a friend of mine showed
me some old 9x19mm
cartridges with the following marks on the buttom of the case
9m Gfl 38
1949 (( the year of manufacturing most probably))
i know that cartidges can live for 100+ years and fire with no problem atall
but what caught our attention is that some of the cartridges
had a small crack on the case
so are these cracked cartiridges dangerous if he thought about firing them one day??
Depends on where the cracks are, but I'd be a bit leery. This is an indication of brittle brass and could indicate mercuric priming which will severely weaken the brass. If the cracks are just at the case mouth, the biggest danger would be a squib load sticking in the barrel due to insufficient neck tension. He may want to break the ammo down and recover the bullets or trade\sell it on the net to collectors.
I shoot cracked cases if the crack is at the case mouth. That is where the bullet is seated. If the bullet is loose I wont shoot them. If not I shoot them all the time. Any cracks anywhere else on the round and I wont shoot them. Any dimples along the case shoulder and I wont shoot them either. If I shoot a few rounds and the primer is backing out of them I will not shoot them. Just check every round before shooting them. And if something sounds funny stop shooting and check everything.
I would not toss anything. You can at least break em down and reuse the bullets and possibly the powder.
__________________
It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.
Just keep them as collectors pieces. Not worth risking a blown up gun or shooter. The bullets could always be pulled, but sometimes its nice to have a piece of history to hang on to.
I shoot cracked cases if the crack is at the case mouth. That is where the bullet is seated. If the bullet is loose I wont shoot them. If not I shoot them all the time. Any cracks anywhere else on the round and I wont shoot them. Any dimples along the case shoulder and I wont shoot them either. If I shoot a few rounds and the primer is backing out of them I will not shoot them. Just check every round before shooting them. And if something sounds funny stop shooting and check everything.
I would not toss anything. You can at least break em down and reuse the bullets and possibly the powder.
What's your gun worth? Or maybe an eye? One cracked/split case indicates a problem that is probably in all the cases. Some very knowledgable shooters here have advised against it, so it's up to you...
a friend of mine showed
me some old 9x19mm
cartridges with the following marks on the buttom of the case
9m Gfl 38
1949 (( the year of manufacturing most probably))
i know that cartidges can live for 100+ years and fire with no problem atall
but what caught our attention is that some of the cartridges
had a small crack on the case
so are these cracked cartiridges dangerous if he thought about firing them one day??
Get an enertia bullet puller and pull all of the cracked cases and salvage what you can.If they are someone elses reloads don't fire any of them. ,,,sam.
Really your talking 9 mm rounds here. Probably the least expensive round there is next to .22's. Just pull em or toss em. Buy some new stuff and shoot that.
__________________
It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.
