% Rejects on Once-fired LC .223 Brass

[bruce_ventura]

I was handed a 47 lb wood box of once-fired LC .223 brass from a guy moving out of town. I estimate there are ~2,200 cases in there. The seller emailed me and wants $0.10/case.

I scooped about 150 off the top and quickly inspected for rejects. I kept any normally dented and discolored cases. I rejected any that were
1) crushed
2) deeply scratched or gouged
3) having sharp (deep and pointed) dents that creased the outer skin, or
4) heavily corroded.
I ended up rejecting about 35% of the cases. Nearly all the cases I kept had some kind of dent.

Then I tumbled them in corn-cob media and re-inspected them. I rejected another 5% or so due to deep gouges or sharp dents that I missed the first time. About 2% had a thick, greasy deposit that came off with VM&P Naptha. I cleaned and kept them.

~40% rejects from once-fired brass seems high to me. Maybe I'm being too picky. Do you think this brass is worth $.10/case?

Bruce

[freonr22]

i paid from several people here, .7.5-.10 ea in quantities from 500-1500 a time.. as long as both parties agree on the bad brass i think its ok

[ar15barrels]

Do you think this brass is worth $.10/case?

I would not pay over 5 cents a piece for once fired un-processed military 5.56 brass.
You still have to remove the primer pocket crimps.
If the brass were fully processed and ready to load, then it might be worth 10 cents a piece.

[joelogic]

Thats really high, I bought some brass from someone and 13% were rejects and I was pissed. Usually there are only a small handful of rejects out of 1000. Your seller must have handled them poorly and picked up range brass that was on the ground for a while. I hope you are not paying him $220 with a 40% rejection.

[ar15barrels]

And let me get this right...

The guy is moving out of town and GAVE you the brass.
Then he did some research online and figured out it's worth something and now wants you to pay for it?
If that's the case, tell him to come and pick it up and that you are charging him $5 per day in storage fees.

[Darklyte27]

unless its new brass, im probably not going to buy it unless i have none left.
You can do this, ask a few friends or maybe meet some other calgun'ers who dont reload to save their brass for you. For their brass, give them a box or two of ammo depending on how much they give you.

I got about 1k once fired from a buddy here on cg and i gave him 60 rds of ppu. my cost was about 7$ a box.

[GrayWolf09]

unless its new brass, im probably not going to buy it unless i have none left.
You can do this, ask a few friends or maybe meet some other calgun'ers who dont reload to save their brass for you. For their brass, give them a box or two of ammo depending on how much they give you.

I got about 1k once fired from a buddy here on cg and i gave him 60 rds of ppu. my cost was about 7$ a box.

Did you have a gun and a mask? Did you give him some lube too?

[LISTINGITALL]

Hey guys....give Bruce a break.I met him yesterday morning early.He drove 15 -20 miles at 6:30am so I would have the ammo this for this saturdays sight in.He is a straight shooter.The ammo I bought off him (selling for the same friend) was match grade federal and was the best ammunition my LMT 1-7 twist upper has ever fired with exceptional results at the range.Bruce is only doing his due diligence for his friend as you would yours.....give him a break.Keep it clean here on Calguns...The rudeness and The lube reference is going way too far!

[bruce_ventura]

Thanks for the feedback.

FYI, my post was about the brass, not the seller. My first paragraph above is very brief and leads to the wrong conclusion about the seller. I have no complaints whatsoever about the him or my interaction with him.

For the record, he is a highly respected competitor and an upright guy. He was caught in a bind trying to move out of state. He thought he had sold all his ammo, and then found another stash in his garage the day before the moving van was coming to pack up his house. I got a call from him that night and dropped by the next morning to see what I could do. I took everything the moving company wouldn’t accept. He had no use for the brass, so I took that too on impulse. The understanding between us was that we would agree on a price later. I don’t think he ever looked at the brass closely enough to know what condition it was in. I’ll work out a fair price with him.

Steve, glad to hear the match ammo worked out for you.