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Old February 25, 2012, 01:48 PM   #1
SpudQ2
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blanks cases for live ammo??????

I just bought a 8MM-06 from my neighbor, and a RCBS rock chucker reloading kit. but my Question is the butt load of cases i have had for a vary long time. my father and brother marched in the memorial day parade every year and i got the job of policing all the brass from 5 cemetaries. is it safe to reload them with live rounds????
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Old February 25, 2012, 02:43 PM   #2
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Sorry Spud,

SpudQ2,

Welcome to the forum and thanks for asking our advice.

It is highly unlikely the brass you have is suitable for your 8mm-06. Blank rounds are not intended for the pressures associated with bullet-firing ammunition.

All is not lost, though. The brass may have value as metal, and you can take them to a local recycling center and get cash for them. Look up "Metal Recycling" in your local phone book's yellow pages or do an internet search for local recyclers.

Then use the money to get a copy of "The ABC's of Reloading" and read it before doing anything else.

Good luck.

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Old February 25, 2012, 03:14 PM   #3
SpudQ2
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It looks an mesures the same as my 30-06 brass. it just says c 9 7 7 . for a head stamp. I have read the abc's and found it very informative. and thanks for the welcome.

Last edited by SpudQ2; February 25, 2012 at 04:10 PM.
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Old February 25, 2012, 08:08 PM   #4
briandg
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NO!!!!!!!!

in almost every case, a blank was made from ammunition that failed inspection for live rounds.

Are you willing to take the chance that you happened to get a lot of blanks that were made from perfect brass that was needlessly diverted away from production of ammo to make blanks for no particular reason?

Your flash holes on at least a few of them will probably be off center, this will confirm that they are rejected cases and dangerous.
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Old February 26, 2012, 08:31 AM   #5
m&p45acp10+1
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I am with the camp of when in doubt just purchase some new brass. Yes it may be spendy. It should give you a good case life, and plenty of firings.

Now that said. Read a reloading manual on how to inspect fired brass. The source of the brass before you picked it up is an unknown variable. You do not know if they loaded it from new factory reject brass, or if it was reloaded from previoulsly fired brass.

The variables are if the there is incipient head seperation, or thin spots in the brass, breaden primers, or splits in the case neck. Also run it past a magnet. A lot of times the blanks are made with copper washed steel cases. If it sticks to a magnet trash it.
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Old February 26, 2012, 09:28 AM   #6
Uncle Buck
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SpudQ2 - I was in almost the same boat you were in. I collected the spent blank brass from the M-1A rifles used in ceremonies.

I thought if I ever got in to reloading, I would be ready to go. I was told the brass was great for reloading because it had never been stressed.

Like mentioned by Briandg, there are problems. One of the biggest is that when you get the case neck opened enough to reload, it is either to short, or cracked. The primer holes are there, just not where they belong on most of them.

I ended up taking an ammo can full of brass to the recyclers and using that money to buy virgin brass.
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Old February 26, 2012, 09:34 AM   #7
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I can't recall what a 30 caliber blank looks like, but regarding 5.56 brass, that deep crimp in the necks would leave me with no possible desire to reload it, anyway. that stuff is folded tightly, then ripped open violently, and that may or may not stress the brass to the point of splitting. Not that split necks are terribly hazardous, I guess, but it's a problem in my opinion.
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Old February 26, 2012, 02:37 PM   #8
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Ok. Thank you for the opinions. you are pobly right, so i am going to take them back apart. you may have just saved my life or at leased my eye. so thank you again. now i just ordered new 30-06 cases from midway usa. I do have another question though. my books have diferant load data and online but none say what i want to know. i have IMR 4064 and nosler balistic tip 180 gr could anyone tell me load data for this combo?in a 8mm06
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Old February 26, 2012, 05:43 PM   #9
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Speer #13 shows (for a 170gr SSpitz-SP and IMR 4064 powder)

54.0C 2675 fps maximum load
50.0 2437 fps starting load

This is a lighter bullet, so I would go down a grain on each for the heavier 180gr...sorry I don't have data for the Nosler
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Old February 26, 2012, 06:43 PM   #10
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The Nosler reloading guide 6 only lists AA3100,RL15,IMR4350 and H380 for powders used with the 180 Ballistic Tip Bullets.
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Old February 26, 2012, 08:47 PM   #11
Major Dave (retired)
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I just examined a 30-06 blank..

that was fired at my BIL's funeral by an Air Force Honor Guard, and the neck of the case shows about 10 or 12 "cuts" in the case mouth about half the length of the neck, parallel to the long axis of the case.

If you will examine an unfired military blank you will see that the case mouth, having no seated projectile, is crimped shut tightly enough to prevent the loss of the powder inside it. When it is fired, the crimp is pushed open.

My conclusion is.. if nothing else, the necks cannot support a full load - not even a "starting load" as shown in reloading manuals.
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Old February 26, 2012, 10:38 PM   #12
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There are 2 types of blank cartridges available. One type is as describes in the above post with a crimped elongated neck. The other type has a normal neck with a waxed wad and a roll crimp.

I know this for a fact as I serve with our local American Legion and am on the squad for funerals and load the clips for the rifles. The ones currently are using are the ones with the long crimped neck.

With all of the above said, NO!, blank cases are not meant or intended for reloading with actual bullets. Case walls are not made to take the pressure.
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Old February 27, 2012, 06:12 PM   #13
m&p45acp10+1
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If you are necking up brass to 8mm from 30 caliber new brass is highly recomended. Prefired brass tends to split more when necking up.
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