Question about range collected brass

"I" is Independence brass... good brass IMO. The others- I'd toss em. No idea why some would be missing primers.. out instead of in is bad.

I do not reload, but I have some questions for you that maybe someone else can give you a heads up about. Are you saying you are going to reload brass that you collected at the range that other people have fired? Doesn't that mean you have no idea how many times if any that brass possibly has already been reloaded? If it has been reloaded several times already, isn't there much more of a chance of case failure?

All the best,
Glenn B

Glenn,

That's a good point. I think there are many differing opinions on this. Most would say that .45ACP and 9mm are "safer" rounds to reload that say .40S&W (.40 S&W are higher pressures and sometimes have unsupported cases from many guns).

I always save mine and if the range brass looks good I'll take it. If I see a batch that looks strange in anyway I'll toss it. There is no perfect way to tell how many times it's been used but here are some things I look for:

-Once fired cases aren't usually totally black inside the case. Many times reloaded cases are real black inside.
-Any strange bulges, usually near bottom of the case.
-Obvious heavy use due to extractor marks on rim

-Once I get them home and after cleaning/tumbling I'll then look for any cracks near the case mouth or any other defects I may have missed.
-I'll often times put the cases in a case gauge after resizing to ensure good case. Often times .40 Glock brass won't resize well... sometimes I'll toss it if so.
- Lastly if you can- see if you notice loose primer pockets- some brass is just looser than others- but if it's questionable I'll toss it.

I'm an inveterate brass scrounger, always looking at the ground when I'm at the range. I've also been reloading since 1963. I collect any and all brass cases and inspect them carefully, though quickly, when sorting them. I have a regular process I put them through.

Any brass that exhibits signs of high pressure, or many loadings, goes in the recycling tubs and gets sold for scrap, along with the brass I've worn out. This money goes for buying more primers, powder and bullets.

Some people think this stuff to death, but I don't. I'm a very careful reloader, and the last time I tried to figure out how many rounds I've loaded and shot over the years, it was somewhere around 750,000 rounds or so. I've really stopped trying to figure it out, since I'd rather spend the time and effort on making more good quality ammunition for myself and my wife. We met with four other couples this afternoon and practiced our Cowboy Action Shooting and then all went out to dinner. My wife and I fired about 200 rounds each today, and had a ball doing it.

If the brass you pick up at the range bothers you, then recycle it. Most of what you pick up is going to be once fired, since the majority of shooters don't reload. Once fired brass is usually pretty easy to identify, since it's cleaner than brass that's been fired several times and not as beat up, if at all. Experience will tell you which brass to reload and which brass to recycle.

Hope this helps.

Fred

I've reloaded Glock and S&W Sigma 40cal brass. I'd recommend resizing them in a single stage before feeding them into any progressive. Some reloaders won't touch bulged 40cal brass, but I'm on the 3rd and 4th reloadings of some of my Sigma brass. I don't load max charges, so I feel safe enough. Above all else, you have to have confidence in what you're shooting. If you don't like the look of a case, scrap it. I pitched 25 or so once-fired Winchesters because I just didn't like the way they looked. Seemed like really thin brass, so I didn't take a chance. I don't worry about it.

i go a bit farther than resizing on a single stage.i deprime only so i can feel the pressure required.i also like to use a old style tl jr without progressive linkage and a 300 mag cmr die.

"Forensic Science" is your friend....

my most recent game of "clue"...

clue #1: 200 pcs of .38 spl. brass with Federal head stamps in the brass bucket (club members always keep the place tidy)

clue #2: 4 empty "American Eagle" .38 spl boxes (with shell holders) in the trash can.

Higher cognative powers working....working....working...

Eureka!!! it's once fired Brass!

Range bag goes home fuller than it left.

Happy tightwad joyfully tells wife how much money the investment in reloading equipment is saving "us".

Frequent range trips are required, however. Such peachy finds don't stick around for long.

A secret (though mostly cordial) competition is suspected

that and inspection. i have brass that i reuse that i personally fired probably 4 times already. After every shooting i find some i need to disgard. you have to know how to inspect the brass. looking for case seperation or cracks or even hair line cracks in the case. these are signs of pressure in the cases. but not just that after that many times of use you will eventully see brass thats done its share. Thats why i started collecting brass and plan on trading brass with people on this forum. Same time when i go shooting you see the guys with the brand new boxes of ammo. Same guys shoot there guns then pack up and go home with all the brass left on the floor. So we pick it up. its new once fired. This is the brass i collect to trade. i still inspect it though so when i trade it the person who gets it will not find a bunch of junk rounds.

Anything with a missing primer is junk, if you pick it up, throw it away! The missing primer is evidence of primer pockets that have stretched to the point where they will no longer retain the primer, they aren't suitable for reloading.

If you look inside at the case head of range brass you will note that once fired brass is cleaner then reloaded brass that you pick up. The only exception to this rule is Federal. But you will figure them out too. You can also see a little difference in the outter wall of a reloaded case. It'll actually show a line around the base right at the web where the die shined it up a bit. Be aware that if it's too bright and a rifle case you might be looking at possible case seperation mostly found on rifle brass...

I don't know if you are going to a public range or private club. I belong to a club and just about every weekend we have some kind of match. I try to work as an RO once a month at some of the matches. About 98% of the people I see shoot at these matches are opening up new boxes of ammo. These matches are at our outdoor range so there isn't any cleanup involved. I will go back to the range a couple of days after a match and pick up 2000 pieces of brass almost all once fired. I only pick up the shiny ones and leave the corroded ones. It is an easy way to get brass and belonging to a club opens the door to a lot of fun shooting possibilities.
Rusty