Questions About Reloading/Brass

[pbgrasso81]

I went to the range today and was doing some plinking and some treasure (brass) hunting. This place is out in the middle of the Los Padres NF. I found a bunch of used brass from 9mm all the way up to 30-30 Winchester. Is there anything I should look for as far as non-useable brass? Can rust be removed? Cases with little crimps in the rim, can they be reshaped? Also, I found some grayish colored 40 S&W that I believe were made by TulAmmo, are these reloadable? I'm just beginning with reloading. In fact, the only thing I have right now is the brass I found today and my Lyman 49th Edition in the mail. So, thanks in advance for the help, and NO I will not give up my spot

[Divernhunter]

The tula is probably not reloadable. The case mouth dings can be fixed very easy. Somethime the die will do it and sometimes another bullet turned around and wiggled into it will do. Steel and Al cases are not good. Some of the brass from other countries will be derdan primed and are a waste of time to try and load. They will have 2 small holes instead of one larger hole in the center. You Lyman book will help you there.---Good Luck

Cal Poly student??

[pbgrasso81]

Cal Poly student??

Thanks Divernhunter. No, I'm not a Cal Poly student/Alumnus, but I have had some good times on Higuera and Marsh in SLO.

[Divernhunter]

Oh yes I remember well. Also the TGIF's at the grange hall in the 1970's. Live band and all you can drink beer all for $1 or something like that.

[JagerDog]

if the cases are magnetic, they're trash.

[J-cat]

9mm can be reloaded 30+ times. Very stout cases. I suggest you learn to reload on once fired brass you generated from factory ammo so you can get the feel of what a case should feel like when being sized. Sizing a case tells alot about what happened prior. Whenever a case feels weird when sizing or looks weird afterwards, toss it. Another sign is loose primer pockets. When you prime, and the primer goes in without effort, toss the case because it is fatigued. Also, if the case has a pronounced pressure ring near the casehead after sizing, toss it. If the case had a shiny line forming a ring near the case head (thin line, not thick) it means the casehead is about to seperate. Toss the case. Shallow round dents are OK. Deep creases with sharp ends are not OK. The case will split. Toss it. Whenever the writing on the casehead looks washed out, toss the case. Pitting weakens the case. Toss pitted cases. Bent rims cause reliability issues. Some auto-rifles bend rims and partially rip them out of the case due to headspace/pressure/extraction issues. Toss that brass. Basically, just keep once fired cases, or those as close to once fired as far as you can tell.

[pbgrasso81]

Thanks for all the invaluable knowledge. It is very much appreciated.

[Heretodaygonetomorrow]

Brass is a recyclable material, and you can sell the unsuitable (to be reloaded) cases at your local recycling center. It takes a lot to make a pound, but range pickup brass doesn't cost you anything, anyway.

If you're going hardcore, take a rake and bucket when you go treasure hunting, rake it all up (brass .22 casing recycle the same as everything else that's brass), scoop it into the bucket, and sort it out at home.

When you get home, discard the casings that are not made of brass. Check the centerfire casings and make sure that they are not Berdan primed (two little holes in the primer pocket, instead of one larger hole). Throw the Berdan primed case in with the brass .22 casings, and the other unsuitable/damaged casing for recycling.

Undamaged brass centerfire boxer primed casings that are reloadable, but are not of a caliper that you reload, and be saved, and accumulated to be sold or traded to another Reloader when you have a sufficient number of casings collected.

[Swagman00]

Aluminum cases are just as much garbage as the steel. They won't attract a magnet, but they aren't useful for reloading.

Check for excessive bulging at the base of straight wall brass and the necks of rifle. Check for splits, dents, gouging or anything bent. If loading at the starting loads, the brass doesn't have to be perfect. If you're going to run them hot though, I would hand select the best ones.