Can blanks be converted to live rnds?

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Garycw

New member
Recently picked up #250 /38 spl blanks at estate sale. Not sure I have a need to just make noise, but they were cheap. The brass has the primer & powder already. Could the projectiles be easily & economically added? I'm not a reloader, but could find one.
 
The main problem is the creased crimping on the casing mouth makes them useless for reloading and/or converting to projectile firing ammunition.

-Madball
 
NO WAY

Do not attempt anything like that. Do NOT even attempt to reuse the brass after firing the blanks.
Blank powder, in order to make noise and do nothing else, is extremely fast burning and CANNOT be used safely for any other purpose. Especially NOT moving solid projectiles down a barrel. Doing so would likely cause rapid dis-assembly of your firearm, and trigger hand, into more pieces than they were made with. There is also danger to your eyesight, hearing and those around you.
Blanks, even in their intended state and use, are as dangerous as live ammunition and people have been killed misusing them.
My advice is find a bucket, fill it with water, and store your blanks in it.
 
Depending on the mouth closure - crimped in wad, si; rose crimp, no - you might could use the primed case. Maybe just once.

I doubt a commercial reloader would do it for you. I have used rifle blanks as primed brass, but consider it experimental and would not do it for somebody with no experience and no equipment to have done it himself.

NOT THE POWDER. Blank powder is made to give a loud Bang! with little or no restriction. Put a bullet in a blank and it will blow up your gun.
 
Blanks are useful as blanks.

Once fired, they are useful as scrap.



Forget about trying to turn them into anything else, and just make some noise.
 
With further inspection and thought, I'm not absolutely sure these are even "blanks"? They almost appear as "unfinished" reloads? They are not crimped at all and look like they're ready to have lead seated. As they are right now, not sure they would build enough pressure to make much of a bang.
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Just an observation; it would appear the cases are new and were loaded as blanks. Then comes one of those ‘and then’ moments. Someone punched the seal and then dumped the powder. The cases do appear to have been crimped, the crimp is applied last, not first.

I am not desperate for cases. I have internal expanders and slide hammers but; again I am not desperate for cases.

F. Guffey
 
There appears to be powder in all the cases. the packings, stoppers or whatever they're called are in all, but a few are out toward the end. It's like either some had extra powder or more likely not seated down good. I'm not anywhere I can try them right now. They may go Bang or a Pop swoosh!
 
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And then there are artifacts left on the case; artifacts tell the story of what the case was before forming. Thousands of cases sold on EBay were blanks before forming.

F. Guffey
 
There appears to be powder in all the cases. the packing, stoppers or whatever they're called are in all, but a few are out toward the end. It's like either some had extra powder or more likely not seated down good. I'm not anywhere I can try them right now. They may go bang or a Pop swoosh!
Click to expand...

You could be in luck, there is a member wanting to load blanks and has expressed an interest in pistol blanks.

It would appear someone has pushed the wadding down into the case.

F. Guffey
 
F. Guffey said:
You could be in luck, there is a member wanting to load blanks and has expressed an interest in pistol blanks.



It would appear someone has pushed the wadding down into the case.



F. Guffey
Click to expand...


Thanks, that may be a option for me. Although if they do I fact have buckshot , I would or could find a use for all of them ;)
I'll be very Carefully be taking one apart to see what the story is.
 
Update. Pulled one of the plugs and there's powder only. :(
The plugs are in good and would diffidently go bang.
My next question is... Could I add some birdshot then seal with something? I would have a use for shot shells on the farm
 
To use them with shot, you would need to find load data suitable for the job.
Which powder to use, how much of it, what size shot, how much of it, the case prep, necessary wadding, all the usual info required for safe reloading.
You say you have no experience with reloading.
If you find someone to do it for you, make danged sure they are familiar with the process.
Here's a video for making shot shells:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LC4_UZfJZE
Verrry interesting.
But notice the fellow who made the video knows what he is doing and has all the required equipment.
While it's not rocket science, in some ways it is.
 
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Without getting to all the specs and load data, I was thinking of just adding shot and some kind of plug to keep shot from falling out? The issue I see right off is that the ends are already crimped. These would be used in a SW model 10 if I could get shot added to them.
 
It's easy enough to get rid of the crimp.
But are you choosing to ignore the multiple warnings about not using the original powder?
If not, how are you going to decide what to use instead?
And what about the need for a wad?
And on and on.
Reloading is not something to be taken lightly.
But if you're going to forge ahead anyway, someone here will no doubt offer to hold your beer.
 
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