Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles Is it possible to ID load components?

Let me state right off I'm not planning to fire any hand loads I didn't load personally. I like my face way too much to trust it to someone else's handy work. I recently acquired a .222 Rem, and some loaded ammo came with it. Of course the seller "had no idea" what it was, and thought they were factory loads. I'm fairly certain they weren't. As I was pulling them apart, I got to thinking. I wonder if it would be possible to ID the components. I weighed the charge, and the bullet. If the loads are from the same time period as the gun and scope, we're looking at late 70s to early 80s. I can post up some pics if anyone wants to play...

lets play! upload them pics!

Primer cup is silver, powder charge is 20.3 gr, bullet is 50 gr, flat base lead tip.

If it is Herters, my guess would be it is some sort of Euro powder....

I'd disassemble, ditch the powder and reload it with powder that you know what it is...then you know you're safe...

if you have 20 rounds, you're only ditching 400 grains of powder, and reloading it with something that you know what ya got is a cheap investment...

Well, It isn't Blue Dot

Remember back in the Carter years when the Feds were pushing to have little pieces of color coded plastic placed in all gun powder so the manufacturer and lot number could be identified?

I'd start with the bullet as an easily identifiable clue.

You have a 50 grain bullet. What does the box say was in it, if they were still the factory loads? Real easy to get a start there.

Also, at least from what I can see in the pictures, the brass doesn't look to have been run through a full-length sizing die, and no soot on the necks. Doesn't mean he didn't use virgin brass for reloads, but it's another clue.

oddly enough it is my opinion that the bullets are Herters but the powder and primer is near impossible to ID. Herters used to produce bullets for reloading and they look identical to this one.

That's the thing, the box(all 5 of them, 100 rounds total) are just cases. Not loaded ammo. The back of the box has spots for load data to be written down. They weren't sold as loaded ammo, just brass. They are unfired. I thought the bullets might be a Speer spitzer sp. I thought the primer might be able to be narrowed down, since there is red in the cup. Powder is a crap shoot.

This. ^^^^

Trust I'm not shooting it! I'm tossing primers, powder, and giving the bullets away or something. I'm working my own loads up. It just got me to thinking when I was pulling them apart, if it was possible to ID all the components.

bullets look like Speers...

why ditch the primers? unless you suspect they might be pistol primers and you are using a stout load of regular rifle powder...

I figure ditch them because I only have 100 of whatever they are. No sense starting load work up all over again when those 100 are gone. I'll be out about $3.50 for all 100 of them. Just my thoughts, I could be wrong.

I have a bunch of Herter bullet's and primer's. Their primer's are some of my favorite. Just went and looked and that bullet is exactly like the Herter 22 cal bullet's. The primer is just like the Herter primer also. Brass insert holding the priming compound in and red compound. That said, I would not trust the hot to use. Problem being I don't think to many people can identify components other than by luck. As I recall Herter's did sell their own brand of powder but no idea who made it. I have a bunch of Herter 6mm case's too. Tried them and they did not hold up well at all. Neat to have though, got them in factory Herter box.

Good info! I was doing some research on the brass, and it appears to be a common speculation that the herters brass was actually lapua?

Looks like a General Dynamics (IMR) or Eurenco (Bofors, Vihtavuori, etc) powder. It lacks the greenish hue of the Thales powders, at least given the light in the pic.

I'd re-use all but the powder, personally.

I recognize the bullet, it is a herters bullet. They were made by a company called High Precision back in the day. I bought a couple thousand from XL Explosives in Ontario back in the 70's. These were bulk packed in plastic bags. Bought a 100 box of same in original herters box at a gun show several years back. Also a partial box of herters 308 220gr round nose at the same show but from a different seller. The primer looks like it could be the old 2 leg Remington. Those 224 bullets shot very well but weren't nearly as explosive as most others.

No reason why the primers and bullets can't be reused. Depending, of course, on how badly the bullets were distorted while being pulled.

The bullets weren't distorted at all. Anyone want them? I have no use for them, I'm not going to work up a load only having 100 of them, And nowhere to get more.