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Pulled tracer question

5K views 16 replies 9 participants last post by  ArizonaBeagle 
#1 ·
I recently picked up some pulled .30 cal tracer rounds. On the side of the bag they were labeled as being unsized. They measure correctly with a set of calipers. So I am curious if I have to resize them before I can load em up. I have been reloading for a few years and have never heard of sizing jacketed bullets. Is this something speacial to pulled tracer rounds? Wish I would have noticed this and asked before I bough them. Any information on sizing them or a good reliable load for them would be great.
The bullet specs are 144 grain 1.32 oal and .306 diameter
Thanks,
Brad
 
#2 ·
its nothing special for jacketed bullets that have not been pulled. However various commercial methods of pulling down military ammo have been known to deform the bullet and perhaps make them slightly out of round. I have a lee .510 sizer die I use to re size 50bmg pulled API. There is enough springback that they recover to .512ish and the pull marks and such are smoothed out.

seeing that tracer has the element in the base somebody else who has had experience with sizing tracers I'm sure will chime in.
 
#3 ·
Hand, Collet, or Machine pulled?

Are these hand, collet, or machine pulled. The basic difference is with machind pulled bullets you will find small lines pressed into the sides of the bullets. These are from the ammunition being torn down the cheapest and fastest way, producing cheaper prices for the consumer. This can also deform them causing them to be out of round. Hand or collet pulls normally maintain tolerances close to orginal specs.

The question becomes do you need to or can you resize them? To resize you can use a Lee sizing die made for cast bullets, be sure to use lube on them. And consider what barrel you will be using the ammunition in, worn out, used, average, or match grade. My choice has been to inspect for any obvious rejects and use them for Nagants, Enfields, and 1919s without resizing.
 
#4 ·
I would say machine pulled as they have a few deep scratches/lines. I plan on using them in my 1919. The barrel is a new fn 30-06 tube but not a match barrel by any means. If i was to resize them would a standard lee lube and size die kit work? Or is it really not worth the time and effort? If accuracy is the only thing affected I probably wont bother, but if barrel life and safety is a concern I will.
Oh and do you have any good recipes for 30-06 tracer rounds?
 
#5 ·
I'm not sure if a lee push through type sizer would work for this or not. I would think the stem would not harm or damage anything on the base of the bullet if the jacket is folded over. Lee sizer dies are cheap and much faster than a luber sizer by a lot. I use both for various things and the push through is much better for these kinds of applications.

If they are not out of round and the pull marks are less than the bullet diameter you should be ok. Make sure they are clean though when you load them.
 
#7 ·
I'm not sure if a lee push through type sizer would work for this or not. I would think the stem would not harm or damage anything on the base of the bullet if the jacket is folded over. Lee sizer dies are cheap and much faster than a luber sizer by a lot. I use both for various things and the push through is much better for these kinds of applications.

If they are not out of round and the pull marks are less than the bullet diameter you should be ok. Make sure they are clean though when you load them.

I have a lee push thru sizer and it works like a charm. Its amazing how out of round some of these projectiles can be. I had a couple ball projectiles that were out by over 15 thousand's. It would be a miracle if the crimp would seal that projectile.

But once sized, they are with-in 1-2 thousands.

Re-size and be happy.
 
#12 ·
Thanks guys for the information. I think I am just going to resize them, rather be safe then sorry. Will a standard load for 30-06 in that weight bullet work? Any special powders to use to help them light up?
I've never loaded tracer before but patsreloading sells powder that is supposidly meant f0r tracer. Burns hotter maybe?
 
#13 ·
I took about 1000 reloads to the Big Sandy shoot this last weekend and I used H-335 on advice from a commercial reloader (Because I have a good supply) 42 to 42.5 grains with a 147 grain tracer and they all lit off (Without piercing)
and in addition gave a spectacular fireball .....as you can see...(That's a standard length barrel)


Manuals (Hodgdon & Sierra) were from 42 grains to 44 grains starting with a maximum of 46.8 loads in .308 ...Your manuals may differ in these loads.

I was using military primed cases.....Commercial .308 cases had considerably more volume.

Hey...Storage Man...Nice to meet you at the shoot......
 
#16 ·
i have loaded almost 750 of these for my garand and they are suprisingly accurate. i think the original mil spec was for IMR powder im thinking it was 4380 something, they have the original mil spec load data on the net somewere but they dont specify if it was a riffle or machine gun loads or if they were the same. either way those pulled tracers are pretty cheap, i think 25 bucks for a 500 bag
 
#17 ·
I think the powder that is made for these is WC846T which is for tracers. IMR- 4895 burns hot enough to light them too.

The Hodgdon H-335 I have is excellent for .223 loads but i didn't want to have to order powder and this actually works quite nicely.

Of course the extravagant flame ball does tend to give away the shooters position. But it is impressive at a shoot.:D
 
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