Used brass sorting?

[mroels]

In my other thread about crappy loads on reason determined was worn brass. Got me thinking what i should do with this brass. What do you guys do with worn brass? I am curious as to how people treat/sort their brass once its used a bunch of times. Do you have assign a value to your brass as it goes through it service life? E.g. Brand new, match grade, good, for plinking only, scrap?

Right now I have 2 buckets. One gets cracked/loose primer pocket/ damaged etc. The other one gets brass that isn't good for accuracy rounds anymore but could be used for fun plinking rounds or possibly extrement hitting the oscillating device. The brass in the second would probably be gtg again if annealed, but I'm not quite there yet. But I'm wondering if this is a good idea or should I just trash brass after X amount of loadings?

[Colt562]

I know you can recycle it to get some cash. Check with your local recycling people.

[mroels]

I know you can recycle it to get some cash. Check with your local recycling people.

Yeah, sorry I should've been more clear. I know I can sell it for scrap, that's what the first bucket is for. I am more curious as to how people treat/sort their brass once its used a bunch of times. Do you have assign a value to your brass as it goes through it service life? E.g. Brand new, match grade, good, for plinking only, scrap?

[Colt562]

Well for me, the only "match" ammo that I make is 308. Everything is just for plinking. So once I start seeing signs of wear ill just start tossing them and buy more.

[MIAMIbaseballer]

Yeah, sorry I should've been more clear. I know I can sell it for scrap, that's what the first bucket is for. I am more curious as to how people treat/sort their brass once its used a bunch of times. Do you have assign a value to your brass as it goes through it service life? E.g. Brand new, match grade, good, for plinking only, scrap?

depends on the caliber.... for my calibers (pistol only and for target rds), shoot it till it cracks or some other sign. It'll tell you when it's no good.....

[mroels]

Well for me, the only "match" ammo that I make is 308. Everything is just for plinking. So once I start seeing signs of wear ill just start tossing them and buy more.

Brings me to another question. For my bolt guns I've been buying brass, FL size, fire form, neck size and work up loads. But it almost seems more economical to buy good match grade ammo (which I presume uses good brass), reload fire formed brass. I mean Lapua/Hornady brass +-$65 for 100pcs, $30 bullets, $5primers, +-$8 powder just to fire form is $108. For $25 I could buy Black Hills or Hornady and just reuse the brass.

So why buy brass over ammo?

[Colt562]

I buy used brass for pistol calibers. I used winchester for 308.

[Bill Steele]

For rifle, given the pressures involved, I am pretty critical of my brass. I don't shoot my rifle brass in semi's so neck sizing is the most frequent method and F/L is generally reserved for remdial purposes. This "process" bias means my brass most frequently becomes worthless by loose primer pockets versus other issues. I do keep track of cycle counts and have a ballpark idea how many cycles a given headstamp might deliver.

I have taken the "buy quality loaded" to get the fire formed brass route and have decided not to do that anymore. I have read where guys get really tight groups with quality match ammo. For whatever reason, the guns I shoot seem really picky about the loads they like. I can get decent (i.e. .7-.9 MOA) groups with many of the match ammo options out there. The thing is, if I load to each gun precisely, I can achieve far tighter groups, like .2-.3 MOA. For me, I just don't get any satisfaction blasting away at a target and getting .8 MOA groups.

For my hunting loads, I can't get the .2 MOA groups as I am loading different bullets, loading to reliable magazine feed lengths, etc., so my hunting loads group a lot more like "match" factory loads than my super critical target loads. Most recently I have decided to move to Barnes bullets exclusively for hunting and while hopeful I will someday get really accurate loads with these bullets, to date, I consider 1 MOA a cause for celebration.

[Whiterabbit]

some of us load till it breaks without issue. So if your brass isn't to your standards, sell it as used brass. discount off 1x and recoup some of your money. You'll make someone else happy too. Just cause your gun, bullet choice, or nex expander ball isnt a workable combo for the brass you have now (maybe) doesnt mean someone else won't have the tool or gun or bullet choice needed to make that brass perfectly serviceable!

[Cowboy T]

For handgun rounds, I reload it until it starts cracking. For rifle loads, you've got to watch things a bit more for safety reasons. A neck split is no big deal, but a case head separation in something like a .308 Winchester could get nasty.

For 7.62x54R, I just buy Prvi Partizan FMJ or JSP ammo and use that to reload. It's less $$ than buying Norma or Lapua brass, and Prvi cases are actually pretty durable.

[damndave]

I usually lose my handgun brass before it ever has problems.

As for my rifle rounds, I have them all sorted by headstamp and keep them separated by how many times they have been fired. Once you start getting loose primer pockets, you can bet most of the other ones are not far behind.

[JNunez23]

I have 2 buckets. A & B grade. Target and plinking I guess.

If they're showing any signs of cracks or warping, they go in the trash. Just visually inspect and you should be ok.