Hunting Washington Forum

Equipment & Gear => Guns and Ammo => Topic started by: chrisb on February 03, 2010, 07:22:08 PM

Title: reloaded ammo question
Post by: chrisb on February 03, 2010, 07:22:08 PM: I have some hand-load/reload .223 ammo that came with a bolt action rifle i once owned. I don't have the gun any more but woudl like to use the ammo in my AR. The problem is the bullets are seated kinda high in the casing and won't fit in the mag. Is it possible to just have the bullets "pushed in" further or would they need taken apart and redone? I don't reload nor do i have the equipment to do this so is there a "safe" way to do this with reg tools around the house like a vise?
Title: Re: reloaded ammo question
Post by: Skycruiser on February 03, 2010, 07:58:02 PM: I'm sure it's possible to come up with a way to do this safely, but I'm not sure that it's worth the trouble. I'd suggest shooting them single-shot or with one in the chamber and a second one in the top of the magazine.
Title: Re: reloaded ammo question
Post by: .Forty_One on February 03, 2010, 08:03:18 PM: Changing the seating depth also changes the pressure. So those loads that were fine in your bolt rifle may not be in your AR, and now you'd have to reduce the effective case capacity without changing the charge to make them feed?
I'd also be leery about port pressure curves damaging the feed mechanism.
So I just wouldn't shoot em...
Title: Re: reloaded ammo question
Post by: high country on February 03, 2010, 08:07:43 PM: I have never loaded anything so close to the ragged edge that the seating depth could not be changed.......well not since my lee loader back in high school.....lol. I would just run them through the seater die
Title: Re: reloaded ammo question
Post by: YellowDog on February 03, 2010, 08:13:11 PM: Quote from: high country on February 03, 2010, 08:07:43 PM
I have never loaded anything so close to the ragged edge that the seating depth could not be changed.......well not since my lee loader back in high school.....lol. I would just run them through the seater die
That's what I would think you could do without incident. I'm not the big reloader in the family, dad load's thousands of rounds a year.
Title: Re: reloaded ammo question
Post by: bonecrusher on February 03, 2010, 08:17:39 PM: what ever you do make sure its worth the risk. you didn't load them so you have no idea the charge/pressure of those loads. is it worth a couple bucks saved? if you've got a buddy that reloads id pull um and reload um. you also have no idea what powder is in there and how close to max load it is.
Title: Re: reloaded ammo question
Post by: Huntbear on February 03, 2010, 08:18:00 PM: pull the bullets, and reload em to specs for your AR. Much much safer.
Title: Re: reloaded ammo question
Post by: jaredpost on February 03, 2010, 09:31:17 PM: Quote from: Huntbear on February 03, 2010, 08:18:00 PM
pull the bullets, and reload em to specs for your AR. Much much safer.
:yeah:
I never shoot reloads from someone I don't know. If you bought the gun from someone and they gave you the loads I wouldn't use them, especially in a different gun than there were origonally loaded for.
Title: Re: reloaded ammo question
Post by: bonecrusher on February 03, 2010, 09:36:18 PM: another thing is those cases may only be neck sized for a bolt action as apposed to full length size that you want for a AR
Title: Re: reloaded ammo question
Post by: JackOfAllTrades on February 03, 2010, 11:20:04 PM: NEVER EVER SHOOT SOMEONE ELSES RELOADS THAT YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT CONCERNING THE LOAD CHARACTERISTICS!

AM I YELLING? YES!

That said, if they won't cycle in your auto loader, then they aren't loaded to spec. That should tell you something right there. Sure, they fed fine in your bolt gun, because they were loaded specificially for that action/chamber. You don't even know if they're warm loads. The thought of seating them deeper -even with proper equipment makes me want to nominate you for the Darwin awards. Doing it without proper equipment, well... duh!

Sorry.. As a person that's been reloading for more than 25 years, I've seen some serious mishaps on the firing line. It is good for you to ask questions. But please think about what you're asking. I think you can answer your own questions by using some common sense.

-Steve
Title: Re: reloaded ammo question
Post by: Buckmark on February 03, 2010, 11:24:49 PM: Did he say vice, as in put them in a vice and try to seat the bullet by clamping it together i am assuming.
Thanks for asking first.. :bdid:
Title: Re: reloaded ammo question
Post by: carpsniperg2 on February 03, 2010, 11:54:49 PM: i would not do it myself have the bullets pulled and start fresh with new stuff you know.
Title: Re: reloaded ammo question
Post by: chrisb on February 04, 2010, 07:54:47 AM: So i have shot these bullets before from my AR I just have to load one at a time. Never had issues with them other than not being able to fit more than one into a mag. This is all really good info though and i appreciate it guys.

Anybody interested in these rounds? I don't have the equipment to re-do them right myself and i'd rather not risk doing a hack job. PM me if you are.