Re-loading Fired Cartridges

Subject: Re-loading Fired Cartridges Tue Feb 03, 2009 1:37 pm

claymore wrote:: I find that once you have fired the marushin rounds about twice they become difficult to open up and load again, the screw base i mean and iget a lot of misfires if i fire them 3 times or at least try to wheras cp rounds should fire a good 4/5 times before they start to give up.

Cerwyn wrote:: When you say they get difficult to open up after 2 firings, is that without a thorough clean before popping another cap into the cartridge
I've had my Marushin cartridges for 3-4 years now (about 100 of 'em). If I'm firing the MP I'll fire most of the cartridges once then strip down and clean everything completely.
to date, I've only had ONE cartridge fail and that one blew the threads off...

My MP40 needs it's detonator pin cleaning too after 60 rds otherwise I get extraction
problems.

I think my MGC Thompson rounds are the ones I've fired repeatedly most often. I have 100+ of these too and use them in my Hudson Grease Gun and M1A1 Thompson too.
Despite the rims being a bit battered they fire well. I've had no drop off in power problems due to gas seal failures.
I will sometimes re-load them with a cap without cleaning 2-3 times and they'll perform well.

Whether that's due to a thorough clean in the Ultrasonic and Polisher once I've finished because the threads and the cartridge bores are in good nick even after all this time.

claymore wrote:: Its the base thats the problem, the threads get very dirty and of course you get expansion problems, but its the dirty threads mostly that mean you cannot screw the base on well or at all sometimes also with some rounds after the 2nd fireing the base sticks and it takes plyers to remove it. i use silicon grease around the thread when i can be bothered but of course that adds time to loading although it does help and i would think it helps with the seal as well. I have also wire brushed the threads after firing to keep them clean but again bloody time consuming and boring. Of course with cp rounds i would also expect a better sound on full auto as well as being able to fire them more than twice.

Cerwyn wrote:: Couldn't agree more with you, cleaning and preparing cartridges prior to loading can be really boring and time consuming.
Hours of work for a few brief seconds of firing fun

Although it IS an expensive way around it, having plenty of cartridges available to fire keeps me reasonably happy.
If I can put 100 rounds through any gun before the gun itself needs cleaning (Det. Pin & Chamber) I'd consider myself lucky.
All the cartridges get fired once then stripped, Ultrasonic cleaned then Tumble Polished before re-capping.
The tumble polisher will take 200-300 dismantled cartridges easily and just needs switching on. Leave it a couple of hours then sieve the polished cartridges out.
The Ultrasonic needs a little more input but is Heaven sent compared to cleaning each one indvidually.

The only rounds I've had to take pliers to are ones I found under the bed or behind wardrobes There's always one or two that vanish after a good shooting session only to reappear weeks later.
You realise then just how corrosive the powder's burnt gases can be

_________________
Cerwyn

Hobby collector of Replica model guns and Militaria.
also member of Living History Reenactment Groups.