Question on saving brass for reloading

[acnewman55]

I don't currently reload, but I'm starting to do a decent amount of shooting, and figure I'll do so eventually  - - at least for my .308

I have a few questions:

Any point in saving the casings from the cheap steel-case rounds?

Should I be keeping track of which brands/loads the brass comes from, or is that irrelevant?

Any particular way I should store them, other than simple ziploc bags?  Do I need to throw in a desiccant packet?

[carpsniperg2]

You can just toss them in a plastic zip lock. Trash any and all steel cases. I like to sort my brass by head stamp and number of times reloaded.

[Jim the Plumber]

The steel cases cannot be reloaded. You can sort the brass cases by headstamp and store them in a cardboard box of one sort or another.
I'd shy away from storing them in a plastic bag.

[seth30]

The steel cases cannot be reloaded. You can sort the brass cases by headstamp and store them in a cardboard box of one sort or another.
I'd shy away from storing them in a plastic bag.

why not a plastic bag?

[Doc Sauce]

Curious about the plastic bag thing too...

[lee]

my guess would be that the zip-locks don't breath and may promote moisture problems..... unless desiccant is used as the OP suggested.

Lee

[C-Money]

Pretty easy to see what you are looking at with a zip lock. I use lead shot bags to store my brass. For sure hang on to your emptys, but trash the steel ones.

[Jim the Plumber]

my guess would be that the zip-locks don't breath and may promote moisture problems..... unless desiccant is used as the OP suggested.

Lee

This

[purplecowboy]

You can just toss them in a plastic zip lock. Trash any and all steel cases. I like to sort my brass by head stamp and number of times reloaded.

When I started reloading for my .243 I was told that you could only reload the cases 5 times. I developed an complicated system of marking each case to tell how many times they had been reloaded. After a few years I found out that you can reload a case until the neck splits. I started reloading in 1969 and I believe that I still have cases that I started with. I normally take the cases and run them through the polisher and then check them for neck splits. I dispose of any that show signs of neck split.

I hope that this helps in a small way.  Good luck and good reloading.

[LEN]

HHHMMMM all the new brass I have gotten in bulk have been shipped and I stored in plastic bags and we are talking in 1000's. Guess I have been wrong for almost 50 years and it won't work. DAMMMM got a bunch of bad brass stored. I don't store wet brass how ever.

JMO

LEN

[Fl0und3rz]

Sorting by rifle fired is useful if you intend to neck size only for that particular rifle.  Otherwise, I sort by headstamp and number fired.

[Doc Sauce]

I have brass that has been in ziploc bags for years without any moisture that I can tell.  I'll double check them when I go to load em though, but I have not seen any problem with it yet.

[Biggerhammer]

HHHMMMM all the new brass I have gotten in bulk have been shipped and I stored in plastic bags and we are talking in 1000's. Guess I have been wrong for almost 50 years and it won't work. DAMMMM got a bunch of bad brass stored. I don't store wet brass how ever.

JMO

LEN

 

[Wazukie]

The steel cases cannot be reloaded. You can sort the brass cases by headstamp and store them in a cardboard box of one sort or another.
I'd shy away from storing them in a plastic bag.

Hmmm, guess I better not do it anymore

[Jim the Plumber]

To clarify,you can store brass cases in anything you like.
 I have over 200,000 pieces of brass, so I store brass in whatever is handy, which includes plastic bags.
I still recommend a person new to reloading 'shy away' from storing fired brass in plastic bags.
Primarily because the OP lives on the west side, there is a chance he will shoot in the rain, collected brass may be wet, ergo, moister problems.
Once he has become a seasoned reloader, this issue will have been vetted.
  Hopefully this will clear up my reasoning for those out on work release.