Starting a collection
 

God is first family is second my company is 3rd . There is a coin toss for me on what order my guns or ammo is in . I am trying to make a display in a very nice case of EVERY ROUND that has been made , and by that I mean each caliber from very old to very new , obsolete to common . I dont want to get into the different types of a certain round just one of each for the specific cal . LIke all of the different .32s that were made and all of the safari rounds , military rounds ect . I know this is a monumental task and possibly a exspensive one as well as you wont find a 700 nitro round just sitting around . But I am looking for general pointers and how to unload the rounds w/o damage more so how to deprime a live primer . I know i can get a bullet puller to unload the powder . I am listing this as a long term project and later I will do the different types of a certain round . But now I am looking for a list with every caliber ever made if a list does exist

Most guys have live ammo in their ammo board. It is worth more that way.

Expensive?

You wouldn't believe!

Try David Call's, A Call to Arms. He sells them one at a time. Get your wallet out. Some of the old rounds are either too expensive or just not available.

I send David ~$50 each time I visit his web store.

Great guy, give him a look.

AMMO-ONE

PS Why unload the rounds?

well i have a antiuqe display counter like you would find in a early 30's general store that should be plenty of room , glass sides and top with a solid back , all joints are dove tailed so its a nice one , any safety issue with old rounds getting older , getting maybe touch or impact sensitive ?

I have been a collector for nearly 50 years. I think some advise may be nessasary. First and foremost NEVER polish or over clean a cartridge. Next, except for research purposes, never unload a cartridge. It is not a cartridge anymore, just brass and bullet. To get 90% of all calibers would be a monumental task. While most beginning collectors start the same as you, we eventually have to realise that we cant have them all, so we specialize in a few calibers, or bullet. Some collect just the boxes. The best advise I can suggest is to find a collector in your area that is willing to help a new collector get started. I have helped many young collectors, and allowed them to scroung in my extra's.

yep i got the expensive part right . i think i will bypass the experamental rounds and stick to the ones the general public had or were widely used at some point in history . if you have a respectable display what are the ballpark values for them ? The biggest issue is when i find a round for a gun i dont own , that makes me want to go out and buy a gun that shoots it :p I found a decent rash of old 303 rounds so now i have to pick one up at the next dixe show

Hell, I could send you a 1940's MKVII .303, 8x57, a little more modern 7.62x54r, 7.62x51, 7.5x55, 6.5x55 for the price of shipping.

Attachment 28500 click to enlarge

There are more different cartidges that you can carry in a 1/2 ton pickup. Go buy a copy of Cartridges of the World, then remind yourself they do not have 1/10th of all the different cartridges. I have a FEW. Shotshells from 6mm rimfire to 4 guage, and miscellany.

Attachment 28501

Here are a few more. Mainly rifle, from .14 Alton Jones to .600 Nitro Express.

Attachment 28502

Mainly handgun- including a Gyrojet rocket pistol round, a Dardick Tround, an Allen Lipfire, a Plant cupfire, a Moore & Williams Teatfire- and a 2mm round on the square of white paper.

These are a VERY small fraction of all the stuff that is out there. I did not include a pic of my Crispin cartridge- it is a commerative repo- a single original authenticated Crispin cartridge is several hundred $$$$.

No, there is not problem with sensitivity of old ammo- it actually becomes LESS sensitive with age. Like some of us. :p