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December 17, 2002, 11:08 AM | #1 |
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To Shoot or not to Shoot....
I was talking to guy I work with recently about guns. I was telling him about my new Ruger GP-100 and I found out he recently sold his S&W 686. He said he has about 1500 rds. of .357 mag ammo left from when he sold the gun. He offered it to me for free.
When I ask him what kind of ammo it is ... he said "reloads". I asked him who reloaded them and he said "a friend of mine...don't worry he knows what he is doing" So here is where I am...a free 1500+ rds. of .357 but can't be assured of proper charge. I was thinking maybe the best thing to do is take the ammo and tear them down....maybe being able to save the cases, primers and bullets. All the cases are Rem. and Win. the bullets are JSP and primers are CCI but not sure of the powder. What would you do? |
December 17, 2002, 11:11 AM | #2 |
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1500 free rounds is tempting, but unless I personally knew the guy that reloaded them and trusted his abilities completely, I'd be leary of shooting them.
I'd probably pull the bullets and re-use the componets. Drawback there is the time involved. Probably be quicker to use a press mounted bullet puller vs a kenitic one.
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December 17, 2002, 12:46 PM | #3 |
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How many of you guys personally know the people at Winchester, Remington, Federal, Norma or any of the emajor manufacturers.
Take a look at the cartridges. If they are boxed nicely, and have a good outward appearance, tell the guy you want to try a few first, and if they work out okay, you'll take them. If they are just thrown in a big old box, and look like hell...well, you know what to say...
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December 17, 2002, 03:42 PM | #4 |
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Major manufacturer=damage to gun backed by warranty/customer service.
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December 17, 2002, 03:50 PM | #5 |
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I agree with Steve. Anyone or any company can make bad ammo. But it is extremely rare to find a double charge in commercial ammo; much more common in handloads although still a very low probability. So I would weigh a few and see if they are within a grain of each other. If not, pass. If so, continue weighing them all (every one), if any are overweight by a grain or more, toss those (or take 'em apart for the bullet and case).
One good thing about this particular case is that you will be using them, if you decide to do so, in one of the strongest guns you can find. 1500 rounds of free ammo is hard to pass up if just a little work can assure you they are usable. |
December 17, 2002, 06:33 PM | #6 |
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Maybe I am silly or something, but I would take the ammo in a heartbeat. Follow along sricciardelli's lines look at the condition of the ammo. If the guy that loaded was a meticulous person you are going to have the load written down, break down a box of them and check the charges. Heck, if you don't trust it break them all down and just tell the guy thanks and that they worked great. I wouldn't think twice grab'em.
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December 17, 2002, 06:45 PM | #7 |
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THREE-FINGERED RESPONSE
In most cases.............
But in 357 Magnum I've seen too much bad mojo. Way too often them loads are just too much, GP100 or not. So be careful, pull one to weigh the bullet and charge, and chrono a few. You know, in case you got a 125g going 1890fps, or a 158g going 1600fps.
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December 17, 2002, 06:50 PM | #8 |
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It takes less time to weigh each one than reload from scratch.
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December 18, 2002, 12:45 AM | #9 |
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The problem with weighing the loaded rounds...
is that the cases are not identical.
In 1500 rounds of ammo, there will be some different headstamps. Also, the case to case variance is going to be on the same magnitude as a dangerous powder difference. See if you can talk to the loader, the one who knows what he is doing. See what loads they are; look at how he speaks and such. Any serious reloader will chew your ear off if you casually mention reloading.
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December 18, 2002, 09:08 AM | #10 |
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"... the cases are not identical" How do you know, Archie? They could be 1500 Starline cases. In which case, he should take them whether he shoots them or not.
WIDEopen, are you still with us? Do the cases have the same headstamp? If not, are there only a few headstamps? That would mean you have to separate by headstamp and then do the weighing process. Simple. Unless they are very light loads, the difference in a double vs a single load should be greater than the differences in the case weights. That's where taking one apart is an essential part of the process. |
December 18, 2002, 10:59 AM | #11 |
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Mal H, as I stated ....all cases are Remington and Winchester.
It sounds like a good idea to weigh a Rem. and Win. assembled, break one of each down and weigh the powder charge. Then go through and weigh every round...comparing it to my baseline. If they are within a few grains im good to go. |
December 18, 2002, 11:50 AM | #12 |
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The only gun ever blown up on our range in 25 years operation was a .357 Magnum being shot with borrowed reloaded ammo. Do be careful.
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December 18, 2002, 09:09 PM | #13 |
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Sorry, WIDEopen, I missed that on the first reading. Having only 2 types does make the process much easier.
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December 18, 2002, 09:34 PM | #14 |
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Like Tim says....chrono a few too.
I say get em, check em and enjoy em. Sam |
December 21, 2002, 02:34 AM | #15 |
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Good suggestions above
A digital scale is very handy for quickly weighing loaded rounds, just to make sure there are no double charges or wierd things like that.
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With top loads & hard cast bullets, a .357 mag, .41 mag, .44 special, .44 mag, .45 Colt, .454 Casull, .475 Linebaugh, .480 Ruger, .500 Linebaugh Maximum, and .500 S&W will all shoot through Bison. To select the gun, determine how big a hole you want to put in the Bison, and how much recoil you can stand |
December 21, 2002, 07:28 PM | #16 |
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WEIGH A FEW OUT OF EACH BOX. PUT YOUR SAFTY GLASSES ON. YOU COULD PUT YOUR GUN IN A VICE AND RUN A STRING THROUGH THE TRIGER
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