200 lbs. of Reloading Equipment...

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Smithers

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About 2 hours ago, a coworker gave me all of his reloading equipment. It turns out that his girlfriend was moving in and he needed the storage space.

So...

Now I have 200+ lbs. of backbreaking, old reloading equipment (filled most of my truck bed.) Most of it is brass, bullets and blocks of lead. There are some unused ammo, primers and powder. It seems most of the stuff is about 15-20 years old especially the primers and the powder. It also came with a couple of presses, a gas and electric furnace, dies, and a lot of other unidentifiable crap.

I need to know what is safe to use, and if it isn't, how I should properly dispose of it. I also noticed that some the brass near the water line has some greenish coloring inside the case, is this safe to reload?

Basically, what can I salvage and how do I know it's salvagable?

By the way, I don't know anything about reloading :what:
 
Don't throw anything away until you really know what you're doing so far as reloading goes. Don't reload anything you find questionable until you really know what you're doing. Most reloading equipment will last about forever, so don't just write it off because it's old. Old primers and powder should be fine unless they were stored poorly. Pics would be great so we can give you some idea of what you have and how it all works.
 
Recycle the brass at a metal recycler. Not worth taking a chance if it is coroded that much. The powders and primers may be fine...provided the powders are in their original containers, and everything was stored decently. The lead (and bullets you can re-melt for lead) are fine, though are probably of unknown composition. You could ask the original owner about the powder containers and lead composition (clip on wheel weights and/or linotype are what you are hoping for).

Presses, dies, unidentifiable crap (probably some bullet molds and bullet casting equipment) are probably all fine. The furnaces are most likely crap, and you need to send them to me so that I can look them over (I'm in need of a decent furnace....and I live just south of you...heh) Come to think of it, if you don't need one of those presses, I'm in need of one of those too. (I load only on a lee loader right now).

Sounds like you made out like a bandit. Provided the equipment isn't coroded and or heavily abused, it should be fine. Most reloading tools are meant to last a lifetime. The brass would be a no-go for me, unless it was for rare calibers, in which case I would take a closer look. As long as you follow proper safety precautions, working your loads up slowly, not trying for max power loads to start, that powder and primer stash should be fine too.

Get at least 2 good reloading manuals, and ask lots of questions here. If you feel so inclined, you can share the wealth, but nobody here will be too envious of your good fortune either way. See if you can get the guy who gave you the stuff to spend an afternoon with you showing you how the stuff works...just make sure you buy him a REALLY nice dinner afterwards. That's probably at least $1k worth of gear and supplies he handed to you.
 
Actually, I was going to give him an offer, but I guess he didn't want to inventory his stuff. :D But if I do sell anything, I'm going to give him half the money. I think it's only fair.

The good new is I think I can use most or all of the stuff I got. The powders and primers are in their original containers. I only have a couple handfuls of corroded brass. It's just that organizing and sorting this stuff is going to take hours. I'll take some pictures of the unidentifiable crap tomorrow.

Oh man, I can't believe how lucky I am. :D
 
good man!
say.... i live in la too... if you need help sorting just let me know. i like playing with other people's old stuff (which explains my milsurp bug)
 
Let me see...keep guns and gun equipment or make room for a girlfriend.

Guns or girl. Girl or guns. Girls are pretty; but so are guns. Guns smell pretty, but so do some girls' perfumes. Some girls are hot, but all guns are hot. Some girls are anti-guns, but no guns are anti-girls. Decisions, decisions.

Guess I'm missing the link here. Good luck.

Doc2005
 
Well. I would have kept the reloading equipment and found another girlfriend. :rolleyes:
 
let's cut the guy a little slack... maybe he's thinking long-term strategy of breeding dozens of future reloaders.
 
Guns or girl. Girl or guns. Girls are pretty; but so are guns. Guns smell pretty, but so do some girls' perfumes. Some girls are hot, but all guns are hot. Some girls are anti-guns, but no guns are anti-girls. Decisions, decisions.

Guess I'm missing the link here. Good luck.
Click to expand...

Yup you are. See guns stay pretty and smell pretty as long as you use them and keep them well oiled.

Girls get old and cranky and when you get sick of them you cant trade them in for a newer model.
 
You can, you just lose half your stuff! :)
Click to expand...
A couple I have known would be worth all my stuff to get rid of. :eek:

Fortunately, I found a "keeper" :D

Maybe he has as well, only he knows. :)

It's all good for Smithers anyway, he won the lottery. :D
 
Maybe the girl is just high-maintanence: i.e. She only shoots factory ammo.
Click to expand...

LOL, I'm going to HAVE to tell my coworker this one.

List it. Show us some pics. Let us vultures tell you what it's worth.
Click to expand...

As soon as I get home! :D (I'm at work) :uhoh:
 
Smithers: reloading is easy. You'll have a great time doing it!
Do you know how much lead he gave you? That may be worth something to someone who makes bullets, around the tune of maybe $40 including shipping for about 50 lbs of it. That seems to be what it goes for on other forums anyhow.

Seriously, though, I would sell anything that wasn't a caliber I had a gun for. Twice I've bought a gun to match a bullet mold/dies that I had on hand and didn't enjoy it all that much. One for 50s&w and the other for 38spcl. I ended up getting rid of the gun, bullet molds and dies later on and the experience wasn't worth the loss I had to take on selling those revolvers.
You may even be able to trade with another reloader for calibers taht you need for about $5 in shipping.

Brass, most calibers, is worth about $40-$45 per 1000 pieces over the internet unless it's an odd caliber (which is worth more). Rifle brass may be worth more, but only if it's surely once-fired and in great shape, which is hard to prove if you're not in person.

Don't take any of it to a scrapyard, this stuff is gold to other reloaders and I for one, would be happy to trade or buy some of it off of you if you don't want it if it keeps it from going to the scrapyard.
 
Ah, I just got back from work a couple of hours ago. No pictures tonight fellas. :eek:

I need to go to work early tomorrow (or rather today) for a teleconference with some clients in New York...

By the way, can ya guys on the East coast start your days 3 hours later? :banghead: I don't like going to work by 6 am. Hey, it might be 9 am over there, but us folks in L.A. have to get to work before the break of dawn. Oh don't mind me, the customer is always right. :barf:

I'll try to get those pictures asap, but I might have to pull some long hours this week. Sorry, no guarantees. :uhoh: Pardon me while I find my whisky. :)
 
Davinci: We were working under the assumption that the brass was corroded. Now we know that it was just a few pieces that were mildly tarnished. Also, for the rifle brass (if any), make sure you check the inside with a bent paperclip. If you feel an indentation (groove) near the base of the bullet, on the straight side of the case.....crush and recycle that rifle brass. You don't want a head separation. Otherwise, trim the case, and good to go.
 
I shoot corroded pistol brass often without any ill effects.
can't say about rifle brass.
 
Davinci: Are you using full powered loads in magnum pistol cases? Target loads in a low pressure round? Maybe I am totally off base, but I wouldn't touch coroded rifle brass, not knowing how many times fired. Especially for a begining reloader, I would want un or once fired brass in good condition, until they can learn the tricks of the trade. Corrosion means the metal is changing in strength. I just wouldn't want to see someone take a high pressure round, like a .308, load it near or at max, and have weak brass cause a head separation or similar. Unlikely, but why take a chance, especially after getting such a huge boatload of good stuff.
 
fireflyfather: I don't use corroded rifle brass or any kind of rifle brass that is at all 'iffy'.

Pistols (and shotguns for that matter) don't scare me enough to shy away from wierd looking brass. I've got a few 9mm's I've reloaded a few times that are nearly black from corrosion. Quite simply, I just don't throw out any pistol brass. BUT, I also load shotgun shells lately with whatever I can find for cheap and haven't had any trouble.

final caveat, don't listen to me. just because I don't buy into the whole 'reloading is a super specific science and very very dangerous unless you use only the best quality components' doesn't mean that you have to. I always enjoy experimenting with my loads but I would feel horrible if someone has a different result and hurts themselves. as a note, nobody shoots my experimental loads except me until I've proven them safe.
 
Davinci: What you say makes a lot of sense. I'm overly conservative because I'm pretty new to reloading, and it's just in my nature to be conservative. In any case, at what point DO you stop using pistol brass? Obvious metal failure?
 
fireflyfather: in all of my years of reloading, I have yet to discard a 45acp case for any reason (except a few that have gotten stomped on and could not be put in the press, but that's ruined by people not by the gun). The same brass has probably been reloaded a few dozen times before it gets lost on the range, traded or gifted.

9mm is a little different. I have a friend who likes nickle plated cases and has an infinite supply of mixed 9mm and 40 cal brass, so he drops it off in my garage by the bucket and I load up the yellow brass and seperate any nickle that I come across. He's happy, I"m happy...and so are folks at the range who I've gotten into the habit of giving this extra once-fired yellow brass to.
because of my recent supply I'm really not interested in picking up my 9mm brass when I keep getting buckets full of it showing up.
 
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