Pull Down Question - Brown Bear Ammo 7.62x39

[agrace]

Morning everyone,

I had a question I hope folks can help with.  A few years ago I had some brown bear ammo that got water damage and got some surface rust with mild pitting. I didn't want to shoot it due to that so thought I would pull the bullets and powder and reuse them in a brass cartridge. When loading them into brass I used the minimum load of powder since I didn't know what powder I was working with and used the same bullet.  I feel like that should be fine but having some doubts now and thought I would check with you all.

Thanks agrace

And sorry I have not been around much. Just been crazy busy. 

[running-man]

Morning man!  Hope things are going well for you.  Bummer about the ammo, it definitely happens, but still sucks when it does.

Do the Brown Bear steel cased rounds have sealant around the bullet and primer?  I only ask because in my mind the powder might be suspect if moisture has gotten inside. About all that powder is good for in that case is fertilizing your garden.  If you have decent confidence that the powder is useable, going on the low end for that bullet weight and working back up to the original powder weight in the Brown Bear is certainly reasonable. The internal volume of a steel case and brass case 7.62x39 round would be the wild card here, I doubt one is so much smaller so as to give you pressure issues, but then again it might be worth it to mic the case walls of each and see if there is an appreciable difference.

Good luck, let us know how it turns out! 

[Bacarnal]

If you have already pulled the bullets an dumped the powder in a container, this would probably be a moot suggestion, but if you haven't, here goes.
Pull anywhere from 5 to 10, weighing each powder load. Add all of the weights to get an average.  Then, to be on the safe side, take that load and reduce it by 1 or two grains.  If your powder throw is accurate and consistant, this should give you a safe load. 
As RM said, though.  If there was any chance of water intrusion, scrap the powder.  Also, if the powder smells rank, ditch it and start fresh.

[agrace]

Thank you both. That is what I did. I pulled 5 rounds today and weighed each one of them and got an average of 25.5 grains. I then put that in a brass case and compared the powder level in that to the powder level in the steel and they were the same  level in both cases. So I am going to load the brass using that number (25.3) just to be safe.  In regard to the moisture, they got just wet enough to star rusting. I have shot a few of the less rust showing ones and they shot fine so I feel like the powder is okay. But will still be cautious.

[running-man]

Good idea agrace!  I hadn't thought about comparing the height of powder (essentially the volume) between both cases, but that's a pretty smart way to go about it.  Now that you mention it, I've heard of guys comparing volumes of water between cases to be able to quantify different thicknesses between different manufacturers. 

If the powder is good, you should be good to go.  Maybe take extra notice of the first five or so spent cases to look for any warning signs, but other than that I wouldn't be too worried with what you plan to do.

[agrace]

Thanks RM, I can't take credit for the powder compare trick   I read that online, and had also asked this same question in another forum and someone there suggested it as well. So it is a good one, and I will always remember it, but can't take credit for it.

thanks again
agrace