.30-06 M2 AP question

[Longshaor]

I have a small quantity of these rounds headstamped from a variety of manufacturers and dates ranging from 1945 to 1972. How do I go about pulling the AP heads safely? I've got a impact puller, but I'm not sure if that's safe to use as there's a warning about not using on rounds where bullet sealant has been used. Any advice would be most wecome!

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[browningautorifle]

You could touch them with a seat die to break the seal then pull with the quinetic puller. Buying the other type to work in the press would be easier. There won't be any danger in using the puller you have though. I've done it lots.

[Longshaor]

THanks!

[Longshaor]

OK, Part II:

As I'm pulling these heads, the stick powder seems to be in excellent condition, can it/should it be reused?

Thanks in advance!

[browningautorifle]

If you don't know EXACTLY what powder it is, you should never re-use it.

[vintage hunter]

I agree with Jim. And another thing to consider, since theres an almost 30 year spread in mfg dates and no one knows for sure and certain what conditions the ammo has been stored in all these years theres a good chance the propellant had degraded. To check for this pour a charge on a piece of clean white paper or the palm of your hand and look for a dusty residue. If present it indicates the retardant coating on the granules that causes the propellant to burn at a controlled progressive rate is coming off and should'nt be used. It and can/will cause big troubles, things like blown primers, ruptured cases and the odd catastrophic failure. None of which is good for the rifle or shooter. I had this to happen once with commercial ammo from the 60's, it wrecked a perfectly good Remington 700 and came close to ruining my right eye. Experiences like this are rare but they do happen. The only down side to this is in order to be absolutely sure you'd have to check each charge. Could be time consuming depending on the number of cartridges you have and thus not worth the effort. If in doubt, throw it out.

[browningautorifle]

Even though the bullets weigh about 165 grains(I think) I wouldn't go seating another bullet over the charge. Specificly citing the reasons from Vintage Hunter, the ammo has been stored in questionable conditions for years, and we can't say how the powder will react. Or the primers may already be shabby...

[musketshooter]

There is no reason not to use the powder if you are moving it case-to-case.

[Kirk]

You can use any type bullet puller with the M2 AP ammo - the bullet is inert so nothing will go bang or burn. Since you have small quantities of mixed lots of ammo, I'd discard the powder. If it was all one lot, I'd inspect it and if it is OK, reuse it with the same cases/primers and same weight bullets, I'd and work up from 90% of the average powder charge toward the average weight and stop when accuracy was best.

[browningautorifle]

quote=Kirk;206957]You can use any type bullet puller with the M2 AP ammo - the bullet is inert so nothing will go bang or burn.[/quote]

He was only worried about a warning that bullets with sealant were hard to pull. Not burn.

There is no reason not to use the powder if you are moving it case-to-case.

Think about it, unknown powder of uncertain age and stability. An accident waiting to happen.