How much prepared brass is enough? ??

[jeeptim]

So I got plenty of reloaded ammo. So I thought I would get some brass ready. I now have 2200+ 223, 500 Colt 45, 500 .308, 200 30/06 These are all sized primed and trimmed all sorted by head stamp neck down in bullet trays. Now I could start loading but my ammo cans are all near full. I know start loading other calibers. Like 8mm mauser 303BRITISH 7.62x39 7.62x54r ect... done more of all then I will ever use.
I love to reload all the sorting polishing ect... and thank god i have one... a job that gets in the way of the range.
I am addicted so how many do we need? Today I was an inch away from buying a dillon swagger.
How much do you have? And am the only one that dose this?

 

[jmorris]

If you shoot 20 rounds a year, 100 rounds will hold you over for 5 years.

Same logic works for powder, primers and bullets.

 

[Ironicaintit]

Sounds like you need more ammo cans.
Ive been in that boat before (lots of prepped brass) and still kindof am, but now im down to the point where im thinking, "wheres a good place to get some once fired brass?"

 

[MrBorland]

Prepared brass?

I'm constantly in the process of shooting, cleaning and getting it ready for the next round, so my supply of prep'd brass is steady, but low. For rifles, it's enough to get me through the next week.

For handguns, I'll clean in batch and have it ready for my progressive press, so I have a batch of 1-2k clean cases in a bin ready to load.

For me, I'd still have to constantly replenish the reserve, so time needed to build up a reserve is just extra time I'm not willing to spend unnecessarily.

 

[rcmodel]

Put the prepped & primed brass in zip-lock freezer bags.

Put the zip-lock freezer bags of primed brass in big Tupperware storage tubs with snap on lids.

rc

 

[FROGO207]

The term "enough" is as always relative. For me if I dumped all my empty brass from the 5 GAL buckets into the bed of a standard 8 foot pickup truck it would overflow for sure. But I still do not have all the brass I want in reserve. Others have different ideas I am sure. I try to keep what brass quantities I anticipate using in each caliber prepped a year ahead so it can be done in the low shooting months (winter).

 

[Hondo 60]

Now I could start loading but my ammo cans are all near full.

Sounds like you need to shoot more.

 

[Rule3]

I don't have any other than some trimmed 223/5.56. I have a lot that is cleaned ready to load but I prime when I load. I load about every handgun gun caliber and 3 rifles.

I have loaded ammo but not a lot.

 

[blarby]

How much do you shoot, and in what calibers ?

Better question that leads to the answer.

How long does it take you to load what you shoot/ replenish ?

I tend to shoot and load develop in the spring and summer, heavily shoot in the fall, and cast and load in the winter.

This year is all mucked up thanks to the hand injury.

Generally, I like to have 3-6 months of prepared ammo, and twice as many components on hand.

This is a broad and varied answered question !

 

[onelastshot]

Just a different perspective. Package and store all of your prepped brass except for what you would realistically shoot over the period of several months. The reason for storing the bras instead of reloading is simple; every so often a new bullet, powder or load data catches your attention and seems to be a better recipe than your present one. If you haven't loaded all your brass you can always sell off old bullets and powder if you decide a change is desired or necessary. If it's already loaded you don't have options, you're stuck with what you've got.

 

[cfullgraf]

The reason for storing the brass instead of reloading is simple; every so often a new bullet, powder or load data catches your attention and seems to be a better recipe than your present one.

On a similar vein, this is also why I do not store prepped cases primed. Every so often, my supplies are low and if primers are tied up in cases other than the ones I want to load, I'm stuck. I store cases unprimed and prime them shortly before a reloading session. I guess this a moot point if you only shoot and load one cartridge.

I do not specifically keep a supply of prepped cases on hand. I do prep cases shortly after shooting them and store them for a future reloading session. Small batches of prep work go quick and are less tedious than waiting until you have a ton of cases that need to be prepared.

When I am low on ammunition or have enough cases to make a reloading session, the cases are ready and waiting.

I do keep a supply of cases on hand that are not necessarily ready to load. These are replacements for cases that fail, get lost or otherwise cannot be loaded again.

Since I started using progressive presses, my reloading sessions make more ammunition at one sitting, but now there is more time between sessions. Since 2008 and the various government induced shortages, I have tended to increase the inventories of supplies I have on hand. At first it was a year of so worth of shooting, now it is up to a couple years. As i consume supplies, I replace them so that my inventory stays at about my desired level.

 

[Walkalong]

I have some cases are stored in a plastic pails, some tumbled some not, none of which is primed. Those are for future use to load, give away, whatever.

The brass I am using is either loaded, fired and in the shed in bins, or tumbled and in the reloading room waiting to be loaded. Most that is ready and waiting to be loaded is unsized and unprimed, but a small amount is sized and primed.

I have a small amount of brass stuck back that is primed, prepped and ready to load.

 

[rg1]

Guess I've got a problem? Can't stand to see unloaded brass. If someone gives me their fired brass it has to be loaded. Brass I shoot gets reloaded soon after returning home. Find a few good cases at the range or at a public area in the country then even those handful of cases gets loaded. Maybe that's why I have more loaded than I need if too much is possible. The advice to store sized and "ready to load" in ziplock bags in large Tupperware containers is good. Or buy more ammo cans and load them.

 

[Kaldor]

I keep about 5000 9mm, 2000 .223, 500 .308 and 500 300 BO on hand ready to load. I do keep brass prepped with primers in. They are stored in clear containers with lids which are not air tight.

 

[788Ham]

rg1, "Can't stand to see unloaded brass." Then you wouldn't want to see all of the '06 brass I've got sitting by my bench, 600 cases worth. All tumbled, resized, 300 of them primed, the others, no. I haven't got time to get all of them reloaded, powder, bullets, primers.... let alone shoot them, only so much time in a day/week/month. Costwise, I have all the components to get them reloaded, but just to say I have XXXX rounds loaded? Nah, I like to eat and sleep once in awhile.

 

[Ccctennis]

I keep about 5k cases for all my hanguns. I keep about 5k of 223 and about 500 of any of my rifle calibers. Now that I use a dillion for most of guns I need much more brass! I like to keep on hand 3 times the brass I shoot in a month.

 

[HJ857]

When in doubt I always fall back to the Bob and Doug McKenzie English to Metric conversion factor. Which is "double it and add 10".

For example 55mph works out to 120kph, or one pound of back bacon turns into 12 kilos of back bacon. So, if you think you'll need 100 rounds but you're not sure, use the conversion factor and prep 210 cases.

I think you'll find this works for many things in life...

 

[redclay]

You have enough ammo? I was under the assumption you can never have enough. Learn something new everyday.

 

[Rule3]

If you shoot 20 rounds a year, 100 rounds will hold you over for 5 years.

Same logic works for powder, primers and bullets.

Pretty much sums it up. Why have "excessive amounts of primed brass sitting around? If you are gonna load it then load it all the way and have a stock of shootable ammo for whatever occasion arises.

I load what I want when I want it. Maybe next week I want to use a different powder or bullet.

 

[orionengnr]

I don't prime brass until I am ready to complete the loading process.
I do clean the brass and store it that way.

Your choice on whether you keep components, partially-assembled rounds, or fully assembled rounds on-hand.

But as an earlier poster pointed out, in these days of limited component availability, only assembling what you need short-term preserves your resources and allows some flexibility in the use of those resources.

You have enough ammo? I was under the assumption you can never have enough.

You can have "enough". You cannot have "too much".

 

[Ironicaintit]

too much is almost enough! Any "extra" brass I keep on hand is all sized, primed and ready to roll up.

 

[W.E.G.]

I keep enough primed brass on hand to shoot one season of competition.

 

[WestKentucky]

For me, a 5 gallon bucket is about right, but in certain calibers I have more or less. Perfect example being 30-30. I load it, I shoot it, I use it regularly but not like I do some other calibers, but I have 2 buckets. One is full, the other halfway...because I use 30-30 brass to make 7-30 brass. I don't do that though until I'm ready to load the 7-30 because once I go to 7-30 it's hard to go back. Other calibers more recently added I plan to stop at a bucket.

 

[jmorris]

 

[cheygriz]

Over the years I've worked up "standard" loads.

I don't store empty brass.

I have a large number, (a very large number) of MilSurp .50 cal ammo cans.

I bought new neopene seals for them. (The seals can be fabricated from neoprene "O" ring seals or neoprene "caulk" works well.)

"I fill the cans with loose packed ammo, throw in two packs of dessicant and a blue indicator tablet.

Every year, I open each can to assure the indicator tablet is still dry, (cobalt blue) then reseal. If the tab is starting to turn pink, I throw it and the dessicant packs in a 200 degree oven for 2 hours.

I was lucky enough to acquire my dessicant and indicators from neighbor whose employer no longer needed them a few years ago.

These folkks seem to have a good selection available.

http://www.sorbentsystems.com/smallpacketstable.html?gclid=CIuwz9mXksYCFYZcfgod4FYAHQ