Tossing useable brass
- Thread starter BJung
- Start date
Ditto - except I won't even touch Blazer, Aguila and Perfecta brass - I've photo documented my reasoning on this board several times for those going directly to scrap.
I sort by head stamp - my current favorites in .40 are non-mil spec Winchester ( due to crimped primer pockets ) and GECO
And I have come across a recent issue with stretched brass due to a larger than usual round I load on occasion which I sort to the side as unusable for regular reloads.
But yeah - along with what you posted - if it doesn't feel right in the press - it gets a great looking over for issues and usually gets flattened to prevent re-use before hitting the scrap bucket. All in all - a sensible practice. Brass is too cheap to bother taking a risk on.
odd headstamps
How many of you don't separate by headstamp and discover that pistol brass doesn't matter? I've read that it doesn't, yet I like doing it because my bag of reloads look prettier that way?
I've collected so much S&B brass that I started saving these. I drilled out my .38 Special PMC brass for glue gun bullets. The walls are thick enough to hold the glue gun bullets I made with LEE molds.
How many of you don't separate by headstamp and discover that pistol brass doesn't matter? I've read that it doesn't, yet I like doing it because my bag of reloads look prettier that way?
I've collected so much S&B brass that I started saving these. I drilled out my .38 Special PMC brass for glue gun bullets. The walls are thick enough to hold the glue gun bullets I made with LEE molds.
why / how you came to sort for head stamp - my story
You reload long enough and you accumulate so much brass that you eventually develop a favorite. You find it chambers smoother in your particular weapons. Or you find that your reloading dies seem to go smoother with one head stamp over others, or you start collecting your odd-balls and one-offs and find that they are all one make of brass that you then start avoiding......
OR - you spend a bunch of time reading about people's favorites on boards like this, see a few photos like these and make informed choices based on documented observations.
I come across too many once fired blazer rounds that come off the range cracked. I won't reload blazer brass.
A BUNCH of PERFECTA brass has un-centered primer holes - I won't reload PERFECTA.
Aguila brass - seems no two rounds appear the same - way too much variability so I don't bother reloading it.
You reload long enough and you accumulate so much brass that you eventually develop a favorite. You find it chambers smoother in your particular weapons. Or you find that your reloading dies seem to go smoother with one head stamp over others, or you start collecting your odd-balls and one-offs and find that they are all one make of brass that you then start avoiding......
OR - you spend a bunch of time reading about people's favorites on boards like this, see a few photos like these and make informed choices based on documented observations.
I come across too many once fired blazer rounds that come off the range cracked. I won't reload blazer brass.
A BUNCH of PERFECTA brass has un-centered primer holes - I won't reload PERFECTA.
Aguila brass - seems no two rounds appear the same - way too much variability so I don't bother reloading it.
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wild willy
New member
Unless a case is split I don't recall it happening.I have a can sitting on the back of the bench for bad brass they get a squeeze with a pair of pliers before going in the can.
Does an uncentered primer hole " matter "..... it'll fire.... and likely you'll have more unburnt powder due to an uneven ignition through the charge. Result is you will have more GSR & fowling and more unburnt powder will exit your weapon. If it's all you have - reload it. If you have a choice - why load it?
I go so far as to check my favorite brass - winchester - for burs inside the shell around the primer hole. I use a lyman hand tool to remove the burs - for 2 reasons. One - again - is so that I get as even a powder ignition as possible. Second reason is if the bur is big enough, the polishing media has trouble cleaning the bottom of the shell and I like a totally clean shell for inspection purposes and to prevent any GSR accumulation at the bottom of the shell which could flake off and block the primer ignition resulting in a dud or a hang fire.
Yes - I go farther than most on stuff like this. But I look at it this way - that piece of brass will likely cycle through my weapons 20 times or more. Why not make it the best I can?
I go so far as to check my favorite brass - winchester - for burs inside the shell around the primer hole. I use a lyman hand tool to remove the burs - for 2 reasons. One - again - is so that I get as even a powder ignition as possible. Second reason is if the bur is big enough, the polishing media has trouble cleaning the bottom of the shell and I like a totally clean shell for inspection purposes and to prevent any GSR accumulation at the bottom of the shell which could flake off and block the primer ignition resulting in a dud or a hang fire.
Yes - I go farther than most on stuff like this. But I look at it this way - that piece of brass will likely cycle through my weapons 20 times or more. Why not make it the best I can?
Deburring pistol brass
Grey_Lion,
Have you found your groups improving for deburring pistol brass? I never compared test loads with deburred pet loads and once with burrs in the case.
I'm surprised to read that other Reloaders can be like me. For test loads, I like separating brass by weight. For long range loads load I do this too.
An odd observation I made is I once found a few .45acp casings with drilled out flash holes. I've been wondering if this is a good idea, if even safe.
Grey_Lion,
Have you found your groups improving for deburring pistol brass? I never compared test loads with deburred pet loads and once with burrs in the case.
I'm surprised to read that other Reloaders can be like me. For test loads, I like separating brass by weight. For long range loads load I do this too.
An odd observation I made is I once found a few .45acp casings with drilled out flash holes. I've been wondering if this is a good idea, if even safe.
I haven't measured my groupings in a very long time - so I couldn't honestly say. I don't competitively shoot currently. What I can say is my rounds seem to me to have less fowling, less muzzle flash, less smoke,and that I can say once fired winchester brass is dirtier than my reloads, but this last likely has a lot to do with a different powder and different primer than factory winchester rounds.
As to drilled out primer holes - any chance those were originally european brass? GECO brass comes with a slightly smaller primer hole than American brass. It has a metric primer hole. Whenever I use my flash hole debur tool on GECO brass - it reams the hole larger up to typical american standard dimension..
As to drilled out primer holes - any chance those were originally european brass? GECO brass comes with a slightly smaller primer hole than American brass. It has a metric primer hole. Whenever I use my flash hole debur tool on GECO brass - it reams the hole larger up to typical american standard dimension..
I shot pistols in a company league for a while and no one there sorted their brass and they would use a case until it became unusable. I did the same and can't bring my self to blame my scores on reloading procedures.
Note: some of the guys in the company league also shot in serious competition but this was years and years ago and I think almost everybody had the idea "shoot the brass until it fails' and don't bother sorting it.
Note: some of the guys in the company league also shot in serious competition but this was years and years ago and I think almost everybody had the idea "shoot the brass until it fails' and don't bother sorting it.
BJ,
Winchester produced brass for large pistol non-toxic primers for a time. Those all had flash holes about ⅛ inch in diameter. This was because the DDNT sensitizer used in non-toxic primers has higher brisance than the lead styphnate used in conventional primers. As a result, if you used a DDNT primer with a standard size flash hole, it would make gas so fast that it would blow the primer back hard enough to cause subsequent piercing when the chamber pressure peaked. Usually, you see the initial NT for non-toxic stamped on these cases. People I know have reloaded them with conventional primers and reported no problem, but that is anecdotal and I would either scrap them or set them aside for use with primer-fired wax or plastic bullets, as those require the same larger flash hole.
Lack of friction in the sizing die is an indication your brass is being fired at low enough pressure not to expand completely into the chamber and I've found it tends to happen because a case has a fairly thin wall where it grasps the bullet and has work-hardened to a level of springiness that assists to prevent full expansion into the chamber. R-P (Remington) brass is particularly noted for this, having only a 0.010" thick neck wall. I used to toss it because, though I could still feel it touch the sides of my Lyman carbide die, it would not resize enough to hang onto a bullet well. I could push lubricated lead bullets into these cases with my thumb, and occasionally I would have a bullet actually fall into the case mouth with no hold at all. Later, when I got a Dillon press, the problem stopped. it turns out the Dillon sizing dies are on the snug size and they would get the R-P cases squeezed down enough to hold onto a bullet, regardless of what they did in the chamber.
Regarding flash holes, I've seen a lot of those way-off-center holes in Fiocchi brass, too. It looks like they are drilling them without a bushing that centers the drill in the primer pocket or else they have the drill bit extend too far beyond the bushing so it can walk. However, the fact these are off-center does not mean they won't work. If off-center flash holes couldn't work, Berdan priming wouldn't work. It's more a matter of how consistent the flash is. And while that can become significant to ignition consistency in long-range rifle shooting, I am not aware of it mattering to handgun ammunition fired at 50 yards and under.
Winchester produced brass for large pistol non-toxic primers for a time. Those all had flash holes about ⅛ inch in diameter. This was because the DDNT sensitizer used in non-toxic primers has higher brisance than the lead styphnate used in conventional primers. As a result, if you used a DDNT primer with a standard size flash hole, it would make gas so fast that it would blow the primer back hard enough to cause subsequent piercing when the chamber pressure peaked. Usually, you see the initial NT for non-toxic stamped on these cases. People I know have reloaded them with conventional primers and reported no problem, but that is anecdotal and I would either scrap them or set them aside for use with primer-fired wax or plastic bullets, as those require the same larger flash hole.
Lack of friction in the sizing die is an indication your brass is being fired at low enough pressure not to expand completely into the chamber and I've found it tends to happen because a case has a fairly thin wall where it grasps the bullet and has work-hardened to a level of springiness that assists to prevent full expansion into the chamber. R-P (Remington) brass is particularly noted for this, having only a 0.010" thick neck wall. I used to toss it because, though I could still feel it touch the sides of my Lyman carbide die, it would not resize enough to hang onto a bullet well. I could push lubricated lead bullets into these cases with my thumb, and occasionally I would have a bullet actually fall into the case mouth with no hold at all. Later, when I got a Dillon press, the problem stopped. it turns out the Dillon sizing dies are on the snug size and they would get the R-P cases squeezed down enough to hold onto a bullet, regardless of what they did in the chamber.
Regarding flash holes, I've seen a lot of those way-off-center holes in Fiocchi brass, too. It looks like they are drilling them without a bushing that centers the drill in the primer pocket or else they have the drill bit extend too far beyond the bushing so it can walk. However, the fact these are off-center does not mean they won't work. If off-center flash holes couldn't work, Berdan priming wouldn't work. It's more a matter of how consistent the flash is. And while that can become significant to ignition consistency in long-range rifle shooting, I am not aware of it mattering to handgun ammunition fired at 50 yards and under.
Wow Thanks
Wow, thanks UncleNick,
I have seen NT on brass before and didn't know why until now.
Yes, I was resizing Remington brass as a matter of fact.
I have a small baggie of mixed brass and shoot them with a pet load using odd weighed bullets later so I can see how good I can shoot with a bad combination. I've heard more than once that mixing brass doesn't effect the accuracy. Has anyone else experimented with this out of curiosity?
Wow, thanks UncleNick,
I have seen NT on brass before and didn't know why until now.
Yes, I was resizing Remington brass as a matter of fact.
I have a small baggie of mixed brass and shoot them with a pet load using odd weighed bullets later so I can see how good I can shoot with a bad combination. I've heard more than once that mixing brass doesn't effect the accuracy. Has anyone else experimented with this out of curiosity?