[Gonzofam]

Got a few thousand spent rounds which i thought were oncr fired. Turns out all have been decrimped. So if they have been worked they have neen fired a minimum of twice. They do t have alot of lines on the sides or look of ware from being resized. Should i keep them? Just reload as usual? What is a standard thickness of the wall of once fired lc nato brass? The reloading den oit here said if there anealed just fire them till they crack then recycle. Not sure how much truth to that there is. Please lend me some advice guys and or galls. They'll only be for the ar. Maybe a few for the bolt. Depends on advice. Thanks.

[beatledog7]

I'd say you scored. If the brass passes your usual inspections, load it and shoot it.

[GLOOB]

I bought a batch of 1000 .223 just like you described. Most of it actually looks really good on the outside. I even did a "paper clip" test on all of them, and I only found 1 obviously bad piece. Mostly LC, decrimped.

Well, I have an average of 1 case head separation for every 100-150 rounds. 5-6 of them to date. I've never had one with factory ammo (some 200 rds worth), knock on wood.

I've just scored 150 LC cases with the crimp still in place, so I'll be able to get to the bottom of the problem soon enough. But even if I find out it IS the brass, I'll probably continue to load it, only I won't bother picking it up.

[P-32]

I've just scored 150 LC cases with the crimp still in place, so I'll be able to get to the bottom of the problem soon enough. But even if I find out it IS the brass, I'll probably continue to load it, only I won't bother picking it up.

I've gotten at least 12 reloads out of once fired L/C brass which I use in my AR's. My match load is no sissy load either but I've found my rifles like it.

[Gonzofam]

Its just that at first glance they look great. But they clearly are not once fired. Who or how to tell if they have been fired eight times? Yeah i am with you P32 on the load. My ar likes max load capacity which is why i question the brass. Varget is 26, blc2 was max and now cfe 223 is max. On my two tests so far with cfe powder it is clean and no pressure signs on the existing brass i use. I guess i am saying i am scared to have a all accident in my rifles,ar rifles. Come to think of it what are the brass failures ? Cracked neck! Fine just recycle the brass and pull. Sign of ring at base which can be identified usually right? I look for thinning. Always put brass upside down in reloading box and check primer pocket for escaping gas and easy priming brass. Maybe this is a moot question and that a reloader even with the limited knoledge i have should not be affraid but be able to deduce proper protocol and safety procedures with my stock. It just is more comfortable having forsight and wisdome of the 10-40 year vets to reinforce right thinking and different avenues. I think the fear of making a mistake with reloading decisions sometimes makes us timid to assume our decisions without outside wisdome are definitively accurate.

[P-32]

Its just that at first glance they look great. But they clearly are not once fired. Who or how to tell if they have been fired eight times?

This is why I don't use range pickup brass. If some one leaves brass which is clearly reloaded, why would it not get picked up? If GI brass still has the crimp, a whole nother story.

[USSR]

I'd say you scored. If the brass passes your usual inspections, load it and shoot it.

How do you figure he scored, if he was expecting once-fired brass, and he received brass that has been fired an unknown number of times?

Don

[chrome_austex]

I buy cheap commercial reloads for plinking and keep the remaining brass for my own reloading. Its once fired when I get it (crimps previously removed), and twice fired before I can reload it.

I've gone through probably a 600-1000 cases like this.. Most is 07-09 LC brass. I sort by weight after cleaning, depriming, and resizing, and only shoot the low/high weight stuff at most one more time. The rest gets used multiple times, and tossed when it looks too pitted, splits a neck, or if the shoulder ripples on a resize. I've yet to have any problems with case head separation. That Lake City stuff is stout.

So, I've had good luck, but I'd be very picky about any range pickups like that, especially when you were told it was once fired, and clearly it is not.

[cberge8]

Did you buy this brass online? I bought some from an online retailer (mredepot.com) once and had the same thing happen to me. As I only bought it to convert to 7.62x25, it was a good thing for me, saved quite a bit of time swaging primer pockets.

[beatledog7]

How do you figure he scored...

I was only referring to his not having to decrimp. I find that to be enough of a pain that I'd trade one or two extra firings for being able to skip it. YMMV.

[USSR]

Removing the primer crimp is easy - that's what they make the Dillon Super Swage 600 for. Buying brass that has been fired an unknown number of times is foolish. Just MHO.

Don

[Gonzofam]

It seems half is PPU or privi partisan which is once fired and the other was remanufactured once. Any way all the lc brass has a perty uniform thickness. It was only 50.00 bucks so i think i will reload once then recycle. I learned that i should pay close attention to the primer pocket. Sometimes.

[243winxb]

Brass with unknow history is not a good thing. IMO.

[Gonzofam]

I just measured the case wall thickness of 50. It is the same as new spec LC BRASS! .013 - .011 . I dont have any brass fired more than 4 times so i am unsure of thinning thickness measurement. I would deduce these are once fired PPU and twice fired LC.

[dprice3844444]

http://www.giraudtool.com/

[USSR]

I just measured the case wall thickness of 50. It is the same as new spec LC BRASS! .013 - .011 . I dont have any brass fired more than 4 times so i am unsure of thinning thickness measurement. I would deduce these are once fired PPU and twice fired LC.

Measuring the case wall thickness tells you nothing. Things that will happen to brass that is at the end of it's life is: Necks work harden, causing lack of neck tension, and most importantly, incipient head separation showing up on the inside of the case about .200" above the extractor groove.

Don

[beatledog7]

Buying brass that has been fired an unknown number of times is foolish.

OK, so you buy some "once fired" .38SPL brass from a guy on line. You know it's once fired how?

[USSR]

OK, so you buy some "once fired" .38SPL brass from a guy on line. You know it's once fired how?

.38 Spl brass lasts d@mn near forever, and you can generally tell by looking at the case walls if it has made a trip or two thru a sizing die. Military brass, operating at much higher pressure has a limited life span, especially when fed to an autoloader.

Don

[moxie]

I pick up range brass all the time. I couldn't care less how many times it's been loaded/fired. Much of it is of foreign origin. Many different headstamps. If it passes my visual inspections, I load it. When I shoot 80 rounds and come home with 120 cases I'm a happy brass wolf.