Shooting dented surplus ammo

[ihasacookie]

Managed to get my hands on some brass 7.62x54r Bulgarian heavy ball a few weeks ago and found a few questionable rounds in the mix. Most of the rounds came loose and some came in their original paper wrapping. Not sure where the damage came from (pretty sure the left one came from the factory like that) but most of the damage is at or near the shoulder. Im almost positive that these should be safe to shoot but I figured I'd be safe and ask. Rounds are from 1954 and 1955.

(Image blown up to show damage)

[JackEllis]

I would NOT shoot the one on the left. Case looks damaged, not just dented and if your rifle is magazine fed, it may not even fit. Second from the right looks questionable.

[sargenv]

The folded one I would not bother shooting, the dented ones should be fine and will fire form to the chamber on firing..

[baih777]

Left one. DO NOT SHOOT.

[ihasacookie]

The left one was the one I was most iffy about. Thanks for confirming guys!

[AandO]

I'd shoot the one on the right on a day like today in Socal. Wet weather is our friend with incendiary/tracer ammo.

Assumption based on the bullet tip color. I could be wrong. Where you at? Let's go try it out....lol

Case on the left would have the bullet pulled and the powder dumped, not worth the risk....

[hambam105]

Save all those dented POS factory rounds and send them to me for proper disposal. No charge. I'm a nice guy. Thanks.

Plenty of guys would like to have them just for the components, or maybe just to risk it.

[NorCalFocus]

The three on the left look like hydraulic denting. Basically to much lube on the case when ran through the sizing die. I've done it, and shot cases like that no problems.

[RandyD]

These are my thoughts on the matter. If a casing is perforated, I would not shoot it, the gas will prematurely escape through the hole and may end up getting directed in the shooters face. I have fired many dented surplus rounds, and all that happens is the case is fire formed to the chamber. If a case has a crease in it, I would discard the round and not fire it.

[CSACANNONEER]

I wouldn't have a problem shooting any of them in a Mosin. Even the one with the fold will be perfectly safe to shoot.

[uncommonsense]

O wow, I was just reading through. I was going to suggest only the one second from the left to be good. So even if theres a dent on the shoulder of the brass its ok?

[divingin]

Most cases, yes. If your rifle has a tight chamber, the dents may deform the surrounding area enough to make it tough to chamber, but they should be fine once you get the action closed.

The folded one would definitely make me nervous though. Metal weakens when it's bent that much. I can't even picture how that would happen.

[ihasacookie]

The rounds will be going through my M39 so I’m sure it’ll be able to handle all of them. But better to be safe than sorry!

Just found a round with a cracked neck earlier today. The brass seems to be fairly brittle on these Bulgarian rounds. Guess I should spend a few hours checking them for more cracks.

[edgerly779]

If the green tips are incendiary/tracer then illegal in ca but I think they are ap. Tracers are red tip

[OneFunGuy]

If that crease in the case on the left reminds you of someone ...
you could send it to them as a "thinking of you" card. Clever huh?

Tommy