Is this brass safe to reload?

[Texas Boy]

I have over 1k rounds of "range" 223 brass that I'm almost done processing. I can tell some of it has been reloaded before (evidence of trimming) - but no idea how many firings it has seen. Some is only once fired, others, who knows.

After cleaning, de-prime, sizing, swage primer pocket, remove lube, trim to length, polish, and clean the primer pocket, this is my inspection plan:

examine for obvious physical defects, creases, etc.
length check
use wire inside case to check for signs of case head separation
examine neck for cracks or stress marks
sort by headstamp

Are there any other checks I should make before pronouncing the brass safe to load?

Thanks,
Mark

[phish]

I'd be leery of range brass. If they already show evidence of being trimmed, it could be they were about to give up the ghost and the owner left them.

[ZakAttackMan]

I'd be leery of range brass. If they already show evidence of being trimmed, it could be they were about to give up the ghost and the owner left them.

"phish" is right finish processing all of them and send them to me ASAP

[FLIGHT762]

When I pick up range brass, I inspect each case to insure it is once fired. You can usually tell by looking at the primer and the factory crimp used on the case mouth. Any brass that has been reloaded gets tossed into the recycle bin.

[Agustav]

Only time I would leave my brass at the range is when I think the brass is at it's last leg. Since you have plenty of once fired, why risk your equipments and your health? As mentioned before, you can spot a once fired by looking at the primer (color etc...) and the case mouth (serration etc...). Good luck sorting them.

[Texas Boy]

If the brass is worn out, there must be a way to detect this - even after the brass has been processed. Using the wire/paper clip test will certainly warn of head separation. Perhaps I need to measure the thickness at the neck to eliminate any brass that might be subject to neck splitting. I guess I could even measure the primer pocket diameter to try and catch with loose primers.

What else am I missing? Should I weigh each piece and toss brass below a certain weight?

[Beelzy]

Range Brass should be left...........at the Range.

Unless you have a Belt-fed .223 that consumes brass that is.

[Texas Boy]

Here is why you must be able to determine the suitability of a piece of brass without knowing its history:

Scenario #1: You only purchase new brass and always use a shell catcher. There is no doubt that the brass is yours and you carefully track the number of firings. However, the manufacture has a QA problem and some of their brass is not properly annealed or is the wrong alloy. The weight hasn't changed, and it looks the same, but it is going to age much faster. Perhaps it is only safe for 2 or 3 firings now, where the properly annealed/correct alloy was good for many more firings. How would you catch this problem before a case blew up? Certainly there must be some stress warnings you can detect.

Scenario #2: You don't/can't use a catcher, but you mark your brass. Unknown to you, someone using the same head stamp and same marking system left a few pieces of brass on the range. You pick it up not knowing it isn't yours. Your round count was the same, so you don't even realize that a few of your pieces have been swapped. The other shooter was loading to max loads and the brass was spent. As you process "your" brass, how are you going to catch this piece that is no longer safe?

The above are highly controlled scenarios and yet a potentially dangerous piece of brass still entered the system. Now enter the world of your typical action/competition/tactical match type shooting. Shell catchers are impractical and you aren't standing/sitting in one place - so nearly all the brass you recover is "range" brass.

Something else to consider - I can trim brass on my lathe and the cut is just as clean as a factory cut. I also polish my brass. If you picked it up on the range, how would you know it had been reloaded? You probably couldn't tell. Or what if someone sold this brass to you as "deprimed, once fired brass" when in fact it had been fired multiple times. How would you know?

The bottom line - and the reason for my original post - you must be able to inspect a piece of brass, without knowing its history, and determine if it is safe to reload. Simply relying on the history will eventually get you into trouble.

So the question remains - what is this inspection? I've listed several tests but am still interested in hearing if the experienced reloaders consider these tests sufficient or have further/different tests.

[cjskalka]

^^^ I agree, there are far too many instances when you won't KNOW the condition of the brass, ie number of firing or metallurgical quality. I believe it comes down to visually inspecting every case to determine if its good or no good to reload. I dont see how this situation is any different from loading your own 2 or 3 times fired brass. You still have to inspect that brass to see if its in suitable condition to be reloaded. Even once loaded brass can fail and cause problems if not caught, so how is this any different?

[dhenry132]

"phish" is right finish processing all of them and send them to me ASAP

I'm with Zak, you can send them to me.

[rksimple]

There are a number of things to look for. Trimming is an easy one to spot as factory stuff rarely comes with a smooth case mouth. Crimped primers is another. Primer sealant, annealing marks, etc. And upon loading, how it resizes, primes, etc. will also give you feedback. Just need to know what to look for.

Better yet, just leave it. I don't want my brass supply to dry up.

[bohoki]

i reload them till a primer won't stay in the pocket
or i the neck splits

if i feel a primer go in really easy i try to poke it out with a wire if it passes the wire test i load and shoot it

[hawk81]

Check them out thoroughly and check for any signs of defects. If none are detected, then use them.

[hawk81]

You are right on about what you do. I do the same exact thing, including the wire test.

i reload them till a primer won't stay in the pocket
or i the neck splits

if i feel a primer go in really easy i try to poke it out with a wire if it passes the wire test i load and shoot it

[doc1buc]

i reload them till a primer won't stay in the pocket
or i the neck splits

if i feel a primer go in really easy i try to poke it out with a wire if it passes the wire test i load and shoot it

Is this the only wire test guys or is there a different one? I reload range brass all the time and relied/rely on the visual inspection to determine the likely hood of case failure. When you are running the wire on the inside of the case, what exactly are you feeling for? Hairline cracks? Thank you.