9x19 cleaning

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Bucksnort1

New member
After many years of shunning 9x19, I finally bought a Taurus G2C.

I was given approximately 200 9x19 reloads. I do know the rule of not shooting another loader's cartridges so for the time being, these will not be fired. I plan to pull a few bullets and weigh the powder then refer to my loading manuals to see if I can identify the powder and recipe.

These cartridges have been hanging around someone's garage for some time; I do not know how long. They have lead round nose bullets (weight unknown at this point) and all have Speer cases. I'm sure you have seen lead that is exposed to perhaps moisture (doubtful here in Arizona) where a white coating of some sort clings to the lead. All of these bullets look like this.

The cases have discoloring but otherwise look good. I don't know if this would interfere with feeding if I do shoot them.

My question is. What is the best way to clean these cartridges? Is dry tumbling ok? At this point, I am not interested in pulling bullets then cleaning cases.


Homicide is the leading cause of murder.
 
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big al hunter

New member
I wish you much luck in your endeavors. But I will warn you that there are only a few types of powder granules. But there are many manufacturers and brand names of powder. Chances are strong that you will not be able to identify the powder based on looks and weight. If I were you, I would start by pulling all of the bullets. Spread the powder on my lawn, tumble the bullets and remove the primers. Then tumble the cases if needed.

A fresh start is much safer. And I don't mind the extra effort.
 
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cdoc42

New member
A friend got a "good deal" on 5000 rounds of 9mm for $1000 - reloads. 3 of the first 30 misfired with one bullet getting stuck in the barrel at the leade. The other two prevented the extraction of the misfire by locking the slide. The one in the leade allowed the case to be extracted and it looked like it was filled with solidified corncob. After digging that out one could see small black particles of burned powder mixed in with that corncob-looking mass. Checking with the reloader revealed a change in the case cleaning technique from corncob to walnut to liquid washing. I still can't envision a corncob 9mm case having that much (if any)residual corncob in it, but it sure was a stimulus to have the entire "good deal" returned for refund.
 
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44 AMP

Staff
I plan to pull a few bullets and weigh the powder then refer to my loading manuals to see if I can identify the powder and recipe.
Click to expand...

NO!!!!

DO NOT DO THAT!!!

pull the bullets and DUMP THE POWDER!!

Identifying powder by visual appearance is not positive and a mistake can be dangerous. Even if it looks and weighs "right" for some load in the books, you cannot KNOW for certain. Its only a few rounds, its not worth a risk. Pull the bullets, dump the powder and then clean them up. Primers are probably ok, but you can pop them off in the gun if you're worried.

The white coating on the lead bullets is surface oxidation of the lead. Its from exposure to air, and time. don't eat it and it shouldn't be a problem. Clean it off and clean up your area so you don't inhale or ingest any dust. The bullet is not harmed in any significant way,
 
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std7mag

New member
As 44 AMP said, pull the bullets & dump the powder!!
True identification will be neigh on impossable!

And buying factory 9mm is cheap!
Reloading 9mm is cheap!

Not like somebody gave you 200 Weatherby cartridges!!
 
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SGW Gunsmith

Moderator
Bucksnort1 said:
After many years of shunning 9x19, I finally bought a Taurus G2C.

I was given approximately 200 9x19 reloads. I do know the rule of not shooting another loader's cartridges so for the time being, these will not be fired. I plan to pull a few bullets and weigh the powder then refer to my loading manuals to see if I can identify the powder and recipe.

These cartridges have been hanging around someone's garage for some time; I do not know how long. They have lead round nose bullets (weight unknown at this point) and all have Speer cases. I'm sure you have seen lead that is exposed to perhaps moisture (doubtful here in Arizona) where a white coating of some sort clings to the lead. All of these bullets look like this.

The cases have discoloring but otherwise look good. I don't know if this would interfere with feeding if I do shoot them.

My question is. What is the best way to clean these cartridges? Is dry tumbling ok? At this point, I am not interested in pulling bullets then cleaning cases.


Homicide is the leading cause of murder.
Click to expand...
The one line in your post is what's a bit troubling. "Hanging around in someone's garage for some time"

Gunpowder and loaded ammunition should be stored in an area that's cool and dry. If at night temperatures drop and then, I'm sure where you live, during the day, it can get quite warm. That will often affect the gunpowder in those 9mm rounds, when stored as you describe. It would have also likely affected the primers.
The exposed lead tips have oxidized, as you mentioned, so in my opinion, exposed lead tips on jacketed bullets used in semi-auto pistol can become easily damaged during the feeding sequence from magazine to chamber. Probably why John Moses Browning prefered FMJ ammunition in the pistols he designed.
 
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langenc

New member
Bucksnort1 said:
I was given approximately 200 9x19 reloads. I do know the rule of not shooting another loader's cartridges so for the time being, these will not be fired. I plan to pull a few bullets and weigh the powder then refer to my loading manuals to see if I can identify the powder and recipe.
Click to expand...

Maybe the seller could tell you his load recipe.
 
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big al hunter

New member
. Hmmm, Ball, Flake, Stick makes three
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Yes, technically. And I almost posted that. But I knew as soon as I did someone would say "different sizes and shapes and colors and....."

Figures that someone would come back and count the three basic types
 
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Marco Califo

New member
Red, Green, Blue, Clay, Black, Ball, Flattened Ball, Noodle, Tube, Regular Cut, Short Cut, Super Short Cut, and Coals (WC872 is course and leaves granual residue in 308 barrel). There are also senses of taste and smell. The latter can indicate decomposition.
 
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Grey_Lion

New member
I'm with 44AMP on this one. I'd not put unknown badly stored reloads through my weapons. Why even bother? Lead oxide powder ( the white stuff - this could be very toxic )? Discolored brass? You have no idea if whatever powder that is ate into the case walls or what it did to the primers. The only thing I might save off those are the projectiles put into the ingot pot melted down to make fresh cast lead rounds.
 
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m&p45acp10+1

New member
The white powdery stuff could be dry lube. I have a few boxes of Hornady Frontier lead bulets. They have a white powder stuck to them. It is the dry lube. On the plus side it does not smoke as bad as the Lee Liquid Allox I use on my home cast bullets.
 
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44 AMP

Staff
It might be dry powder bullet lube, it might not. How long has that lube been in use? The OP says he has no idea how old the rounds are, they might well be 20 or 30 years old, predating the use of dry lube in which case, the white stuff would be lead oxide. We just don't know, or have any way of knowing. short of a chemical analysis of a sample of the white coating.

Unknown reloads are good only for recoverable components. NOTHING ELSE is safe.

The bullets, usually, the cases, often but not always, same with the primers. The powder, never!

Discolored /stained brass can be from something on the inside, or the outside. IF the powder has begun to decompose, it releases acid fumes which will attack the brass. If this is going on, and is enough to discolor the outside of the case, the ammo is no longer viable as safe.

Exposure to the elements over time will discolor the brass as well. Ever see fired brass left on the ground over the winter (or 2 or 3? longer?) its usually a dark brown color. And, that dark brown color can just be from age and exposure to air. I got a box of 6.5mm Swede ammo, 15 rnds on 3 stripper clips in a cardboard box, which was fully intact, no damage to the box. The ammo is headstamped 97 (which in this case is 1897) nothing SHOWS any signs of bad storage, but the cases are brown, and some have cracked, from the degradation of the powder.

Storage in an area where it is exposed to other chemicals (fumes, etc) can do it too. Lots of possibilities, none of them giving me the warm fuzzies about the safety or viability of the ammo.

Pull them down, recover what is recoverable for future use. Dispose of the powder.

The rest is up to you.

BE SAFE!
 
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cdoc42

New member
I had 50 cartridges of handloaded .380Auto in my console between the two seats in my car. I replaced the weapon with a 9mm Ruger. 30 of those cartridge cases were BLACK- as I had seen of cases on the shooting field left in the rain for less than 2 weeks. I fired 3 without event but quit because I was not sure why the cases got black without exposure to the elements. When I reloaded these they cost me no more than $4.50. Why push it?
 
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cdoc42

New member
"I consider dumping unknown powder to be both reasonable and prudent."

Think about it. You have cartridges with unknown loads of powder in cases that appear to be less than cosmetically acceptable. If you fire them have you identified the powder? If anything, you've assured yourself that the discoloration was not a negative feature. But if these same cartridges were for sale at a discount at your local ammo store, would you buy and shoot them with confidence?
 
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AlaskaMike

New member
I agree with the rest of the advice to pull them all down. Say if you pull 10% and the powder looks like 231, and all the charges are very uniform. What have you gained? You still have 90% which are unknown. Does one of them contain a double charge? Did others using a different type of powder make their way into what you've got? Way too many ways this could go badly.

There are very, very few handloaders who I would trust to fire their handloads. Remember, you quite literally are betting your life, or at least your fingers, on the skill and attentiveness of the guy who loaded those. There just aren't many people on this earth I'm going to bet my life on, period.

Pull 'em ALL down and recover the metallic components for reuse. There is no other safe course of action.
 
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