Saving Brass- Non-Reloader Easy Question

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Question from a non-reloader-

I know myself well enough to know that I will never reload, at least not until I retire in 20 years. Hardly enough time for shooting, let alone reloading. I used to just toss my brass in the brass bin at the ranges/clubs I go to, but I've started saving all my brass to give away in future NES Karmas.

However, I know nothing about what is worth saving and what can be reloaded.

What should I keep? I buy only new ammo, so it will all be once-fired.

What about Wolf .223 ammo in the grey casing? Toss those?

What about .41 Rem Mag casing by Winchester. The Winchester Supreme PTHP ammo? The casing is silver colored- Is that just a color issue and should I save them?

Any other guidance?

See, I told you this was an easy question!
 
Nickle-plated casings are fine to reload. Many JHP pistol rounds come with nickel-plated cartridge cases.

Throw out the aluminum cases (e.g., Blazer).
 
Nickle-plated casings are fine to reload. Many JHP pistol rounds come with nickel-plated cartridge cases.

Throw out the aluminum cases (e.g., Blazer).

how do i know which are aluminum vs. nickel plated vs. whatever?
 
A magnet is your friend[smile]

Just run a magnet over the bucket/pile/whatever. Anything that moves/jumps to the magnet isn't brass.
 
how do i know which are aluminum vs. nickel plated vs. whatever?

The aluminum cartridge cases have a dull greyish color. Nickle-plated cases are a bright shiny silver, the same color as a polished stainless steel gun.

These are nickel plated:
federalpremium9mmluger.jpg


These are aluminum:
cfgac.jpg


These are brass:
223REM-63-5.jpg


Save the brass and nickel-plated. Throw away the aluminum.
 
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Amend this: Anything you know to be brass and you know to be once fired, you should save.

I don't do "range brass."

I appreciate your position but it doesn't mean someone else won't want it. I think if you're going to give away brass on a Karma it should specify once fired or "range brass".
 
Look inside the case. If you see 1 hole in the center,and the case is brass, save it. If you see 2 smaller holes, throw it away or save it as scrap because it can't be reloaded using readily available equipment and components.
 
Why? I'm just getting into reloading and am curious about the implications.

Thanks,

Rich

The implications are that it might be brass that has been reloaded several times before and has reached the end of its safe and useful lifespan. This usually pertains to rifle brass.

Most pistol brass can be reloaded until it won't hold a primer in the primer pocket anymore or the case mouth splits.

Rifle brass stretches with each firing and the case wall tends to thin back near the web, with the brass flowing forward and the neck wall thickening and the entire case lengthening, hence the need to trim bottle necked rifle cases regularly to maintain proper length.

Rifles with generous headspace tend to decrease brass' lifespan to one or two safe reloads before they should be discarded.

A good indicator of once fired military brass is an intact crimp, either the triple tab type or circular type found on most.

There is a shiney ring that begins to show where the brass thins. This is a sign of impending failure.

As for pistol brass, unless its badly damaged or crushed or the case wall is split, it will usually reload fine.

Bottom line is that it should be inspected carefully, especially rifle brass and if there is the slightest doubt as to it's fitness to reload, toss it out. A case failure is not worth the price of a single piece of brass.....there will always be more.

I'll make a note to put a couple of bad and questionable cases in my vehicle and show you at the range next time I'm there. You'll probably hear me there Saturday morning......come on down!
 
rich

some folks buy new brass and reload it, they also keep track as to how many times it was relaoded,
they also don't mix head stamps.

range brass may have been reloaded once or many times\ and for the most
part is mixed head stamps, kinda depends on how fussy you are.

JimB
 
Save the 41mag brass that's hard to find. What you have can be reloaded. No one makes 41 mag with steel cases.

I was just lucky enough to just get 145 pieces from another member. New 41mag brass is hard to find and real expensive.
 
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Why? I'm just getting into reloading and am curious about the implications.

Thanks,

Rich

Range brass is like some strangers: you don't know where they've been, what they've been doing, or how many times they've done it.
 
Why? I'm just getting into reloading and am curious about the implications.
Brass has a limited lifetime. The more the number of reloadings and the higher the pressure load, the more likely the brass is to fail.

I keep my brass separated by number of reloadings, and I use relatively mild reloads. If I start to see problems, I can ditch an entire batch of reloads.

With range pickup brass, I have no idea of the provenance of it. It could be once-fired, factory loads. Or it could have been reloaded 10 times by a guy who thought that load limits were written by lawyers, and it is just waiting to fail catastrophically.
 
some folks buy new brass and reload it, they also keep track as to how many times it was relaoded,
they also don't mix head stamps.

range brass may have been reloaded once or many times\ and for the most
part is mixed head stamps, kinda depends on how fussy you are.

JimB

That is exactly what I have always done. I have always separated them by headstamp and how many times I reload them. That way it is much easier to do your inspection. Even though I have thousands of 9mm cases, I still tumble them as I use them ie: if I use a say, a couple boxes (100 cartridges) I'll throw them in the tumble by themselves. That way you don't have within a batch of ammo some that have been reloaded several times and at various pressures mixed with newer brass that has seen less action. Bottom line it's all personal preference. How diligent a person wants to be be is up to the individual.
 
I'm sure I'll get flamed here, but if the grey coated Wolf you're using is Boxer primed (single flash hole), I'll take it off your hands for some experimenting I'm doing.

It works, I've reloaded both .45acp and .223 boxer primed Wolf. [smile] Just don't tumble them too long. Tumble them just enough to remove any grit then process just like brass.
 
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