pulled bullet gouges...affects accuracy or reloading?

[bsumoba]

so i just bought a crap load of M118 Sierra Match King boolits. They were pulled from military M118 sniper ammunition.

the question i have is, will the gouge you see in the picture from what looks like the crimp (not sure) affect anything? I havent loaded them yet but Im sure the OAL will be close to this line as well, so do you think it will affect reloading at all?

FYI, these had sealant (black stuff) on them and was easily removed with acetone, then wiped down with a wet water rag to prevent any other chemical reactions. this cleaned it up really well.

[OpenSightsOnly]

Is the jacket intact?

If so, then no worries.

[CK_32]

Highly doubt it. You should be fine.

Let us know how those things shoot.

[cpatbay]

At the rate the bullets are spinning and moving alone, any imperfection and asymmetry will affect the stability and path of flight. The question is by "how much".

The pulled SMKs I used to buy have very faint pulled marks on them. Yours look much more pronounce and seem deeper.

[johnny1290]

I haven't found pull marks to affect anything much, but I'm just plinking for fun, so an inch or two per 100 yards I wouldn't notice.

[milotrain]

I've been told that the barrel will swage most pull marks out of the bullet so as long as the jacket is not cut through to the core then they should be fine. I wouldn't shoot them in a match but I'd use them for practice and plinking all day long.

[bsumoba]

good to know. the jacket is intact. I'll let everyone know how it goes.

[ptmn]

Your pulled bullet crimp marks are just fine. I use pulled M118LR bullets using 39.6 gr IMR4895, Federall GMM Cases, Win LR primers, with an overall length of 2.800". I'm getting 1/2 to 3/4 MOA at 100yds and 2390 fps 10' from the muzzle. The only bullets that I set aside for plinking are the ones that have gouges along the boat tail of the bullet. There's always a handful (4 or 5) in each batch of 1000 that I have to set aside due to the boat tail gouge. Those handful are still good for plinking, so I never let them go to waste. One of these days I'll load some factory perfect 175gr SMK's to compare to my pulled ones. I doubt they'll be anymore accurate than the 1/2 to 3/4 MOA that I'm getting with the pulls, but I'm still interested in confirming

[3RDGEARGRNDRR]

please update us,
for no scientific reason, I relegate any and all pulled bullets to a "seconds" pile for plinking. Even If I don't crimp them.
I'm sure many of us do the same. Makes me wonder now...

[hambam105]

....

was easily removed with acetone, then wiped down

....

Acetone. Really? Acetone.

Do you clean you coffee cup with, acetone? Then why would you....never mind.

[Enfield47]

Does the M118 bullet attract a magnet?

[bsumoba]

........

Acetone. Really? Acetone.

Do you clean you coffee cup with, acetone? Then why would you....never mind.

sorry if i take pride in making things clean. i was merely letting people know that the sealant is removed easily with acetone. i don't even understand your relationship between a coffee cup and acetone. so based on your logic, it would be okay for me to use dishwashing liquid to clean my bullets because obviously i clean my coffee cup with that. logic fail...think about what you write before trying to sound smart or funny or sound intelligent by using analogies.

Does the M118 bullet attract a magnet?

just tried it. answer is no

[joelogic]

Sure a gouge in the jacket may not but I have seen some machine pulled bullets that were deformed. And that must throw of the rotational balance affecting accuracy.

Air pulled, collet pulled, machine pulled.

[ivanimal]

I lucked out and bought some pulled 8MM restruck to 308.

I use regular pulled bullets in my 1919 and for range fodder in my M1A's they are accurate. even with the pull marks.

[Clever]

You should be fine. I shot pulled 250gr SMK's 338 LM out of my TRG with very good results.
This was my data
Pulled 250gr SMK 338 LM
Lands at 3.755
Seated Mag Length/OAL 3.740 which is .015 jump
Lapua Case Trimmed to 2.714
Federal 215 Primer
Powder 92.4gr of N165
Don't have the FPS data off hand but one ragged whole at 300yards 1inch groups at 600.. Not bad for pulled projectiles IMO..