Why is Surplus Ammo Dangerous

Surplus Ammo can be dangerous to shoot and here are some reasons why it becomes dangerous.
Amazon Store: www.amazon.com...
Facebook: / deuceandguns
If you enjoyed this video please give it a like and be sure to subscribe I put up a new video every week here at Deuce and Guns.

[@Squatch_Rider66]

Never thought of the tumbler scheme, that’s good to know. Great vid

[@loquat4440]

Also ammo that is rattling a lot in a vehicle for long periods of time along with heat in which there is empty space in the cartridge case allowing the powder to vibrate and tumble about.

[@Nattleby]

It’s important to know the different types of corrosion that can affect brass. I have found that if the corrosion comes right off with some fine steel wool, it’s usually fine. But if there are pink spots (that didn’t come out) surrounded by a dark discoloration, that’s a sign of weakened brass that could fail.

[@grantodamax]

I did not know this about the pink corrosion and i have never encountered it. Thank you for putting this information out there i shoot a lot of surplus and information such as this is invaluable

[@Nattleby]

@@grantodamax There are a couple of different types of pink corrosion. Sometimes water spots from manufacturing and looks somewhat pink, and that’s no problem. The water leached some of the copper to the surface. But the kind with dark discoloration around it is the dangerous kind.

[@grantodamax]

@@Nattleby Your not joking about that pink corrosion, I had a case rupture in my 8mm yugo Mauser earlier today. was not bad no gas spray back but the bolt was hard to open on the spent case and after inspection just under the shoulder there were two small spots of blown through brass IE two speck sized holes. Had gotten a bulk order of some Egyptian 8mm that had some bad apples with pinkish red corrosion and i examined all of the rounds individually but one slipped through that had 2 small spots of the pink crud. Im fine but still was a shock to me and my friend. Im just going to stick to Yugoslavian 8mm surplus because of how well it was stored over the years and ive never had a single issue ever with the stuff and never seen case corrosion on it

[@Spl2iT3]

@@grantodamax glad you’re okay bro, didn’t know much about surplus ammo till looking Into it now. So you never had issues with Yugoslavian surplus? Cause I’m about to jump on some 7.62

[@grantodamax]

@@Spl2iT3 The yugo 7.62x39 and the 8MM surplus are great choices. The storage practices by the Yugo's was on point and I have never had any issues with their ammo. Pretty much all their military equipment was pretty good

[@mikebolton3816]

Yall see the .50 bmg, slap round, that blew up the Serbu? Thats some scary crap!!!

[@deuceandguns]

Yep. I'll bet that was reloaded and sold as factory.

[@R32R38]

@@deuceandguns Standard .50 BMG pressures are around 50,000 cup and the Serbu's breech plug can handle up to 85,000. That round must have been insanely overpressure.

[@reloader7sixtwo]

@@R32R38 Or he could have been using an incorrect muzzle device not designed to fire a sabot in. There are warnings not to fire sabot in muzzle devices not designed correctly to shoot sabot through doing so can cause overpressure. From my sabot load data sheet, 5. Are there any safety issues I should know about? Never fire sabot ammo in guns that have muzzle brakes. Premature flowering in the break could act as a barrel obstruction.

[@R32R38]

@@reloader7sixtwo That could be, note that the shot or two he fired before the explosion were inaccurate. Yet the barrel wasn't burst or bulged, unlike what I'd expect with an obstruction.

[@mikejarvis4183]

How do you get rid of very old ammo? Have some 9mm Luger that's about 50 years old. Kind of afraid to fire it in my old Luger.

[@googleuser8448]

I never gave these a thought before now.

[@chadhaire1711]

if you use ammo out of an air tight spam can should be good

[@LTC-OD]

This total nonsense, You can have a squib in new ammo, No smokeless powder gets "more powerful" as it ages, if anything it gets less powerful. The idea of trumbling making it dangerous also bull.

[@paulseeley7913]

I had to read a LOT of comments before I saw someone with some sense. I’ve tumbled live cartridges for months at a time to see if the powder would break down. The powder looked exactly the same after a month as it did when I started.

[@westallenshow9204]

I decide to buy, a get this... A survival Gravity filtered hot/cold water dispenser with self cleaning UV sterile Technology. It uses all and any of the great filters so I can choose the best.. I bought one for my GYM and over 30 members bought one for their homes. You just use your own tap water after all this is what bottled water is. For the price you get a lot more for your money. You tube won't let me show the site were bought it, I don't know why I think they think it is spamming but if you go to purall at US on the end you can figure it out. Just wanted everyone to know because I could have saved 400 dollars and bought this one first. God bless...

[@JohnnyBGoode215]

I only buy surplus ammo from reputable dealers, such as SG Ammo, Ammoman, Lucky Gunner, Ammoman, etc. Never had a single problem.

[@shellydrelly]

Is their ammo recently manufactured? Or is it actually old ammo that’s been stored away since the rifle was in service?

[@JohnnyBGoode215]

@@shellydrelly Both. Surplus Combloc and new manufacture.

[@shellydrelly]

@@JohnnyBGoode215 I imagine the new manufacture are pricier? Lol I don think I'd ever even take a chance 30+ y/o ammo

[@JohnnyBGoode215]

@@shellydrelly actually, the stuff stored in the sealed spam cans is fine. It's made for long term storage, but most of it has corrosive primers. That's no big deal with an AK, because most have chrome lined bores and the corrosive residue can,be neutralized by hot soapy water or ammonia, then you can clean the weapon as you normally do, and oil. Just make sure to pay attention to the gas port, which is susceptible to rusting if not cleaned properly. I wouldn't recommend corrosive ammo to be used in an AR or Mini 30, they're not designed for that type of ammo.

[@JohnnyBGoode215]

@@shellydrelly Actually, the new manufactured ammo is less, because it is mostly steel cased.

[@michaelsmith2733]

In the early 70's I graduated from 22 lr and 20 gauge single shot. I got a 1903 Springfield that my dad gave me from his uncle who was in WW1, I also got a .45acp Colt 1911. I shot 30.06 armor piercing that you could by at the store. No problem with that one but it would make a huge hole coming out the opposite side of a steel trash can. A neighbor lady who befriended me and took me dove hunting was thrilled with my 45 and gave me a box of ammo from ww2. It never blew up in my face but I got a lot of misfires.Those were great days a dumb kid with lots of awesome firearms.

[@mwmwmwmwmmdw]

had some asshole at a gunshow do the tumbling thing to some surplus ammo i got. after a few rounds the brass ruptured under firing and blew smoke and unbrunt powder out the sides of the rifle. luckily the rifle was very sturdy and didnt blow up but the brass had a crack going from the neck to the rim. upon pulling the bullets on the other rounds low and behold the interior of the cases where corroded and structurally compromised, despite the brass looking clean and fine on the outside

[@johndoe-so2ef]

We've got a particularly sketchy guy at our local shows that sells ammo in plastic sandwich baggies twist tied shut.... AP, tracer, that sort of thing. Not sure if anyone has been injured, but I rarely see anyone buy from him. He must make enough money to keep showing up, but I don't know how.

[@rexoliver7780]

The box of the old 30-06 ammo-sell or give it to your cartridge collector friends-better in a collection than your rifle!

[@rexoliver7780]

I thought the safety rules for tumblers----NEVER tumble live,loaded rounds!

[@rbm6184]

Rex Oliver Like criminals, scammers and con artists don't obey the rules or laws. Buyer beware.

[@alansmith133]

I have seen 3 squib loads with new Winchester white box 2 in 9mm and 1 in 40s&w . Always pay attention to your shots

[@carlenehead6964]

I’ll take that gp-11 off your hands. Best ammo around surplus or otherwise.

[@caddy_v3277]

my tip being whenever you get surplus, pull a few at random pull apart and examine the powder and round

[@deuceandguns]

Very good tip!

[@finngamesknudson1457]

I have zero experience reloading, so bare with stupidity.... Have heard that crimped rifle rounds are extremely difficult to pull apart without very expensive equipment. Are there affordable bullet pullers which work on crimped rifle rounds?

[@justinlance4174]

@@finngamesknudson1457 crimped rifle primers need a special tool. But not the bullet.

[@ZombiePowerDrink]

Its super dangerous please ship it to me for safe disposal . In all seriousness thanks for the video and the information. I never thought of tumble cleaning old ammo.

[@brandonbentley8532]

I only shoot tumbled Turkish rounds! I'm getting 4800fps and have blown up three rifles but I'm king if the forest and range!

[@nathanapplegate5374]

One way you did not mention was buying surplus from SE Asia. Why? Because occasionally you could encounter a tainted round. During the US/Vietnam war, US spec ops employed a tactic where they mixed a few tainted rounds into NVA and VC ammo storage. These rounds did not have gun powder, but a small amount of high explosives instead. This was done in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. The goal was to shake North Vietnam’s faith in their Chinese suppliers. If you buy surplus from SE Asia, you could encounter a tainted round that will blow up your gun.

[@DareToBeDeviant]

I learned about squibs the hard way. After the split-second explosion and sparks in my face I set that gun down and didn't fire it again, took it to a local smith to push the round out, went back only to have more jam/ftf issues and threw it at Diamondback. Turns out the bcg was designed wrong. It came back with a different bcg (black from silver) cut better and a new barrel according to the note. No failures since. Having something blow up that close to the face was scary! It was new Federal ammo, from 115 to 147 grain. The bcg would screw up the bullets or fail to cycle so every other shot was a disappointment.

[@ArthurMorgan-_-]

So I'm about to buy my first gun (I'm 14) which is a 1954 Russian SKS and I was wondering if anyone had any tips about ammo for it. My friend who has one keeps suggesting to use surplus ammo but I have also heard a lot of bad about it. Aside from some basic stuff like cleaning after use I don't really know too much about it. (edit) also I'm not sure if it matters but I'll be using it for sport-shooting and deer hunting

[@caesarerelmacahilig2611]

Use surplus ammo that is stored in spam cans like the Russian, Chinese, Albanian, Bulgarian, Romanian, and Yugoslavian surplus ammunition.

[@Bill23799]

If you have a Tumbler in your Bunker take a safety tip from Bert Gummer. Check your ground penetrating motion sensors before you turn it on if you live in a Graboid infested area.

[@aryanson]

I bet it wouldn't have damaged the high point, they are stonger than they look, their 995 ts even handles 9mm like POF stuff meant for submachine guns

[@Nattleby]

And if you are, make sure you have a GD Rec Room......

[@johndoe-so2ef]

Remember being told by the old timer at the corner gunshop NEVER put loaded cartridges in a tumbler back in the day. And now, thirty five years or so later, I have never put a loaded cartridge in a tumbler.

[@gunfisher4661]

I would think 2 red flags would the dingy old rnds or the way to clean for old surplus ,both would have me thinking twice.

[@justinhunt6314]

Thanks for the warnings. Any advice for avoiding these issues if you shoot surplus ammo?

[@utubewatcher3852]

My father was a reloader and in the 60's he would get surplus ammo just for the brass 30-06 and 45acp. He said that the Government powder was durty so he would reload them with his own power.

[@austinhughes6852]

So long story short.The older the ammo is.The more unstable and dangerous it becomes.

[@montanaspring7176]

i got Winchester white box one round had a primer backwards

[@webmastercaribou7570]

Clearly ypur video is intended for new shooters. I have never had a problem with surplus ammo. Or are you just trying to scare them away from our cheap ammo sources.

[@stevendonnalammar4422]

I also had a squib load with Wolf 7.62x39 ammo, it left a bunch ofunburt powder in the magazine and pushed the bullet just into the barrel, I was very very lucky that it wouldn't chamber the next round as I didn't realize what it was at the time.

[@LexCinnabon]

I had the same issue with a Tula round.

[@myfavoritemartian1]

If ammo is suspect, pull 2-3 and give them the sniff test. When ammo is normal, it has that mild smell. But when goes bad, the solvents have separated and will have a sharp smell that will irritate your nose. Dump, recharge and seat/crimp. When properly stored, I have shot some that was 50 years old. But even two seasons improperly stores will kill powder. Ammo that has gone bad will feel differently when fired. More like maximum loads. (My 70 years experience)

[@forge52100]

Only surplus ammo I use is in sealed spam cans, and it's been a few years since buying any. A lot of it came from the CMP.

[@rkow8508]

I shoot some of the same not one problem.

[@georgedistel1203]

That happened to me about 40 years ago with reloaded 30-06 a buddy brought it over and luckily it didn't destroy the rifle but put a nice Cresent shaped cut above my eye. Started reloading shortly after that.

[@deuceandguns]

Smart move. Reloading is a great skill to learn.

[@cooper10182]

In my area, there was a guy that would reload whatever you would give him. Problem was he reloaded every thing hot as he himself shot magnum and thought that was how everything was supposed to kick.

[@jonduggan7433]

@ 2:25 " From wolf ammo", those are the key words. Don't ever get me wrong....... I plink with wolf, BUT am VERY aware when doing it. For the most part......... You get what you pay for.

[@TheTrueNorth11]

Fact is: Surplus ammo isn’t dangerous if you don’t do idiotic things.

[@AUGBAR454]

I have shot tons of surplus even some rusty crusty stuff that needed a wire wheel to get clean never had any trouble.the only bad ammo I have came across was mag tech 38sw got to squibs from a brand new factory box . You do have to be wary of reloads and people passing it off as orginal

[@bosco358]

The only surplus ammo I will buy is the sealed spam can , I hope that stuff is ok

[@deuceandguns]

That's what I recommend.

[@lorenray9479]

A vet from nam told me of totally unmarked ammo for killing snipers and enemy troops by exploding cases of ammo. These were allowed to be stolen, confiscated and lost for enemy personnel to use and get blown up! Some may be hanging out for you to buy! Buyer be a ware!

[@timothytietz9194]

US put a tiny white dot on the primer, SVN did not. No ammo surplused from Vietnam, so only worry would be GI bring back. Planted in NVN sites, x39 x54r may?be, and mortar ammo. To make NVA etc troops leary of Chinese supplied ammo.

[@lorenray9479]

Thanks. An old surplus ammo store closed down all their imports then closed. I did not hear exactly why, but scuttlebutt was an international law change. Years ago in another state. I believe they had integrity and warned of display only ammo strips, etc. A friend had 1944 ammo and I heard a round ignited when recycler opened it to process msc. Ammo. He said ammonia cleaner degraded components. When someone tried to sell components online a fed showed up to verify it was not .50 banned components. Scuttlebut, but the danger does still exist I suppose! Thanks for info.

[@kmech3rd]

Project Eldest Son... Very sneaky stuff. They even did it with mortar rounds, I read. Totally Elmer Fudd'd mortar tubes. The beauty was that they also disseminated bogus Intel reports about "Defective Combloc arms" to screw with the NVA's confidence in their weapons. Just as Timothy Tietz said

[@timothytietz9194]

One altered round to the case. We even resealed the tins. That way all others were fine if inspected. Intel was left in bars etc for enemy to pick up. NO x39 or 54r came out of Vietnam, so sealed tins were from China in 80's to 90's. Swiss ammo shown has been good 4 me.

[@ram_diesel_power6039]

Maybe a super hot slap round 🤔

[@robertinscoe2379]

Years ago I was given a large amount of 357 and 44 mag ammo from the widow of a friend. All of this ammo was un labeled, so I had a couple of friends over and we had a bullet pulling and powder dump party. One of the guys asked why I didn't just shoot it and I asked him if he would shoot it as the shooter who loaded this ammo was know to load just a bit over the recommend load. He did turn down my offer of free ammo. In the end I just don't shoot ammo I don't. where it came from. Stay safe guys.

[@timothytietz9194]

Excellent advise. Also powder possibly in wrong can.

[@2009Berghof]

I began shooting military surplus ammo for target shooting over fifty years ago and had (mostly) good luck with it. Let me comment regarding those shown. Way back when I had several boxes of 7mm Mauser made by Winchester in B&W boxes with that red 'W' at the end of the box. This is not surplus, but commercial and really old (Pre-WWII or older). Bad stuff almost all failed to fire-collector stuff only. The 1950's Kynoch .303 in the yellow boxes, good stuff mostly. The Swiss G-11 7.5mm has to be about the best surplus available-even will out group Norma commercial. Hiding behind the Swiss but shown earlier is the 1938 Austrian ten-round boxes of 8X56R for the upgraded M1895 Mannlicher straight pull rifles. I bought a case of these way back when. Shot it for decades. I've shot hundreds upon hundreds while occasionally selling off a box because I had so much. I never had more than ten duds, with no hang-fires. That white label Czech post-war stuff is good and the later non-corrosive is even better. Regarding WWII & 1950's .303 surplus, most will shoot just fine with a rare hang-fire or dud. Some Canadian 1950's .303 that came from Midway USA-all were hang-fires! Odd, as I have fired WWII Canadian that was all quite good. 1960's South African .303 was among the best. Previously, the worse for hang-fires was surplus 1960's Pakistani .303 MK VII. The worse surplus .303 that I encountered was the (supposed) Iraqi (headstamp in Arabic)-duds, hang-fires and primer blow-outs. Some of the freshest .303 surplus FMJ was made in Germany or Austria-very good.

[@donnthesovereigncitizen1577]

Those Canadian 303 British rounds, that hangfired everytime, sound like olld ww1 cordite propellant rounds. Ian talks about those on forgotten weapons, any Enfield episode, or the Q&A episodes, look it up.

[@2009Berghof]

@@donnthesovereigncitizen1577 Not WWI - I stated 1950's.

[@alanb2845]

To be fair, that Swiss GP11 is probably the best quality surplus ammo. Not to mention, more accurate than off the shelf 7.5x55

[@deuceandguns]

Very true. I'm down to my last few bricks of Swiss ammo. FYI - It can be reproduced with your favorite 175 grain match grade projectiles and Reloader 17 powder.

[@jamesgravel7755]

Kinda gives you a lot to think about. So my mother found .22lr CCI mini mags in her attic from the 80’s and I shot some out of my heritage and they are considerably stronger than he rounds I bought recently. They throw a huge fireball compared also. Makes you think

[@justinpennington7682]

Its more likely burning slower and that's why you see the fireball

[@donnthesovereigncitizen1577]

I usually scrub off the green crud, with a green 3M pad, I've had very few duds, with surplus ammo.

[@Nattleby]

It’s the pink corrosion you have to watch out for.

[@Lagniappe.]

I've had two squibs in same box of modern .22. Luckily I caught it in both guns and was able to clear it.

[@meatheadjose2856]

That happened to me with a 38 special reload, luckily I looked inside the Barrel and the bullets right there.

[@zivendine]

My biggest fear with surplus ammo. I’ve personally shot thousands perhaps 10’s of thousands going back to the early 70’s. Is hang fires. Only saw it once when an impatient shooter immediately tried to extract it after the click when it went boom. Lucky for him he walked away with only a burned hand. My rule of thumb was counting from 10 backwards before I extracted a hang fire. Back about 1971-2 II got a bunch of pre war surplus Turkish 7.65 dirt cheap. Been way to many years to recall the price but I do recall the shipping exceeded the cost of the ammo. After way to many hang fires and squibs it went into my garbage can. We pulled a few and discovered the powder in many was a solid chunk. Have no idea what caused the powder flakes to clump together but it was to dangerous to shoot. We started to salvage the bullets but discovered the bullet’s base on many were corroded and green. During the early 90’s I bought two thousand rounds of Turk 8MM from J&G in Arizona. Probably the very best surplus 8MM I ever shot.

[@thorfinthorfin3010]

I love old Russian 7.62x54R. I have purchased dozens of 800 round sardine cans from the 1960s. Never had a problem. I have been shooting since Ford was President. 3 squibs total. They were all off the shelf big name brass. The report did not sound right. I always pull the bolt and inspect the bore. Thank God I did. If it doesn't sound right, pull the bolt and check it out.

[@mikefranklin1253]

Why is this different from any other ammo? I used to shoot a lot and have had bad smmo that was brand new from a major company.

[@joeybunkerslgl15gbunker25]

Fart in the wind good one I haven't heard that since my dad died in 1985 good one

[@sweetmeatnc1504]

If you are wllling to sacrifice them, would you be willing to tumble one, then open it up as well as an untumbled one to show the difference in two of the same lot of ammo? Just think itd be interesting.

[@fishingunboxingsandreveiws7226]

Where in Tennessee are you located? East cenral or west? We drove through last week going to Myrtle beach. Just querious?

[@archangel20031]

He should have done more research because there are videos out there that list the types of surplus ammo that are early failure types (squib and total failure) and the ones that overpressure with extreme age. Thankfully the Russians did it correctly and that's what I have an ass load of!

[@johndoe-so2ef]

That's something the whole eastern bloc seems to have been good at.

[@m.7n6]

That's why you buy walker or electronic ear phones for ranger use because they have built in mic to hear hearing is important and to notice recoil, I've shot plenty of surplus ammo to know the dangers of corrosive stuff, but squibs no. I have tons of Chinese steel core AK ammo and is still in the box, and I've shot plenty of it where it didn't cause a problem, I have Romanian surplus tokarev ammo and use it in my Chinese type 54 tokarev and works fine just clean it after.

[@8mmmauserman]

Love the vid. I shoot a ton of surplus ammo on my channel, and have run into the first 2: A squib with Indian 7.62, and very high pressure Turkish ammo that is generally believed to be safe in bolt action Mauser actions. Great content.

[@loquat4440]

I have the same turkish 8 ammo and I have decided to reload the powder charges. Right now I am not sure if I want to use new powder or simply cut the down the current powder charge by say 15%. I have mauser 98 rifles.

[@JosephSchenato]

I've had a squib load with Winchester white box that box of bullets you opened up I wouldn't even attempt to shoot them

[@bryanstoll7104]

Was shooting Surplus M1 Garand ammo, it started feeding the next round and went off before it chambered.. Bad primers I guess. I still remember that hot blast coming back.. I never buy Surplus ammo anymore..

[@tommykawasaki9676]

It doesn’t take an idiot to not realize you just shot a squib & a bullet is lodged in your barrel. Think of todays modern active hearing protection. Sound levels always changing & alternating. Think of a new shooter, lacking experience. There is any number of circumstances where one could possibly miss a squib, besides idiocy.

[@kirkkramer2412]

Surplus ammo stored in sealed tin/ wood crate is great ammo also ammo in battle packs.

[@anarchyandempires5452]

You know buying that 308 supercrusty ammo would be worth it just as decoration, the thing looks fly as hell, imagine setting up like a glass display with a couple World War I rifles ad putting that box open on the bottom. Now that's art right there.

[@ashforkdan]

I reloaded a couple hundred rounds of 7mm mag 30 years ago a kept it boxed in the gun safe all this time. How long can you store it before it goes bad. No corrosion still looks like the day I reloaded it.

[@deuceandguns]

If you keep it in your safe which I'd assume is in a climate controlled house I'd say nearly forever. It's the moisture or extreme heat that usually gets it.

[@aryanson]

You need to use common sense, and a little research, there is some ammo meant for hanguns, and some made hotter for submachine guns, surplus 8 mm in a semi auto can be a crapshoot, some that was loaded will work in a bolt or semi auto, german, romanian yugoslavian, some like turkish while safe in a bolt action, can really f*ck up that Hakim, FN49, or MAS 59-56, same with 7.6254R there is light ball, 147 gr meant for rifles especially Tokarev and Dragunov, and heavy ball 182 gr and usually with a painted yellow or silver tip, fine in bolt action mosins, or machine guns, will hammer the semi autos, and given the price of an SVT, or PSL, and especially a Dragunov, nor civilian Tiger, Who would want to risk using surplus, when Wolf or Prvi Partizan make reasonably priced rounds

[@punisherofArizonaUtilty]

Never had any issues with surplus ammo.

[@graybeardproductions2597]

Squib loads scare me most with the semiautomatic and rapid firing

[@mr_fnh]

The thing I hate most about surplus ammunition. Is cracking my steel targets with the Mosin Nagant 91/30 every time @100 yards. Second one I’ve cracked next to the bolt. It’s safe to say 3/8” & 1/2” static AR500 targets from Shoot Steel won’t hold up to the power of 7.62x54r silver tip. Not to mention the whole corrosive aspect. But, $.18 a round is nothing to sneeze at. Lol

[@michaelbenjmitchell1]

Damn wonder what that stuff would do to someone on the other side of a car door?

[@mr_fnh]

@@michaelbenjmitchell1 Probably 30-06 them.

[@michaelbenjmitchell1]

@@mr_fnh Huh? 7.62x54r is smaller than 30-06 by .09 since 30-06 is 7.62x63mm

[@mr_fnh]

@@michaelbenjmitchell1 You done wasting my Saturday night nerd?

[@michaelbenjmitchell1]

@@mr_fnh Drat you found my true identity as a Rivet counter.

[@daviddavey1727]

Got more than I need to put up a rear guard action, but unlikely to survive an extended fire fight at my age.

[@stairman3151]

You lost me at hi point

[@Bill23799]

Hey BC, nice to see you are feeling better.

[@deuceandguns]

Thanks Bill!

[@bigtrev761]

🇦🇺😎👍

[@davidca96]

Youll be fine if you do your research, and make sure they have not been exposed to the elements.

[@harrywernsman9045]

Very informative video. Excellent presentation as well. Thank you. Gave you a "thumbs up".

[@Jake-mt1yq]

This video was one of the most ridiculous I've seen, to start squib rounds can happen with any ammo and all shooters should be aware of how to spot a squib, has nothing to do with surplus specifically, also please shoe me fake surplus loaded overseas with pistol powder that simply doesn't happen and if hypothetically it did how could someone not spot them

[@deuceandguns]

The famous slap rounds that blew up Kentucky Ballistics 50 cal were probably loaded with pistol powder. Also, where in the vid did I say to not worry about squibs? It can happen anytime but the older the ammo the more likely chance it could have been stored incorrectly.

[@columbiagemoftheocean8019]

Could you clean tarnished ammo?

[@deuceandguns]

You can but often times if the ammo is tarnished the ammo was stored improperly and that will have also damaged the gunpowder inside. I have an older video where I try to shoot old ammo that I've cleaned up linked here. kzbin.info/www/bejne/omrRfGh9gbNoZ5Y

[@columbiagemoftheocean8019]

@@deuceandguns thanks! I found some 1942 .303 with a little green on it not quite as bad as those .30-06 rounds gave it to my grand dad who has 2 No1miii Lee Enfield rifles

[@n.c.108]

Yup, I would never buy ammo before the 1980's, but some shooters will still shoot ammo made over 50 years ago

[@chadhaire1711]

if it is still in a sealed air tight can it is good as new for decades....

[@NVRAMboi]

It's just like dem bootleg fireworks. reekis.

[@james_lessick892]

Thank you for that very useful information. Love what you do.

[@darrenengler1177]

I love surplus rounds. Some u collect Some you shoot.

[@mikebaird6788]

I've never had any problem with shooting the military ammo and I shot 545 by 39 and 762-54r straight out of the can

[@mikebaird6788]

Only thing I didn't like about that military ammunition is was corrosive and you had to clean your gun afterwards every time or it would corrode to your barrel

[@antarwynhightower6810]

I switched to all air guns don't sleep trust me

[@frankbrowning328]

I never knew tumbling could have an effect on the gun powder. Thanks for the info

[@fredflintstone5860]

Makes complete sense when you think about it. Who would have thunk it.

[@finngamesknudson1457]

@@fredflintstone5860 - Like many things in life, obvious once pointed out - but don’t think I would have thought of it.

[@nursinghomemaintence9927]

Why is there not a just stick a thumb in it comment here.

[@thetobaccoguy1751]

Surplus is no different than commercial. It's all about storage. Of course, if the stuff looks like it was found under a old shed floor, it's suspect. I have early 1920's ammo that is pristine, because it was stored correctly.

[@thetobaccoguy1751]

I've never understood tumbling for powder coat. I shake it for 2 minutes in a tube, and it coats great. Why bother?

[@TheRumblewagon]

Where did you get this "poorly stored ammunition"? Name names.

[@deuceandguns]

I got it from Century arms but it was correctly described as unshootable.

[@carlpeters1278]

Great advice. Had no idea about the tumbler potentially making rounds hot loads like you describe. I have some surplus ammo that I'm now suspicious of as when I got it the seal was broken and the brass looked way too shiny and dulled quickly after I checked it.

[@britts9215]

Shiny brass on old ammo is a bad sign. The agitation breaks up the powder into small pieces, This makes it have much more surface area and burn faster, which gives higher peak pressure. As he said, it is like putting 50grains of Bullseye in a 3006. Some types of powder can breakdown the structure after very long or improper storage also, same effect as tumbling. I would deconstruct a few with a bullet puller of anything at all suspect. Done carefully you can reassemble the rounds, if there are no problems, or salvage components if problems are found. I recommend checking any reloads similarly you did not load yourself. I have often found reloads with incorrect powder charges, usually low on powder. This could be skimping or could be an improperly maintained powder measure. The Lee, Lyman, and Dylan ones are easy to have issues in my experience. A bullet puller is pretty cheap compared to issues which risk your firearm, or worse life, limb, or eyesight! The additional equipment to reconstruct a few rounds is not prohibitive either. I have had several times someone give me a nearly full box of surplus or reloads they had issues with and always the problem was pretty easy to find by pulling the bullet and inspecting and weighing the powder. Lots of reloads being sold now, even at triple price of what factory ammunition was 3 years ago. If you buy some, get a puller and check the power and weigh it!

[@carlpeters1278]

@@britts9215 thanks for the advice. I'll start pulling some apart this weekend when I'm off work. Good information here. Thanks.

[@Nattleby]

@@britts9215 I mostly buy .30 carbine and 54r. The .30 carbine stuff can be picky. I have some FN that’s pretty green and possibly corrosive (why anyone produced corrosive .30 carbine is beyond me) and some Korean stuff that was fine after lightly hitting with super fine steel wool.

[@MichaelJohnson-fe8tm]

Weatherby Vanguard is also the Howa 1500 made in Japan and of excellent quality.

[@deuceandguns]

I've not dialed in the perfect load for max accuracy but so far I'm impressed with the overall quality.

[@CreekyGuy]

Excellent presentation... really good information.

[@davidjensen2411]

Very helpful, thank you.

[@Courier-Six]

See, I've shot surplus ammo for years and I've picked up a few things here and there that have helped me remain relatively safe when shooting surplus. I do not buy surplus ammo that is not still sealed in some form of tin or ammo can. I also typically don't buy ammo from non-European countries. Both because of the temperature fluctuations most of the rest of the globe gets and because of lesser quality manufacturing. My final rule thumb, test the ammo first. I've got a crap beater rifle in about every common surplus ammo that is available from 30-06, 7.62×54, and even 8MM Mauser. They aren't great accurate rifles or even in good condition for shooting. If I through a couple rounds of steel cased 7.62×54 from a spam can into my crappy Mosin and it doesn't blow up, I'm pretty confident in shooting the whole can. Same with 30-06 and 8MM Mauser. Usually, if you follow all 3 of these rules and don't try to cheap out buying surplus ammo that is questionable or try shooting ammo you think is questionable, AKA using common sense, you will be pretty ok I think.

[@losonsrenoster]

I got a pack of .303 British rounds marked on the box "7.7X56 BALL R1.M3Z" I suspect the R1.M3 could have been RIM3 ? On the side of the box it is marked "A7/79", which could be the type of round (MK7) and the year of manufacture. On the casing they are marked:"7.7 RIM3Z A79" . One opinion I found was that these could be South African prison service ammo for use in their Vickers heavy machine guns (???), supposedly with a little hotter load than the standard MK7 ammo. I was not aware the prison service had those Vickers, they were around, I know, because we trained on the VICKERS M.G. in 1975, but that was about the last I had seen or heard of them. Would it be advisable to pull the bullets and reload with current available powder and loads?

[@jimmyruger7529]

wow, if u are a slow learner, // bless ur heart

[@walotka1980]

So I have been taking apart a couple of cases of WW2 or WW1 surplus 30.06 on 5 round stripper clips. I went to my bench tonight to find the container I used to store the powder hazy. I opened it for about half a second and a yellow gas was swirling around in it. I quickly got the container outside and placed it in the grass where I soaked it with water. What the heck happened? I have been reloading for years and have never seen this before. I have even used that powder to load other ammo over the past year. Can anyone help me with this?

[@aaronwilkinson8963]

So best to get the ammo that is sealed in cans

[@FinalLugiaGuardian]

2:00 I think that's one reason why bolt-action rifles lock at both the front of the bolt and at the back the bolt (I think the bold knob itself it what locks into th rear of the receiver, but not certain). That way if the front lugs give way the rear of the bowl will remain locked in into the receiver and the bolt won't fly back and strike you in the head. There's also a hole drilled in the front of the receiver near the front locking lugs as well that is designed to allow the pressure to be released in the event of a double charged load beyond the rifle's specifications. To be clear, I don't think it's a good idea to be careless about watching for squib load. Even if you don't get hurt, your firearm is gonna still be destroyed from the resulting explosion.

[@the_great_tigorian_channel]

Always pull your surplus ammo. Always. If you buy milsurp then just pull it and reload with new powder (and primer if you want).

[@Nattleby]

I can’t imagine pulling spam can 54r that is perfectly good. Are you talking about like WW1 stuff?

[@the_great_tigorian_channel]

@@Nattleby even WWII milsurp is over 50 years old. I would pull anything from before 1990, but that's just me. 🤷‍♂️

[@richardturk7162]

Got a bit of an elitist attitude going on here. First tip off was "My Weatherby rifle". Name dropping to try to impress people. Bashing brands of ammo is the second tip just because he thinks all their ammo is bad.

[@waterishdrake8693]

🥱

[@rodjbosch]

Thousands and thousands of surplus 7.62x39 ammo bought and have never had an issue.... Most have been sealed in the tin cans tho. Here in Canada that supply seems to be getting harder to find....and getting more expensive. But since our wonderful government has banned more guns dont seem to be shooting as much.

[@decibellone696]

i am on board with this... however my grandfather left me his M1 Carbine, and a large sandwich bag of Korea area ammo for it... well - I just had to shoot it... fortunately it all went bang and, was one of the best days.

[@lorettacaputo6997]

Being inattentive while reloading....watching videos or drinking alcohol can easily cause a squib load where a round is not charged with powder. Anytime a round is discharged and the firearm doesn't sound or feel right check it out with a cleaning rod for a barrel obstruction. I know of someone who did this with lee loader tool and the 1911 pistol got a bulged barrel from the barrel obstruction.