I have a pile or random cartridges (9mm and 380) that were flawed in some way. I'm going to get a better bullet puller and break them down. I'm sure I can re-use the cases if I resize them with the primers in but decapper removed. And I think I can re-use the powder. It's all the same. But can I also re-use the bullets? Or, are they toast since they've already been pressed into cases? I realize I can mic them all after pulling, but what is the best practice in this case?
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Re-using components after pulling bullets 9mm, 380
- Thread starter BondoBob
- Start date
lll Otto lll
New member
I wouldn’t make a habit of accumulating “flawed” ammo. If you make a mistake, correct it then and there....or trash it.
Pull the bullets, burn the powder in an open area, resize the cases, without the decapper, flare them and sort bullets by weight. Find a powder charge that works with each weight and pay attention to your overall length of finished rounds. You may want to seat and crimp in separate steps.
Average Joe
New member
I reuse everything EXCEPT the powder...Who knows what load was in there..
Bob,
Over a century ago, the late Harry Pope observed, "the base steers the bullet". What this means is a bullet that doesn't have to be accurate at long ranges can tolerate a lot of defects in everything except the base. If the base of a bullet is significantly dinged up, poor group size results. But if your bullet's bases are good, and if you will be shooting them at normal handgun ranges, you aren't likely to have any problem re-using the bullets.
In an experiment with this in a rifle at 100 yards, the late Harold Vaughn filed 45° slants across the noses of some 6 mm bullets fired from a specially built one-holer test gun with integral machine rest chambered in 6 PPC. The filed noses opened the 100-yard groups by about half an inch, IIRC. He then tried filing a mere 2° off their flat bases and the groups opened by about 2", again, if I am recalling the numbers correctly.
You can also reuse the powder if, as you said in your post, you know it is indeed all the same. If it is from different lots, though, I would actually blend it to dilute any differences and then work the basic loads back up again just to be sure.
Over a century ago, the late Harry Pope observed, "the base steers the bullet". What this means is a bullet that doesn't have to be accurate at long ranges can tolerate a lot of defects in everything except the base. If the base of a bullet is significantly dinged up, poor group size results. But if your bullet's bases are good, and if you will be shooting them at normal handgun ranges, you aren't likely to have any problem re-using the bullets.
In an experiment with this in a rifle at 100 yards, the late Harold Vaughn filed 45° slants across the noses of some 6 mm bullets fired from a specially built one-holer test gun with integral machine rest chambered in 6 PPC. The filed noses opened the 100-yard groups by about half an inch, IIRC. He then tried filing a mere 2° off their flat bases and the groups opened by about 2", again, if I am recalling the numbers correctly.
You can also reuse the powder if, as you said in your post, you know it is indeed all the same. If it is from different lots, though, I would actually blend it to dilute any differences and then work the basic loads back up again just to be sure.