Mexican match

[1Sg (ret)]

Has anyone ever pulled bullets out of ammo and replaced them with a more accurate bullet?I had a case of .308 hirt that wouldnt shoot 4 in @ 100 in any weapon i had.I thought i would just shoot it up in tactical carbine matches on the up close stuff. This was when ammo and brass was high as a cats back.Then i found out it was reloadable so i wanted to keep the brass.I started taking it apart and put BLc2 and a 168 hornady in the brass.They shot .5 in my bolt gun.Has anyone else had this experiance if so what did you do.

 

[dogmessiah]

Re: Mexican match

I have never done it myself, but I have heard some guys say they even reuse the bullets, just pull the powder, and either reweigh it more accurately with the average charge weight from 10 of the cartridges, or replace it with one of their favorite powders.

 

[redbullitt]

Re: Mexican match

A couple times my neighbor has had some old ammunition that he gave me for next to nothing. I didn't really care to shoot it, so I just broke it down like you did, and it worked just fine for me.

 

[Jerry m]

Re: Mexican match

Yes. Pull the bullets and reload with a SMK of the same weight. Don't expect the same groups as fully prepped handloads but it will tighten up considerably.

Also, for ball ammo, you need to break the seal on the bullet, before you try to pull it, if it is sealed. Just bump it into the case a smudge to break the seal. Then use a bullet puller.
Good luck

Jerry

 

[Victor N TN]

Re: Mexican match

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Jerry M</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Yes. Pull the bullets and reload with a SMK of the same weight. Don't expect the same groups as fully prepped handloads but it will tighten up considerably.

Also, for ball ammo, you need to break the seal on the bullet, before you try to pull it, if it is sealed. Just bump it into the case a smudge to break the seal. Then use a bullet puller.
Good luck

Jerry </div></div>

+1... I agree.

I worked with a guy that was a 'smith on the MTU for the Army National Guard. He said they made a ton of "Mexican Match". Use a seater die to press the bullet down just enough to break it loose from the asphalt sealer, then pull the bullet. For rifle bullets I like an RCBS collet type puller. I have one of the Hornady lever/collet type pullers. But I haven't used it a lot since I got it. But it sure looks like it's going to be a champ.

Good luck.

 

[95LTZ]

Re: Mexican match

Now we are talking about a M1 Garand here but it works for me. With the Greek HXP 30-06 ammo from the CMP I seat the bullet .020 deeper. You will notice a pretty loud "POP" when you break the seal. Just by breaking the seal the stuff shoots pretty good. While it is not as accurate as dialed in handloads it is quite a bit more accurate than the same ammo without breaking the seal. It might be worth trying to see if you can get acceptable accuracy by only breaking the seal. If it will not meet your accuracy standards.....well you were gonna pull the bullets anyway. Just a thought.
Semper Fi

 

[Hummer]

Re: Mexican match

I have found it is easier to break the mouth lacquer if the ammo is cold so pull it all in the winter.

Also the lacquer doesn't seen to stick to the bullet so bad.

You will most likely need to neck size it after pulling as some of the military bullets run up to .3089" so case mouths will be big when bullet is pulled.

 

[kraigWY]

Re: Mexican match

I've done thousands. Got ther ideal from the USAA beck in 1978. When I took over the AK NG Marksmanship unit, we were getting mostly M118. I used state funds (not suppose to buy ammo with federal funds) to buy 168 SMKs. I pulled the 174s and stuffed in the 168s. Didnt change anything else. Worked great. Kept it up until I retired. Using Mexican match when we couldnt get M852.

For service rifle at 1000 yards,we used 180 SMKs (the old 180s, use 175s now). Again, we didnt change anything else, just swapped the the bullets.

I've done the same thing with M72 ('06 match) but with the 4 grove barrels we didn't get the same results.

I'm still setting on a couple thousand 174s that I've pulled. I use them for my Garand in the CMP Garand Matches. They also shoot pretty good in my Mosin for 100 yard practice. I use .311 bullets in the Mosin for matches.

Anyway, nothing wrong with Mexican Match, but leave the power alone, stick to the same weight bullets as the ones you pulled.

 

[1Sg (ret)]

Re: Mexican match

Thanks for the replys guys i have done a bunch lately and thought i might ask everyone else.