Using range pick-up brass

[hotrail]

how can you tell its a small primer casing visually is it that much different than the large? Say i have a small primer pocket casing and try to insert a large primer with my hand primer. Will it not enter?

Yes, the diameter of the standard "small pistol" primer is sufficiently less than the standard "large pistol" primer that it is obvious with the naked eye. I think its 0.175" vs. 0.210". Not huge, but enough that I can tell them apart without my reading glasses. So as I size cases, I just glance at the primer pocket and throw the small ones in a separate bin.

If you try to insert a LPP into a SPP case, it will not insert. You definitely don't want to force it or apply excessive force.

If you have some "Blazer Brass" 45 ACP rounds, take a look at the primers compared to some other brands. You will see the smaller primers on Blazer Brass, some Federal and some Winchester cases, among others. The last batch of range pick-up 45 brass I got had small primer pockets on about 10% of the total cases.

[Pardini]

I don't even look for splits or dents in pistol brass. If I hear a split case I'll look for it. If I find a split case I've already reloaded, I'll shoot and hopefully don't pick it up.

[acoop101]

45 seems to get shorter with firing so I don't worry about case length other than that I would try and size every case, resizing will uncrush all but the most crushed cases.

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[JackEllis]

I use only range brass for .223 though I have purchased used .30-06 and .243 cases. My big concern is head separation. Had a couple of .243 necks split but the round fired fine and the bullet flew straight.

I don't tumble. Just wash in hot water, dish soap and Lemishine to get the crud off, then inspect cases as I handle them (multi step procedure). I'll keep cases that have been dented by semi-auto fire but I throw away anything with crushed necks, bends in the body or other obvious damage.

[Mayor McRifle]

Use range pick ups if you can "verify" that it is brand new brass that is once fired.

Otherwise, why compromise your safety? Food for thought.

More food for thought: How is your safety compromised if brass has been fired mores than once?

[AGGRO]

More food for thought: How is your safety compromised if brass has been fired mores than once?

Answer: It isn't. Typically you can tell if a primer loads too easy or start to see the ring of separation. Even then, a loose chamber can do that but these will be harder to size.

[Excommunicado]

If you picked up my range brass then you should buy life insurance before shooting them again Most are left behind for a reason, you get my point.


QUOTE=hotrail;20976665]I didn't have any 45ACP to reload recently, so on my last trip to the gun club I bought a bag of the brass they pick up. They sort it and sell it for a couple bucks a pound. Naturally its dirty. I know some don't even tumble their brass (I do) but this stuff has picked up a certain amount of dirt from the ground at an outdoor range. Some of them are a bit smashed, as if they were stepped on. No problem, I just throw those in my recycle pile.

I look at the tumbled cases as I put them in the sizing die. If I see any bad dents, splitting, etc. I err on the side of caution and throw the case in the recycle bin. I almost never spot any cases with splitting. I suspect a lot of the brass is fairly new. I also look at the primer pockets and separate the small primer cases so I can prime those as a separate batch. I don't check case length.

Q 1. Is there anything else I should be doing to inspect these cases before I reload them?

Q 2: In the batch, there were at least a couple dozen cases with no primer. I wonder why? Many of these cases went through the sizing die and the expander very easily. Of course the felt resistance was less because I didn't have to press out the old primer. But frankly the cases felt like they had already been sized. And expanded. I didn't think to try to put a bullet in one to see if it really was expanded. Anyway, I did not see any damage to these cases, other than the usual scratches, so I left them in my batch of cases. I just wonder why someone apparently discarded a bunch of deprimed cases. If so, they must have had a reason. Is there something else I should be checking cases these for?

Q 3. Does anyone check your brass for case length?

Thanks for any suggestions. Just want to be sure I am doing a thorough job of weeding out any bad cases.[/QUOTE]

[edgerly779]

^^^ BS lots of brass left by people who do not reload. Been reloading for 50 years very few issues with brass. Very few brass with no primer that i can remember. How long have you been reloading?

[Excommunicado]

READ old man: I said "My Brass" and "Most" are left behind for a reason

^^^ BS lots of brass left by people who do not reload. Been reloading for 50 years very few issues with brass. Very few brass with no primer that i can remember. How long have you been reloading?

[rcslotcar]

"Most" shooters don't reload and leave their brass. I've been shooing range pick up for more years than a lot of members here have been alive. Inspection and knowing what to look for is key. Not all brass should be reloaded. A lot of brass is tossed in the box it was sold in. Just use common sense and toss anything questionable. I have buckets of once fired 9mm and 45 acp from an inside police range that is my primary source of brass that I still inspect prior to reloading.

[tonyjr]

About once a year , I end up buying 25 and 380 cases .
Both are guns that are for snakes and plinking when
camping and are hard to find .
Everything else is range and my brass / our brass .
If no primer , not worth figuring out , just toss .

[edgerly779]

Sorry did not read part about your brass. Should have gone in trash if discarded instead of mixed in with good brass. Like I asked how long have you been reloading.

[the86d]

I have 10x more brass due to picking up other people's. Some people don't care, don't care to reach under the bench behind the shooting tables, or don't reload. I usually come home with out 10-50% more than I came with, most trips... I even pickup brass in calibers I will shoot someday, and some that I won't... Just in case a friend might start reloading in their caliber... Or maybe to sell if I get enough.

[mjmagee67]

If you picked up my range brass then you should buy life insurance before shooting them again Most are left behind for a reason, you get my point?

This is quite possibly the stupidest single thing I have ever read on the internet. This is pure FUD.

[baih777]

[QUOTE=hybridkarpower;21086496]If you picked up my range brass then you should buy life insurance before shooting them again Most are left behind for a reason.

I never leave my used up range brass at the range. Take home and dispose of it. Too many new reloaders now.
Plus the range picks it up and sells it.