For Saxonpig: Re. reusing power from factory ammo

luger01

Saxonpig,This is in response to your question in the "Experts" forum (this is a better place for the discussion anyway), "what is wrong with pulling bullets adn reducing the powder charge in too hot factory ammo". The problem is:You don't know what the powder is, or the primer. Factories do not use the same power you can buy, so you have no safe reloading information about the powder. You don't know what the safe minimum charge is, or the maximum. You know nothing about the burn rate or pressure curve. So, by trying to reuse the powder, you are actually flying blind.While taking 1 grain out of a case may work, it may also put the load below minimum, and cause problems. Also, can you be certain you know what weight powder was in the original ammo? Are you sure you didn't spill any, or none is caught in the primer pocket? I admit that if you were very careful and weighed several rouds before and after seperating the components, you probably could develop a safe round, but how much time will that take?Finally, is a few cents worth of powder (and your time) worth the risk? I mean the original person who started the thread was talking about .38 +P vs. .38 special std. velocity ammo. .38 ammo is cheap in the first place. Powder charges are small compared to case volume, and the chance of creating squib loads is high. No amature handloader (those of us without pressure test barrels, pressure measuring equipment, and a huge knowledge base to work from) should ever try to make loads with unknown components. That is beyond stupid.Lastly, in my opinion, going through all of that when he could simply trade the ammo to someone who wanted +P was super dumb. Plus, the way the the post was written (before his edits) strongly suggested that he knew little about guns and ammo, so that's why I worded my response strongly. It didn't matter if he was somewhat offended, as long as he realized that what he suggested should in no way be attempted. If you see a blind person walking out to the middle of a busy freeway, you don't casually say "dear chap, you might want to reconsider your direction" - you yell "STOP, YOU'RE GOING TO BE KILLED!" I figure it's more important to save a life than an ego.Hope this explains what I said in the other forum.Best,Luger

luger01

SP-Differing opinions are good. They create valuable discussions. I know that I am very conservative in reloading practices, but I suspect that any powder/ammo companies would back me on the, 'don't change factory ammo' stuff.Yes, a squib is a round w/o powder, but a too small charge can leave the bullet in the barrel, too.While ammo companies and gun writers have not been able to re-create the "small charge explosion theory", and all credibel evidence points to double charges being the culprit, tests have shown that powder position in am small charge/large case situation does make a huge difference in pressure and velocity. Trading ammo at a gun shop is almost universally impossible, but at a gun show or at the range with friends it's easy. That's how I disposed of several hundred rounds of factory .32 ACP that I had no use for. I traded 2 for 1, for .45 ammo. Sure I didn't get the retail value, but I'm not that tight with money among friends anyway, and I got something I wanted in return.Bottom line is, why take unnecessary risks? Even if you're willing to risk your body, don't put others nearby at risk. Guess I'm just too old now and realize that the many dumb things I've done when younger all could have gone wrong and hurt others, so my advice is to throw awar the few grains of factory powder and make new handloads that you know the specs on.Good shooting my friend!