[Texpatriate]

Alright reloaders, I've got a question for y'all. Let me start by saying, I know next to nothing about reloading/handloading. I handloaded a single 12 ga. cartridge once in boy scouts as a kid under the direction of someone who knew what they were doing, and that is the extent of my experience. So let's just say that I "haven't got a clue".

Now that I've got that out of the way... I'd love to start reloading "someday", but right now while I'm in grad school the confines of our small apartment will not allow it. But I do have a habit of saving my brass at the end of range sessions from whatever I've been shooting that day so that "one day when I start reloading..."

So with that in mind, my question is this: What practice loads are more approapriate for reloading than others? If I'm going to pay for factory ammo, I may as well get the loads that I can use the brass from. I currently have and have shot in the past all kinds of factory FMJ 9mm and 40 S&W including Winchester White Box, Remington UMC, Blazer Brass, Blazer Aluminum, Sellier & Belloit, etc.

So is any of their's brass better for reloading than the others'? Is any of it absolutely not safe for reloading? I always throw away the aluminum stuff on the rare occasion that I've used it, but other than that, what do I need to know? What from my accumulated brass collection should be kept, and what should be thrown away without hesitation?

[rcmodel]

No Aluminum, no Steel, no Berdan primed, no A-MERC.

Other then that, you can reload just about any brand-name brass.

I have had good luck with WWB, Federal American Eagle, Remington UMC, & S&B.
But I don't get to load much of "todays" current production brass.
I scrounged a lifetime supply of just about every caliber I load for years ago.

If you do know you will one day reload, I'd try to stick pretty much to one brand as much as possible.

Many new reloader problems are eventually traced back to mixed brass with different neck thickness, etc.

You can adapt equipment & techniques to load almost anything that crops up with one brand.

But not everything that crops up with mixed brass at the same time.

rcmodel

[putteral]

Generally any range brass I find. No aluminum or steel cases and I agree no A-Merc

[Texpatriate]

I've never heard of A-Merc. Is it a brand of factory ammo, or do they supply brass to others/sell it as a component?

[Soybomb]

Some of it will depend on the caliber too. federal .223 (not lake city, their regular stuff) is widely regarded as worthless

[ForneyRider]

+1 on what rcmodel says.

Brass may have different internal dimensions so you may have to adjust your loads accordingly.

I reload mostly Remington, Winchester. Which is cheap and plentiful and lasts. I prefer the Winchester over the Remington, it just lasts longer and I have less issues with it.

If you can ever find Nosler, Norma, Lapua, Starline on the ground, pick it up, it's great! Make sure it isn't another shooters though.

Some of the lesser known brands are pretty good too. S&B, Fiocchi, etc.

I pick up all the nickel as well. I think it is nice. It just doesn't last as long as brass.

I use expensive brass for my dad's loads. Nosler, Norma etc. He doesn't shoot much of his 375H&H anymore, so I figure using nice brass would be a nice touch.

[Win52D]

Texpatriate...not sure how small your apartment but I was in a one bedroom apt after my divorce. If you have a space that is 4' X 2' I can show you how you can reload. I squeezed out the space in my bedroom. While the bench was not as solid as my current table it was plenty sturdy enough to reload with. Send me a PM and I will send some pics and details

[Z-Michigan]

I've been using once-fired WWB and UMC cases with great results. I do think the WWB brass is a bit better, but both work fine.

I would avoid Sellier & Belloit ammo due to the number of kaboom reports involving it, in various calibers. If you want cheap imports I suggest Magtech, PMC, or Prvi Partizan, all of which have been fine for me.

[Texpatriate]

Win52D:
Wife, 2 kids, and an 800 Sq. Ft. apartment, and wife doesn't like shall we say, "clutter". Before we moved here we had an 1,800 sq. ft. house with a garage/workshop and garden shed. Those were the days... Only problem is that we've got most of that 1,800 sq. ft. house's furniture squeezed into our 800 sq. ft. apartment.

Thanks for the offer though!

[71Commander]

Not to start a flame war but Wolf steel cases can be reloaded.

I read about it in Shooting Times, so I tried it. It works. I have some 45's that's had two reloads with them. What I do with them is clean em, load lead bullets with the most economical powder (Clays 3.9 in a 45 W/ 230), put them in an ammo can and save for armageddon.:evil:

[nambu1]

Pick up everything. When you deprime the empties, check for cracks or splits and put them in the recycle box. The only problem I have had is with nickle plated brass, they do not grip the FMJs, allowing them to float. So I use them with cast bullets.

[ar10]

Pick up everything. When you deprime the empties, check for cracks or splits and put them in the recycle box. The only problem I have had is with nickle plated brass, they do not grip the FMJs, allowing them to float. So I use them with cast bullets.

I would agree with the "pick up everything" part with a couple of exceptions. I would always look down the neck to see if its a boxer (one hole in the bottom) or Berdan (two holes in the bottom). If you run across the Berdan type toss them in the scrap bin. I have heard, (and it has never ever happened to me) that what generally happens is the decapping pin will break, then the stem gets bent, and when you cut the case open the expander ball is sort of bunged up and finally when you get the stem and expander out, with stem still on the expander but bent,even the slightest amount of straightening will snap the stem at the bend.
I just want to remind everyone this has never happened to me as I absolutely check every range case I pick up. :uhoh:

[charby]

If you run across the Berdan type toss them in the scrap bin. I have heard, (and it has never ever happened to me) that what generally happens is the decapping pin will break, then the stem gets bent, and when you cut the case open the expander ball is sort of bunged up and finally when you get the stem and expander out, with stem still on the expander but bent,even the slightest amount of straightening will snap the stem at the bend.

Happened to me last night, I had bought lot of a 1000+ pieces of range brass and decided to reload some because nothing was really that good on TV.

I was doing a run of 50 .380 acp and wasn't paying attention and stuck one of those Berdan primers in the press, pulled down and curled/snapped the decapping pin and bent the screw rod.

Luckily I have a universal decapping die, so I deprimed the rest of the 50 and ran them through the sizing die.

-C

[rondog]

I'll have to say that at the public outdoor shootin' holes I visit, 9mm and .40 seem to be everywhere, so you should be able to build up a good stash of cases pretty quick. I've picked up thousands of 9mm, .40, and 45, plus a bucketful of others.

Good luck, and I hope your housing situation changes soon! That's no fun, four of you in a tiny apt.

Oh, FWIW, there's usually a few people here selling brass of all kinds, you can get some great deals.