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Old April 13, 2006, 05:37 PM   #1
brasszz
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Shooting Blanks?

Is it possible to take a fired blank and trim it to length and reload it in to a live round? Has anybody ever tried this or is it possible?
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Old April 13, 2006, 06:40 PM   #2
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If the brass isn't specially made for blanks and is no thinner than standard brass it may work. If the original crimp was a rolled crimp over a wad, or if it was a fluted crimp, but the crimped portion is cut off completely, it may be OK. Again, this depends on the case head and primer and all the other bits and pieces being no different than a standard case. And you need to be sure they aren't.

The real question is, why go to all that trouble? Unless it is an odd caliber, you can probably just collect range foundlings for free and have no question about their usability.

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Old April 13, 2006, 06:44 PM   #3
Edward429451
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I have a supply of 30/06 blanks that I (deactivate) trim down & reform into shotshells for the 45acp. They look just like the CCI ones but brass instead of aluminum.

I tried to trim some down to /06 or .308 length and had problems with them. I forget if they were too short or too thick, its been awhile but they work great for the shotshells.
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Old April 13, 2006, 08:19 PM   #4
Leftoverdj
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I heard somewhere long ago that military blanks are made from lots that did not meet specs for ammunition. Just the rumor is enough to keep me from trying the conversion.
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Old April 13, 2006, 10:57 PM   #5
hoghunting
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Not a good idea. Blanks are not made to withstand the pressure of a full load, they are loaded to made noise. The brass might not withstand the pressure and your face will be on the receiving end of that mistake.
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Old April 14, 2006, 11:31 AM   #6
Edward429451
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Those are good points that I had not thought of or heard about. Luckily, the 45acp is a whole heck of a lot less pressure than the /06, and the shotloads are well on the light weight side so I have had success with the particular application that I've used them for.

My guess is that my shotshell brass is still a whole lot better than the CCI aluminum stuff and reloadable to boot. Maybe I'll just section a couple for S&G's and compare with some 45acp brass.

Good question and responses.
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Old April 14, 2006, 10:19 PM   #7
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Assuming the neck thickness and trim length can be verified to be the same, then simply weighing the brass will tell whether the thickness is identical? Heavy and it's thicker, light and it's thinner. The 30-06 brass still has to extract properly from the gun, so I think it is safe to assume that brass is no softer. Given the same forming process, unless it were differently formulated, its work-hardened characteristics should match. It is possible to prove it with an impact test. I'll have to think about whether there is a simple way to do that at home? Probably so.

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Old April 14, 2006, 10:50 PM   #8
hoghunting
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Most brass used for blanks is not heat treated to withstand the pressures of a loaded cartridge. The weight will be the same, but its strenght will not.

I would not use blanks to load cartridges, but as I said before, it is your face that is behind the bolt so do as you wish.
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Old April 15, 2006, 01:21 AM   #9
44 AMP
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.308 blank

I had always heard the story about blanks being made from sub-standard brass, so one time, I sectioned some .308 blanks (the kind with the long nose). I found the brass THICKER in the shoulder/neck area, and normal at the head/web.

Still, I would NOT use blanks for cases, unless there were no cases available. And then, I would proceed VERY carefully. And I would anneal the cases as part of the conversion process.
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