Storing once-fired brass? Reloading questions

[banditt007]

I have plenty of once fired brass from factory winchester 150 grain 30-06, as well as remington corelockt 150 grain rounds. I have been saving them all, even though currently, I do not reload. I plan on reloading in the future. The future being probably more than a couple years from now.

What I want to know is, is what's the best way to store it? I noticed they are starting to tarnish, and dont want it to get worse.

Finally, I know for people that reload shotgun shells, some hulls are more desirable than others for reloading. Is this the same w/ rifle brass? And if brass was previously fired in the same gun that you will shoot the reloads in, is this of any advantage? (some sort of tailored fit )

 

[JDG]

All my brass is in plastic coffee cans or totes

 

[Dfariswheel]

For storage most anything that's air tight.
Heavy, but USGI steel ammo cans with good condition rubber seals work well.
Most any kind of plastic storage containers, thick plastic bags, even steel coffee cans, etc
As long as the tarnish doesn't start to turn to waxy green verdigris, don't worry about it.
When you start to reload, you'll almost certainly want a brass polisher to clean the cases and that will shine the brass back up.

As for brand or type of brass, everyone has their own favorite brand.
Shooting the brass in the same rifle allows neck sizing-only with bolt rifles. That can be an accuracy advantage, but read up on reloading for the fine details.

 

[Moloch]

Hah, I feel the same way, I am still not reloading but I have lots of brass stored in plastic backs to 200 pcs. They are fine in the bag, one bag with 8x57 mauser brass looks still nice and shiney and is over two years old. However, I always put a salt bag into the bag to keep the brass dry. (You know, the small salt bags to keep moisture low)

 

[81FAN]

I'm no great reloader, maybe have done a dozen boxes. I would just put them in a plastic bag or something with a lid so you don't get a bunch of dirt and dust mixed in. Don't worry about tarnish, it's normal sorta like a penny gets tarnished. They will clean up. And don't worry about the brand of brass - they all work. I do sort them by brand when I reload. Interesting thought though. All things being equal, does the brand make any difference in bullet placement......Guess I will have to try that out next time to the range.

One hint - do not put a big open box of .223 brass (500-600+ rounds) under a shelf where you store your car oil change pail. It's OK until you spill the pail and it all runs down into your brass. bye bye brass.

 

[50 shooter]

If you want to keep them shiny, tumble them with some polish and then seal them in a container that's air tight. If you don't need to open it then don't as the more they're exposed to air the more they will start to show tarnishing. That and if you handle them the oil from your skin will also speed up the tarnishing process.

Yes, there are certain types of cases that are more desirable then others for all types of firearms. You'll see that when you try to buy brands like Lapua, IMI...

As for reloading, if you shoot the ammo in your rifle (bolt gun only) you can get away with just neck sizing the brass instead of full length sizing. This puts less stress on the brass but you'll need to full length size the brass about every 3-5 firings depending on the rifle, loading... If it's fired through a semi you'll need to FL size them after every firing and you need to trim to length more often with a semi then a bolt gun.

If you plan on reloading I would suggest that you buy a few different manuals and the book "The ABC's of Reloading". You can find alot of books on ebay for alot less then buying them new. Be careful, take your time and do alot of reading before you get started.

 

[Uncle H]

I've got literally thousands of cases of various calibers stashed in old cigar boxex. Decap 'em & toss 'em in the tumbler for a few hours and they're ready to rock.

 

[albsch]

Sounds like you have a lot of brass to store. I agree with the others, tumble them and store them away. I use gallon zip lock bags, force as much air out as possible and put it in a sealed 5 gallon bucket. They stack well and are easy to lable. I do not have enough rifle to do this with but it works well with 45 and 9mm.

 

[ballardw]

If they're green, toss'em. A light dull brown but not rough surface can stay that way for a long time with just a relatively dry climate. Like 40 years for some of the 30-06 I'll get around to after the scope is remounted...

 

[inspectormac]

The brass is fine...

I'm currently reloading 45 brass that hasn't seen the light of day for at least ten years, and it is fine. It was tumbled, then thrown in a US Army ammo can and put away. Actually, the stuff that is still in the tumbler has been there for ten years as well, and is just as fine as the stuff that was sealed. I wouldn't worry too much about the finish of the brass, as long as there is no pitting or thinning of the material, and it feeds OK, it should be fine for longer than you will be.

As far as the brass that will work best with your rifle, you'll just have to try it. Here's some tips. The best results with rifle brass come with consistency. Most guys who shoot long range, where consistency in pressures and therefore velocity are of paramount importance, will weight sort the best of the most consistent brass for even better consistency. I prefer Lapua brass, but that is just me. The best brass is the brass that performs the most consistently in your rifle, and that is that. Read some on 6mmbr.com or sites like that if you want more information. Those guys have forgotten more than most will ever know.

 

[handlerer]

About delaying your purchase of reloading equipment, it's only going to get more expensive. The cost of components is rising steadily. You could check out pawnshops, for a used press, it's safer than buying a used rifle, IMO. I have never heard of anyone wearing out a quality reloading press, but have seen rifles on the rack in pawn shops that the barrels were shot out. About the different brass, the Lapua and Norma brass is considered superior, but also much more expensive. Unless your a competition shooter, I doubt if it would be noticable. I reload for 300WBY and 340 WBY, and there is a noticeable difference in brass life between Norma, and Rem or Federal Brass. You can only load a piece of Rem brass once to the level you can load the Norma brass, as it stretches the primer pocket after one firing, so I will not reload that brass to max and am able to get a couple more reloads from them. Be cautious if there is any milsurp brass in your stash. I don't know for certain about 30-06, but 223 and mil 5.56 should be kept separate, I learned this the hard way. I had to discard over 200 pieces of brass because I blew two primers back to back, in my Mini-14. I had loaded 69gr SMK's pretty hot and realized that it was the variation in the brass that I was using that caused it.