...so old they have an antique "balloon primer" style I haven't seen for many years....

alleged to have been pulled out of loaded magazines of an estate-relatives 'round drum'...

In any case, this is clean, uncorroded, and otherwise seemingly useful factory loads...from some other era.....

I pulled a couple bullets and couldn't identify the powder....a lot of nice 230 gr FMJ and pristine brass....

problem is the round I've put in a trial shooter, have about a 50% failure rate due to primer failing to ignite.

Don't want to get into a hammer/inertial puller frenzy.

How would you gents deal with pulling ~300 such rounds?

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Dum vivimus Vivamas

Cam-Lock Bullet Puller

Before you invest in a press type bullet puller be sure there is enough of the straight side of the bullet showing to get a grip on. The pullers will not grip the ogive.

I'd dispose of it. Pulling RN .45 is a PIA, and you wind up with 300 aged oddball cases.

Clean once-fired modern .45 brass is about $100 per thousand.

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Science plus Art

I'd plink with the lot, giving each round it's opportunity to fire. I would then separate the remaining rounds at my leisure with a simple inertia bullet puller. While in the Army, I uncovered a stash of loaded GI 1911 clips in an abandoned WW II gun emplacement. They had presumably been there since the end of the war. The mags functioned flawlessly, and all of the ammo went BANG !

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'Nam 1968-69.DAV,VFW,NRA Inst.

I'd pull 300 with an inertial puller in an afternoon. It's not that big a chore, really.

ETA: If you shoot this ammo, be sure to scrub your bore thoroughly with soap and water (or the "other" solvent... ). Rounds that old are very likely to have corrosive primers.

If you do shoot it be sure to clean after. If that is the original load in military brass it likely has corrosive primers. How are the cases in question marked?

I agree with the above suggestion to shoot the one that will fore and pull the rest with the inertial puller you already own. Hopefully you will get a better average than the initial 50% failure rate.

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Freedom is never free!!
SWCA #3437

The bullets alone are worth $60 (if bought new) so a little time spent with an inertial puller would be worth that to me. I would personally discard the old-style brass.