How do you guys track of your brass?

Hand gun cases I do not track the number of times it has been reloaded.

Most rifle cases I do not track the number of loadings.

When I was shooting Service Rifle competition (223 Remington) and with my prairie dog ammunition (204 Ruger), I'd keep track. I'd keep the batches of ammunition of the same age together through their life.

I use zip lock bags with paper tags in the bags stating reloading information and number of reloads. I get 50 or 100 cartridges per bag but what I'm tracking are small cartridges. I use pint or quart freezer bags. The freezer bags are heavier material than the other bags.

For my prairie dog shoots, I routinely take 700-1000 cartridges with me for a four to five day adventure.

When I do track life of cases, it is to give me an idea when cases are nearing the end of their useful life and I can, at least, retire them from important duty where reliable function is necessary.

This is a tough one. I limit the amount of "live" brass in the reloading area and store out of use cases elsewhere. I also limit the calibers I load for...currently 5 for me.

I keep batches together by head stamp. The last batch of .308 brass that I bought was Starline, the next will be Norma, and so on. I have a set of LC brass that is in it's 2nd firing loaded and in ammo boxes, a set of R-P brass on deck for loading that will be it's 3rd and final before it get's relegated to to mixed brass bucket for blasting ammo or whatever. I run sets of ~500

I can look at my loading log to see where I'm at.


.40

I use recycled stacking buckets that formerly contained Canadien Fruit Salad...


Two buckets for each firearm at the moment.
Dirty brass and clean, primed, ready to load brass.
Thought the R-T-L bucket seems to be empty most of the time...

Also one for extra cases and the one on the bottom for extra Bullets.

Zip Lock bags to separate brass lots for which I record the source, number of firings, and number of times trimmed. I don't know why you think that is not sufficient?

Hard to fit sixty five pounds of brass in a zip lock bag perhaps? Seventy ziplock bags per cartridge gets excessive...

I’ve used reloading logs for years. Kept in a 3 ring hard cover binder. Every batch is recorded as to number of rounds, charge, bullet weight primer case and date. Rifle brass was recorded as times fired and head stamp and lot number. Pistol brass is mixed head stamp and the times fired not tracked.
Currently It’s this type of log.
Each caliber has a section.

Rifle brass is kept in 50 or 100 round boxes and only ever used in one rifle. Tags on the inside of the lid list # of loadings and annealing.
Pistol brass - I don't care. I've split a few cases in 45 years and lost many more. I do sort by headstamp, but probably don't need to.

Precision rifle brass is kept to 50 or 100 round batches. I don't clean the brass until the entire batch is used up....I lable the load info with # of times fired.

Blasting ammo I run larger batches and I don't track number of times fired. All brass reloaded gets a date lable. Ammo is used up strictly first in, first out. When I start to noice issues with a given batch, like loose primer pockets, case head separation, etc., I scrap out the entire batch and start new.

I only shoot and load small quantities of centerfire ammo. I notch the rims of the cases with a Dremel tool for lot numbers. I have a code that will take me to ten lots. Each lot is recorded similar to Whughett's method. Once I start to get more than 10% case failures due to neck splitting, I discard the rest of the lot.

Lots of 100 or so in ZipLoc freezer bags with the info on an index card within. Spent brass goes back in bag. I use 5 GAL buckets to store my brass. In some cases like 9MM, 40S&W, 308, and 30-06 I need multiple buckets. The unprocessed/range brass goes into the bottom of the top bucket. As I process the brass it is put in the baggies, marked ready to load and put back in the bucket. Handgun brass is never kept track of. Just dumped back into the bucket after I get home.

I track my competition brass only. 223 and 308 both lapua, and they are cleaned all together and put back in their 100 round boxes. I shoot way to much range pickups with unknown history to even begin to track them. My sd ammunition is bought new or loaded in brand new cases. After being shot once they go in the mix and will not be put in SD service again.

I don't keep track, not sure it matters with pistol brass.

For pistol brass I don't track it. That brass gets used until it fails.

Rifle brass gets tracked in batches.

peels said:

Precision rifle brass is kept to 50 or 100 round batches. I don't clean the brass until the entire batch is used up....I lable the load info with # of times fired.

Blasting ammo I run larger batches and I don't track number of times fired. All brass reloaded gets a date lable. Ammo is used up strictly first in, first out. When I start to noice issues with a given batch, like loose primer pockets, case head separation, etc., I scrap out the entire batch and start new.

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My method is similar, 50 or 100rd lots of precision stuff that remain in their MTM boxes. I use a 3x5 card that tracks times loaded, how sized, trimmed and annealed. When primer pockets start to got that lot get's recycled. Another sheet tracks the actual load data and date.

The bulk stuff resides in Kittly litter containers, pistol brass and .223 brass, is loaded in bulk. Odds are excellent any brass fired at a match I won't get back anyway. Because a majority of my match brass is from range pick-up, I've added primer pocket checks to my processing right after cleaning. It separates the crimped stuff and I don't waste time on loos primer pockets.

I'm strictly a casual shooter and don't do any special tracking of my brass. The one exception is brass for black powder cartridges which I keep separated in freezer bags with labels once it is cleaned. Since I tend to reload to light to moderate power levels, the cases can be used many times. I inspect each case before reloading anyway.

Jeff

Pistol brass, I don't track at all. I come home, through the empties in a bucket and tumble at my leisure. While reloading I look for splits.

Same for rifle blasting ammo, like 5.56 when I do reload it. It was pretty cheap before all of this corona stuff.

For my .308, which I like to shoot small things far away with, that brass I do track. I have cheapie little 100 rounds boxes that I put labels on. For every time the box gets reloaded, I put a slash mark on the label. They all get loaded together and when I see one go, I throw the whole box of them away.

I only load handgun rounds and with 9mm I usually come home with more brass than I left with. 380 is sneaky I normally have some run away. 45acp is a break even. I have more than I will ever load or shoot.

I started out tracking once fired, then once reloaded, twice reloaded, then I quit. Too many containers. Now I just sort by headstamp. I do track once fired, but after that it all goes into general reloading. After a large batch of cleaning, I sort by headstamp using Ziploc sandwich baggies.
I only deviate when loading new brass. I’ve only bought new 45 ACP and new 300 AAC BLK, so it’s a lot easier to track.
I have two different colors of Sterlite 6 at storage bins. Gray tops for dirty brass, white tops for clean or new brass.

I only reload handgun for now and don't keep track of it, although I do keep the spent brass together. When magnum brass starts to split, I use it to load lighter loads, like my 357 magnum wadcutter loads (replacement for 38 wadcutter loads).

The other way I track brass is by separating the nickel coated brass from brass for 45 Colt. Nickel coated is a woods carry load. Brass is a practice load, although I will carry it loaded in the revolver in the woods. I don't usually keep up with round count for either.

The less complicated the better, and the more likely one will do it and not make an error.
For pistol no one cares, it splits or gets lost.
For rifle I just ziplock the batch and have a scrap of paper in with it noting the times it has been fired, and the load data if I feel the need.

Demi-human said:

I use recycled stacking buckets that formerly contained Canadien Fruit Salad....

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Demi-human, you get ten demerits for having such a clean reloading area. My reloading area is a work area so I am always grinding, drilling, filing and repairing things so it gets messy.

I primarily load large rifle cases and because I use them in more than one rifle I don't do anything special to keep track of the number of firing. I do use only mixed batch Winchester cases except when I am trying for small groups I use Lapua cases all from the same batch. I have a strict reloading routine which includes full length sizing, trimming, annealing, washing and polishing and then I store the cleaned cases until I need to reload the next batch. During this process I discard any case that has a bright ring just in front of the web. Now comes the important point. As I seat each bullet I feel the tension on on the press handle and I am looking for consistency. If the tension on any bullet being seated is more than expected I mark the case with a black sharpie and although I shoot the round as normal I discard the case after it has been fired.

sage5907 said:

Demi-human, you get ten demerits for having such a clean reloading area. My reloading area is a work area so I am always grinding, drilling, filing and repairing things so it gets messy.

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I missed getting pictures of when the water softener exploded in there.

My hands are usually black. My BrassRattery is my 3'x6' refuge. I take pains to handload in cleanliness.

I'll take my demerits with pride!

And more than make up for them in my truck!

Jessesky said:

with tons of reloading brass, I may not load all of it at the same time if I want to keep some set aside for various loads. How do you guys keep track of your brass and the number of firings? Of course the ziplock bag method as I use works, but even that can become a little much when you reload 10+ cartridges.

Any methods you have? Anybody mark their brass?

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I shoot it. I don't count it.

No tracking, shoot until they split, rifle and pistol no difference