The UK's Finest Independent Forum for Shooters and Gun Owners. Est 2010.

I frequent some auctions primarily (as a dealer) looking for anything that will turn a coin or save me money in my shooting activities.
I sometimes buy batches of ammo - maybe a mixture - of calibres that are out of favour. For example I have a load of Winchester 300 H&H loaded with 180gr silver tips and another load of Sako 264 Win Mag 140gr Soft Points.
The 300 Silver tip bullets will go nicely in my 300 Win Mag or my 30-06. The cases will be sold on eventually to somebody who can use them. The powder I have identified and will also be used in the 300 Win Mag.
I didn't have a use for the 264's until I recently bought a Sako Finnbear (as new in the box) for a very reasonable price (at the same auction house). In researching the 7mm calibre I found I can neck up the 264 cases to 7mm. The bullets can be used in my sporterized small ring Swedish Mauser in 6,5 x 55 and the powder as well a it is equivalent to Viht 160.
So, 400 rounds of useless (to me) ammo suddenly gives me a lot of shooting for very little money and not too much work.
Does anybody else change and adapt ammo to keep costs down?

I will certainly take any 7,62x51 milsurp I can find for the AI as it seems to be very happy with most things I feed it but that is about all as I am only licensed to hold a limited number of cartridges albeit in handy numbers.

I've used a lot of milsurp as basis of 'mexican match' ammo, going as far as refitting the pulled bullets into the fired cases, assembling them into link and selling off as inert machine gun belts. I've even been known to turn a profit on some of the milsurp ammo.

Anybody want a 100 round inert 7.62 machine gun belt? Only £45.

Surely, unless the buyer is an RFD & therefore able to buy in whatever calibers that come up for sale on the auctions, then most FAC holders will be stuck with the calibers listed on the FAC??

I'd also be interested to know how to go about identifying powder from pulled ammo with 100% certainty...100%

You cannot, but you can get a very good estimate from the powder and bullet weights and the make of the ammunition. The Sako ammo (180 rounds) gave me a good quantity of stick powder that will burn similar to Viht 160. Fair enough, when I load it I'll be sensible and work up from Viht 160 starting loads. It works for me, but none of the powder goes anywhere except through my own weapons. You pays your money and takes your choice!!!
No I don't recommend it if you are in the least bit unsure of what you are doing!!!

Ref the RFD comment - read the first line of my post again and don't be so critical.

I buy cheap milsurp ammo for the components.
I bought a consignment of 8mm ammo for £6 a hundred I pulled the bullits poured the powder in to a scale and got a average weight then poured all the powder in to a powder dispenser reduced the average powder charge by 10% then re charged the powder in to new resized and primed brass re seated the bullits and had a whale of a time shooting them down range and tweaking the load back up to its original charge weight.
I ditched the original brass and primers after making it safe. Most old mllitary ammo has corrosive primers that plays havoc with the bore so I am reluctant to shoot milsurp ammo through my old faith fulls.
Nagant ammo is a prime example I would never shoot milsurp 7.62x54 ammo through any of my Nagants the primers are corrosive I all ways dismantle the ammo and throw the cases and primers away after making them safe. I then reduce the load and re make in to new Lapau cases with none corrosive primers re seat the bullit and proced to punch the middle out of the ten ring.

Alpha1 wrote:I buy cheap milsurp ammo for the components.
I bought a consignment of 8mm ammo for £6 a hundred I pulled the bullits poured the powder in to a scale and got a average weight then poured all the powder in to a powder dispenser reduced the average powder charge by 10% then re charged the powder in to new resized and primed brass re seated the bullits and had a whale of a time shooting them down range and tweaking the load back up to its original charge weight.
I ditched the original brass and primers after making it safe. Most old mllitary ammo has corrosive primers that plays havoc with the bore so I am reluctant to shoot milsurp ammo through my old faith fulls.
Nagant ammo is a prime example I would never shoot milsurp 7.62x54 ammo through any of my Nagants the primers are corrosive I all ways dismantle the ammo and throw the cases and primers away after making them safe. I then reduce the load and re make in to new Lapau cases with none corrosive primers re seat the bullit and proced to punch the middle out of the ten ring.

I'm currently disassembling the neck end of 2000 rounds of water damaged 7,62x54R ammo! The powder is a stick type and would approximate to Viht 140 (46gr charge in them), 60% of the bullets are usable, the cases are a mix of steel and brass. Making the primers safe (putting them through a gun and firing them, then soaking them in diesel. The brass can then be weighed in and the steel ones scrapped. The cost at auction was £5 for the lot! I'm substituting work for cost, which I can live with.

dodgyrog wrote: The brass can then be weighed in and the steel ones scrapped.

Save me the steel ones Rog, I could collect them at the phoenix ? probably get a load more bullets from you too

As for stripping ammo, I pull 7.62x39 and replace with a pistol load of red dot powder plus gas checked lead bullet to use on our indoor range.

I forgot to mention before - was the "un-making" of ammunition ever made legal under the terms of the Firearms Act?

I know making it legal to do was proposed by the FCC at one point. (I have a copy of their report as a pdf)

To the best of my knowledge it is still technically illegal

saddler wrote:I forgot to mention before - was the "un-making" of ammunition ever made legal under the terms of the Firearms Act?

I know making it legal to do was proposed by the FCC at one point. (I have a copy of their report as a pdf)

To the best of my knowledge it is still technically illegal

Rubbish!!!
Where do you get these notions from?