Range Brass

[HisStigness]

I'm sure somebody has asked this before, but what is your opinion on using range brass? I found a whole freezer bag worth of 30-06 casings at the local gun range the other day. I have a couple concerns about this brass though.
1. I found about 5 casings that had badly damaged or cracked necks. To me that means multiple resizings, hot loads, or an out of spec chamber. Is it possible that cold air or the casings landing in snow could cause this?
2. The cases have little dents all over the body. I don't know if resizing can cause this or if it was just cheap brass.

The good news is that there were only 2 different headstamps in the lot and it came from 2 shooting stations. I attached some pics to show the dents on the cases.

 

[Reefinmike]

The dents and dings are from it being rolled around on gravel/concrete and being stepped on... it will iron out.

 

[HisStigness]

The dents and dings are from it being rolled around on gravel/concrete and being stepped on... it will iron out.

Oh that makes sense now. What about the cracked necks? Is it possible that cold shock could have caused them?

 

[DPA]

I use range brass all the time. When I'm shooting reloads people start asking questions. A lot of times they end up offering me their once shot brass. I'm a bit hesitant about using slop brass because I don't know it's history. If you question using the freezer bag brass I'd toss it. (unless youre desperate) My rule of thumb is when in doubt throw it out.

 

[ReloaderFred]

Cracked necks are caused by metal fatigue, not changes in temperature. If temperature changes caused cracks, they would all crack when fired.

The dings will iron out when fired the next time, provided these are Boxer primed cases.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[tightgroup tiger]

I have to agree with DPA. Once in a while if your lucky and the person is shooting factory brass and leaves them lay you will really make out.

But without knowing their history I would be Leary of them.

I would definitely check the inside of the brass for the dreaded ring of case separation before even wasting time cleaning them up.

All the cracked necks would be a dead give-away for me to be suspicious of how old these are, how many times they have been loaded, whether the last reloader that had them new what he was doing as far as shoulder setback, and whether he left them there on purpose because he knew they were past their prime.

 

[herrwalther]

I admit to being a range rat. But hey, at least I ask first or wait until they leave it behind.

I determine what brass is usable after it spends a few hours in a tumbler. I throw out any that have cracks, bad signs of wear, or anything I can't take out with a FL size die.

 

[Laphroaig]

I used to get "pockmarks" like the first picture when I loaded 30-06 with surplus ball powder (WC852 if I remember) and shot in my M1 Garand. Apparently there was a fair amount of unburnt powder that stuck in the chamber and marked the cases. They would reload again with no problem.

Surprisingly, it was a fairly accurate powder in that rifle.

Laphroaig

 

[Arkansas Paul]

Tumble them until they shine. Then you will be able to see most blemishes. Obviously discard or recycle the ones with split necks. On the others, check to make sure they aren't near case head separation. If they aren't, load em and choot em.

I don't discard cases until the neck splits. It won't hurt anything. Just don't try and use them after that.

 

[rfwobbly]

I agree with the others, unless you plan to use the cases in ammo destined for Palma matches or other such ultra precise competitions. But for general plinking and large game hunting, use them until they split.

 

[docsleepy]

The one thing to learn how to do, is to be able to feel for an incipient head separation in used brass.

There are multiple threads on this, search and you'll get great photos.

I had a case just barely split once in a Mosin Nagant and I got a face full of powder, thankfully nothing more than that. But ti was my wakeup call.

Chambers are typically longer in length than the typical full length resizing die leaves the brass, so the next time the brass is shot, it legnthens yet once again. It tends to do most of the lengthening at a certain spot, just in front of the end of the thickening of the case as the web (primer end). The reason for that is evidently the thinner forward brass expands and GRIPS the champer, the thicker head cannot expand, and is forced backwards to the bolt -- the little spot inbetween is where all the lengthening occurs....hence you get a little "gully" of thinning right there.

If you take a paperclip, cut the end with a pair of diagonal cutters or the cutter part of a needle nose pliers, you'll get a nice sharp point that you can bend the paperclip so you can drag it along the inside of the case.

Do this between 1 and three times on used cases, evenly spaced around the circumference. It is normally to feel some "roughness" (unburnt powder? residue??) but if you can feel a distinct "gully" of any type -- throw that case away, and even better, bash the neck closed so no one will be tempted to try and use them.

Yes, if you use range brass, you will have necks that are in all different stages of work-hardening....so if you are a champion olympic shooter, this might make 1/4" difference at 100 yards....if so, you'll need to learnhow to anneal the brass neck. But if you are John Q Public, it isn't going to make a hill of beans difference.

Every once in a while youll find a neck that is already so hardened that it doesn't take enough of a sizing, and whenyou seat the bullet, it will just drop right through....that case has to either be neck-annealed, or discarded.

Hope this helps!

The above is all for bottle necked rifle brass..... for pistol brass I consider them virtually indestructible until the primer won't hold any more.

 

[Jason75979]

I only keep range brass that has the factory "saw toothed" edge around the mouth. If that isn't there or I see signs of sizing, I chunk it in the recycle bin.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

I only keep range brass that has the factory "saw toothed" edge around the mouth. If that isn't there or I see signs of sizing, I chunk it in the recycle bin.

Dang I wish there were more guys like you at our range.

 

[Rule3]

Just like "unknown" stuff in the refrigerator, When in doubt throw it out. (recycle)

Almost all my brass for many calibers is range brass, but I saw it come out of factory new boxes

Like you said how many times has it been used?? What power loads?? Is you rifle or body parts worth one piece of crummy brass??

All my brass is marked with a sharpie and I no longer pick up range brass for use, I will throw it in a recycle bucket as my retirement fund.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

Like you said how many times has it been used?? What power loads?? Is you rifle or body parts worth one piece of crummy brass??

If the neck is not split and the head is not separating, there is no danger of it blowing your gun up. It matters not how many times its been reloaded or how powerful the load was. Do you really think that the brass casing is what contains the pressure? It doesn't. Your rifle's chamber does, which it will do even in the event of a split neck.

I no longer pick up range brass for use, I will throw it in a recycle bucket as my retirement fund.

So you don't use it, yet you pick it up and stop others from using it? That's great.

 

[docsleepy]

I'm guessing that the factory sawtooth is crimp marks. Those remain even after reszing in my limited experience.

I've picked up a fair bit of .223 ammo, and never yet have I found a case with incipient head separation. I have used hundreds and hundreds of rounds of 9mm and 38special -- I hardly EVER buy factory there.... No problems.

My ONLY problems ever with brass were with the Mosin Nagant -- where you can have widely varying chamber sizes -- and that was back before I learned how to adjust the amount of shortening that I accomplished with my FL dies. After I learned how to just take the shoulder back .003 or so, and to check for incipient head separations, zero problems. I HAVE thrown away some Norma brass for 7.62x54R, but I typically get well over a dozen reloads. Mind you, I use modest powder charges.

If you neck size only, you can go way farther.

I heard of one benchrest competitor who brought only ONE case to the firing line, and simply reloaded it for each shot.

As another pointed out, EXCEPT FOR THE WEB AREA, it is the chamber that supports the pressure, not to the brass. The brass goes into compression against the chamber.

I also prefer Savage rifles and their very nice system for porting gas away from the shooter. Mosin Nagants don't have that advantage.....

 

[Rule3]

If the neck is not split and the head is not separating, there is no danger of it blowing your gun up. It matters not how many times its been reloaded or how powerful the load was. Do you really think that the brass casing is what contains the pressure? It doesn't. Your rifle's chamber does, which it will do even in the event of a split neck.



So you don't use it, yet you pick it up and stop others from using it? That's great.

I belong to a private range, If it is on the ground it means no one wants it,it's been used and abused, (except maybe you)
As a private range there should be no brass, paper or anything left as we do not have a maid. Members are required clean up after themselves and bring all their junk home with them. But of course there are those who do not think it applies to them.

No I would rather not have case failure in any of my handguns or rifles due to using overused, worn out brass,

Why to people keep a log book of how many times a batch of brass has been loaded? For fun?

 

[heavydluxe]

New .223 reloader here, and all the brass I have is a share of my own once-fired (15%, maybe) and range pickups. I check the cases for separation, as has been noted above... I also look at the neck for any signs of splits. I've found maybe one case where there was obvious internal signs of head separation and a dozen with splits in the neck of various sizes and sorts.

No amount of savings on reloading old brass is worth getting your face blown off. When you put the safety issues in focus as 'the main thing' (as they should be) it makes it easier to not overly-second-guess yourself when you make a choice to throw something away because it just doesn't seem 'right' for reloading.

I'll echo what others have said here. I have picked up brass I *know* to be twice-fired reloads that still have the teeth along the top of the case neck. Some of the Federal cases I fired as factory ammo and then reloaded still haven't stretched enough to need trimming.

FWIW, what I'm struggling with is primer pockets. I use a Lee Hand Priming tool and I can tell with I have cases that have loose pockets. The question I have is how loose is too loose to reload. So far, I've separated the 'loose' into two lots:
a) Zero resistance to a new primer (or a primer that can be knocked out with the end of my handtrimming tool with no noticeable effort). These are immediately discarded.

b) Those that are clearly loose, but still show some degree of resistance when the primer goes in. I've got maybe 20 of these. I loaded them, then put them in a separate ammo box. When I go to the range next, I'm going to fire a couple of them to see how they function. If I have any trouble, I'll pull them all, discard the brass, and start over.

Good luck! Be safe!

 

[witchhunter]

I treat range brass just like new brass. Tumble, inspect, deprime, resize, trim, primer pockets, neck trued and flash holes. I use specific headstamps only, so if I find Winchester .223 or a Remington .22/250, etc. I will prep it just like I do all of the rest of my batch. If it is a headstamp that I don't use it goes in the bucket that the kids go through for their AR's and pistols. Now about the loose primers, they get deprimed and chucked into the recycle bucket.