Can you reload a steel cased 7.62x39 with a different bullet?

[pjj342 632]

Is there anything stopping anyone from pulling the bullet out of say, a 7.62x39 tula 122fmj, then reseating a more advanced bullet, while using the same powder. Would there be a crimp involved or anything else to worry about. Also, in doing this, could you save money, as US made x39rds are almost 3-4 times as much as the russian stuff.

 

I am a complete newb to reloading, and I dont really think it would be practical for this caliber. I was just wondering if putting a better bullet in my cheap steel cases was possible, and if so, more economical. Any opinions would help.

[Nailbomb 10,221]

Indyarms reloads... he would be the one I would recomend asking.

[Shandlanos 1,470]

It's technically feasible, sure, but there are a few things to watch out for. Steel cases will wear out your dies faster than brass - I would not attempt with anything but carbide dies. I would also recommend not reusing the powder. Everything I've read says the Russian powder is crap, and using a more advanced (I'm assuming you mean one intended to be more accurate) bullet might be defeated by using crappy powder. It also might be difficult to find appropriate load data for the Russian powder if you are using a bullet of a different weight. I assume you'll be hand-pulling the bullets using one of those plastic tools Cabela's sells - this will keep the projectiles undamaged, therefore sellable or reloadable later, but dumps the powder all over the inside of the tool.

[Heath_h49008 442]

It's been done... Google search "Mexican-match" ammo. The steel cases are the real issue, tearing up dies, and not responding well to being worked.

 

Finding some decent brass might be better, but if you really had to try to get consistency out of cheap ammo, pulling the bullets, sorting/replacing them with better, and either using better powder or blending everything you pulled and reloading it with more attention to weight can be done.

 

You are doing one hell of a lot of work, and buying quite a bit of equipment and supplies for very little gain. But if it was after the "Apocalypse", and you had nothing but carbide dies and time on your hands, you could disassemble cheap surplus ammo and sort the rounds by condition and weight, and knock out more consistent versions of the same rounds you had before you started. You would have a more consistent point of impact from an ammo standpoint... If accuracy is the goal, you will get a more repeatable round. The ammo is your weakest link? In most cases it isn't. What is the weapon even capable of? Would new bullets be that much better for your application?

 

I'm considering doing this with a number of different rounds of .223 for my AR pistol to test... I have a large quantity of surplus already, and simply want to see what I can do with speed vs accuracy vs fragmentation range. (.223 isn't much good slower than 2300fps... damn short barrels) But while I will see what I get with the original powder, I will probably have to use different brands and loads to get what I want. All I really get from the ammo is primed brass. (you're not even getting good brass)

 

Long story short... you can, you just don't want to.

[IndyArms 10,186]

Absolutely you can, and its actually pretty easy to do... just a few things you gotta keep in mind when you go about it, though.

 

First off... you need to pull the bullet with a kinetic hammer. Once done, save the components. If you plan to reload a SAME WEIGHT bullet, you can reuse the powder charge you already have,. If you plan to use a bullet with a weight different by more than 5 grains - plus or minus, you will need to adjust your powder to a charge you know from a formula you already have for that particular bullet weight. You will want to NECK SIZE the case ONLY at this point to make sure the neck is returned to the proper dimension for bullet seating and grip. Lots of external lube. You dont want to get it stuck. But by neck sizing only, that should not be a real issue.

 

I have pulled 123 Gn hp rounds from Steel X39 WOLF ammo, and reloaded them with 110 GN Barnes TSX bullets. I had to use a different powder as well. Such as Varget, or BL-c(2), or 8208-XBR... but thats the only real thing to mess you up... is you gotta have the proper components to do it from the get go. Not just pull them and then scratch your head and think to your self... "Now what the fuck do I do!?!?!? " BL-C(2) is great powder for the X39 round... meters well, and yields very nice velocities.

 

Chamfer the inside and outside of the case mouth as well before filling with powder. This will help you to seat the bullet much nicer, than if you do not. You dont want to shove the bullet past the steel rim of the case. Once ya got all that set... and the bullets seated to the proper depth according to manufacturers spec... you are ready to go try a few out...

Keep note after the VERY first shot for any signs of overpressure, and each subsequent shot as well, until you are confident that none of these issues exist.

 

At that point... Have at it!! pull and load a bunch and you are good to go.

 

I would not FULL LENGTH resize once fired steel cases however... for the price of brass, its not worth the damage to standard dies, or your headache. Trust me on that. Yeah... they *CAN* be... but sometimes things are just not WORTH the hassles...

 

 

 

[pjj342 632]

Thanks for the info indy and heath. Its cool to know thats its possible. I have a long term goal of reloading, maybe in ten years, though its a goal none the less. I was just thinking about putting an accurate, better expanding bullet right on top, only if it was more econoomical than buying them already made. And if using the powder is possible, then it is feasable after I get the equipment, but calulating will be absolutely necessary to see if its really a savings over a good US made hunting cartridge. To me its a less cost = better thing to me, especially if I can do it myself.

 

 

[ironhead7544 35]

It probably wont be necessary to resize the cases. Just pull the bullets. To be safe, I would drop the powder charge 5% to start. Use the same weight bullet. I have been reloading the 5.45x39 using cases from Wolf ammo, a 75 gr AMax bullet from Hornady and my own powder charge. Works like a champ. The bullets Must be resized to .221 in a special die from Lee. Some really good bullets for the 7.62x39 are available.

 

For the 7.62x39 I would also give the load a slight crimp from a Lee Factory Crimp die.

 

If you want to start reloading, then just get some brass cases. Makes more sense in the long run. You can practice with the cheap ammo and makes up some really effective ammo for serious purposes.

 

So to answer your question, yes it came be done. It will be cheaper than U.S. factory hunting loads.