with no issues.

If you intend to use the primers, go with a case lube that will not contaminate primers/powder.
 
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Use a universal depriming die to pull the primers. You can feel the contact with the primer better because you don't have any other resistance and you don't need lube. Then you can blueprint the cases, size, trim, load as usual.

I had a large batch of loaded rounds and primed cases. Trying to use them was inconsistent, some worked some didn't. Measuring them and checking them with a chamber guage showed variances. With that gun, if the case sat proud at all, it was a no-go. Instead to trying to sort through them all, I said screw it and pulled and deprimed every one of them. Then resized and re-trimmed the whole batch. Now, all the cases were uniform. All the primers came out easy with a universal die.
 
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georgel said:
Use a universal depriming die to pull the primers. You can feel the contact with the primer better because you don't have any other resistance and you don't need lube. Then you can blueprint the cases, size, trim, load as usual.
Click to expand...
Never heard it referred to that way, but that is essentially what you should do.
 
Toprudder said:
Never heard it referred to that way, but that is essentially what you should do.
Click to expand...
As I was writing, I thought about the old term as used in engine rebuilding. Don't know if they still say that or not. But yeah, bringing everything to original design specifications. Normally, I would do that for maximum accuracy. But, here I was just after consistent reliability, because the chamber was cut tight.
 
Tim, I don’t know why primers don’t detonate when you decap, but I’ve never had one do it. I've pushed out hundreds, but not thousands. Have used a press and a FA hand deprimer. I suggest pulling the bullets, tossing the powder, saving the primers for practice (do you know if they are standard or magnum?), and treat the brass as pickup.
 
JimB said:
Tim, I don’t know why primers don’t detonate when you decap, but I’ve never had one do it. I've pushed out hundreds, but not thousands. Have used a press and a FA hand deprimer. I suggest pulling the bullets, tossing the powder, saving the primers for practice (do you know if they are standard or magnum?), and treat the brass as pickup.
Click to expand...
They’re Federal GMM primers and aee properly seated.

I pulled the bullets and resized the brass - with the primers in - this afternoon. Plan is to use my typical load with ~15 cases to check for pressure/velocity and go from there.
 
I pulled a few 454 loads with Remington 7 1/2 primers recently. I reloaded six of them and marked those primers so I could keep them separate. Of the six one failed to fire. It did fire on the second strike. Never had a failure to fire with a 7 1/2 in any of my guns before. Could be coincidence but I would still mark them to identify them if there is a problem. For the record, these were removed with a very light application of a Lee universal decapping die.

You know these are tough times when you see a primer on the floor and get down on your hands and knees to see whether it is a spent primer or a new one.
 
2x or 3 or 4 or whatever on the RCBS collet puller.
Just pulled 300 ELD-M's. Easy to get a good rhythm doing it.
As far as trimming if needed, 2x or 3 on the Little Crow or Worlds Fastest Trimmer that indexes off the shoulder. Chuck it up in the drill press and go. tap the shavings out of the cartridge if needed and you're gtg.
I'd pull a few, and see how the empties chamber in your rifle. If the bolt closes without issue, reload and run 'em.
 
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