How Do You Mark Cases to Recover at Range?

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I use Sharpies. They come in more colors than black. Blue, red, green all work well.

Paint might work. However it might flake off as one pieces. It might interfere with chambering if the glob of paint is too big. I'm not saying you will have problems but those are the first things that come to mind.

My brass cleaning regiment is limited to hot soapy water, so all my brass is pretty tarnished and most has been shot many times. I've never ran into a problem identifying my brass even amongst other reloaders.
 
reddog81 said:
I use Sharpies. They come in more colors than black. Blue, red, green all work well.

Paint might work. However it might flake off as one pieces. It might interfere with chambering if the glob of paint is too big. I'm not saying you will have problems but those are the first things that come to mind.

My brass cleaning regiment is limited to hot soapy water, so all my brass is pretty tarnished and most has been shot many times. I've never ran into a problem identifying my brass even amongst other reloaders.
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I used red and black and the red was nearly gone—couldn’t see it until home. The black X was just like his. But we’ll see if these are a mistake.

I wet tumble with pins and presume (perhaps even hope) these dots will come off.
 
Silver sharpie for me, and I put that chit on everything...
Shows up best on all things black too.
jmo,
.
 
I don’t. Revolver brass falls into my hand from the cylinder. Auto brass I leave lay as my “contribution” to the range. Rifles are another matter but I’m typically the only one on “the range” and I use a portable wet-vac to collect my brass IF I’m shooting an auto. I don’t shoot many of them anymore, mostly bolt or SS and a few lever guns. None of them are big “brass flingers”
 
Yep, blue, black, red, & green sharpies. Xs Os, or lines. Depending on the loads.
But I haven't shot next to a fellow reloading yet that marks there's the same. :)
I agree with the post about that the paint may flake off.
 
I circle my primers with a sharpie, red for magnum primers, blue for sub-sonic, purple for ladder loads, and color of the day for other loads with the proper notations in my journals to keep track of things. I also write the charge weights on the cases with the proper primer color to match the loads.
 
At some of the ranges I've visited you had best be quick and well marked to keep your brass from the scroungers. I like the dots idea as patterns can be more unique than just colors. Might have to do a test run to see if the paint sticks or go with other color sharpies as some have suggested.
 
bdb242 said:
I circle my primers with a sharpie, red for magnum primers, blue for sub-sonic, purple for ladder loads, and color of the day for other loads with the proper notations in my journals to keep track of things. I also write the charge weights on the cases with the proper primer color to match the loads.
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Circles, that was my next test.
 
When I used to go to public ranges......basically, the other lanes had to be faster than my kids. Or they had to work a deal with my kids to get their brass back. My daughter was well trained to start crying on demand if somebody yelled at her for picking up their brass. It was glorious. I miss those days.
 
EricBu said:
When I used to go to public ranges......basically, the other lanes had to be faster than my kids. Or they had to work a deal with my kids to get their brass back. My daughter was well trained to start crying on demand if somebody yelled at her for picking up their brass. It was glorious. I miss those days.
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You must shoot with a different crowd than I do. That practice could be detrimental to daddy's health in some places. :)
 
Been using Staples DuraMark sharpies for the past several years to mark my cases. Usually, I'll drag the thick part of the tip across the base and mark the rims and primers in one stroke.
DuraMark Sharpies.jpg
You can always use two different colors if that helps to idenitfy your brass at a match where most of the competitors are using a single color.

I also tumble my cases in corn cob media to clean them. Never had a problem with the media not cleaning the ink off the rim.
 
OP, your muted color is not visible enough from 10 feet away. Black or bright colored is best. Take a closeup of one when leaving the house. Any RO that wants proof (that those are yours) can stare at the timestamp as evidence on your closeup photo of a colored case that has your mark.
 
I remember someone asking a Friend of mine at a match how he tells what brass is his to recover? Without missing a beat, TW said, “Oh, that’s easy. All of mine says “45 ACP” on the bottom.” That’s my take all all brass, it’s all worth something and if everyone’s left enough to peak my interest I’ll get it all.

Years ago, after I built my first wet tumbler, I ran a batch a lot longer than my usual 30-45 min run and found out that 24 hours, permanently turns brass a dull green color everywhere the pins can touch. It was real easy to see in shooting bays, would be awful in grass though.

4D6C0F22-FE00-449F-B46A-4C5EE25DE7D4.jpeg

Folks running 38 super/other expensive brass stuff would run a stripe or two around the OD. Generally with a hunk of wood that had a hole in it, ledge to put the stripe in the same location. Like this.
B8FA70E2-4A4B-42A9-A957-6F0F2E614A19.jpeg

DAA even makes a machine to do it. Drop a round into the shoot and it pops out marked on the other side.

CDB709C1-F69F-4A94-9AAF-DB7BE5C8A3CD.jpeg
 
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higgite said:
You must shoot with a different crowd than I do. That practice could be detrimental to daddy's health in some places. :)
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Everybody I shot with loved it, lol. And she made bank because everybody at the range was happy to let her pick up brass, she even sorted it. Worked out for me because I got all the unclaimed;-) I laugh at your comment, because over the few years I shot at that range, only one person actually ever freaked out and yelled at her...and I thought the other dozen folks there were gonna string him up. The range safety threw him out too (it pays when the range safety comes over to your house to run batches of 45 on your 1050;-). Was even funnier, because he was worked up over 9mm brass which you couldn't hardly give away then.
 
On my ladder loads I only shoot one powder gr weight at a time & have them marked per gr weight so I can recover them for inspection.
I use colored Sharpie's to mark them & I keep this picture on file in my computer.
This was 3 rounds each 6.5 Creedmoor with 91gr TNT HP ladder from min 41gr to 45gr max of Shooters World Long Rifle powder.
upload_2022-11-30_17-30-16.jpeg
 
higgite said:
You must shoot with a different crowd than I do. That practice could be detrimental to daddy's health in some places. :)
Click to expand...
If they’re where I shoot, they are where kids are not allowed, past the line, and will be expelled by the owners of the indoor range; or, they’re trespassing on private property out in the boonies. Either way, not smart :rofl:
 
For rifles, mark the extractor groove rather than the case body or casehead. The groove is the only place you can mark which stays put and doesn’t end up transferring fouling to the rifle.

I’ve never had as many fits with carbon ring in my life as I had when I was marking case walls.

Marking brass is standard practice among PRS shooters - it’s almost rude to NOT mark your brass.
 
For my PRS rounds. A thin black ring around the middle of the case, a blue line or a blue X on the case head. Yes, it paints the bolt face blue and leaves a black ring in the chamber, doesn't seem to hurt anything, but I clean between matches.
 
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