Monarch steel cased 7.62x39 Berdan or Boxer Primed?

[scatman]

Hey guys, just wondering anyone has shot these and if they're boxer primer instead of the berdan? Would make me a lot more interested in buying these in the hopes of having cases to reload. 

[RED333]

I don’t believe reloading steel case ammo is very wise. I’m sure it takes some type of special harden die to reload Steelcase cartridge.

[Ronald_55]

All I have shot were Berden. 

I saw some guy using a drill press to drill out a flash hole, but that is a lot of work for a common caliber steel case. 

[scatman]

1 hour ago, RED333 said:

I don’t believe reloading steel case ammo is very wise. I’m sure it takes some type of special harden die to reload Steelcase cartridge.

I managed to find a Chinese marketed press designed for steel cases a few years back, works great, had everything I needed for most russian made cartridges, get 2-4 reloads depending on the condition and materials in the steel, also have everything to load berdan primers but since the ban on Russian made arms and ammunition, I can't get berdan primers. I know Hornady makes boxer primed 7.62x39 brass, they've got plenty at the place I shop at, I just recently got a box of these Monarchs and hadn't had the time to shoot them yet.

Edited June 16, 2022 by scatman

[scatman]

44 minutes ago, Ronald_55 said:

All I have shot were Berden. 

I saw some guy using a drill press to drill out a flash hole, but that is a lot of work for a common caliber steel case. 

Thanks for the info, and it is not only more work, but also damaging to the case's integrity, I know a guy who use to do this until he had a serious malfunction, and suffered third degree burns to his upper body and face, along with lost part of his finger, lucky to be alive.

[DO-TN]

With all the boxer/brass options why would one consider reloading steel beyond just seeing if they could. I reload 7.62x39 but my trouble has always been finding bullets. Buy bulk when I do find them but still. just get some boxer/brass cases and run with it.

[scatman]

13 hours ago, DO-TN said:

With all the boxer/brass options why would one consider reloading steel beyond just seeing if they could. I reload 7.62x39 but my trouble has always been finding bullets. Buy bulk when I do find them but still. just get some boxer/brass cases and run with it.

Sometimes gotta work with what you got.

 

[Garufa]

1 hour ago, scatman said:

Sometimes gotta work with what you got.

 

7.62x39 is not exactly scarce...yet.

[Quavodus]

I have reloaded a few Tula steel boxer. 45 acp. Never loaded more than twice. Steel can harden from heat during firings. I used lube, even in carbide dies.