Post by: acnewman55 on July 01, 2014, 10:04:30 PM
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?
Post by: carpsniperg2 on July 01, 2014, 10:39:15 PM
Post by: Jim the Plumber on July 01, 2014, 10:40:12 PM
I'd shy away from storing them in a plastic bag.
Post by: seth30 on July 01, 2014, 10:45:08 PM
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.why not a plastic bag?
I'd shy away from storing them in a plastic bag.
Post by: Doc Sauce on July 02, 2014, 04:07:29 AM
Post by: lee on July 02, 2014, 06:25:38 AM
Lee
Post by: C-Money on July 02, 2014, 06:33:05 AM
Post by: Jim the Plumber on July 02, 2014, 06:48:35 AM
my guess would be that the zip-locks don't breath and may promote moisture problems..... unless desiccant is used as the OP suggested.This
Lee
Post by: purplecowboy on July 02, 2014, 11:48:57 AM
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.
Post by: LEN on July 02, 2014, 12:23:28 PM
JMO
LEN
Post by: Fl0und3rz on July 02, 2014, 12:53:20 PM
Post by: Doc Sauce on July 02, 2014, 02:29:29 PM
Post by: Biggerhammer on July 02, 2014, 04:06:56 PM
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
8)
Post by: Wazukie on July 02, 2014, 04:44:32 PM
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 :o
Post by: Jim the Plumber on July 02, 2014, 04:57:16 PM
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.
Post by: mountainman on July 02, 2014, 05:12:30 PM
Post by: dontgetcrabs on July 02, 2014, 05:17:10 PM
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 :o
Can you take us through your process for reloading steel cases please. :hello:
Post by: carpsniperg2 on July 02, 2014, 05:18:14 PM
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.
Indeed you can reload brass as many time as your like before something goes wrong with it and you toss it. I am all about case uniformity. A piece of brass that is virgin compared to one that has been reloaded 10 times, will be thicker of course. As brass is shot like I am sure you know it grows a little in length. So with keeping brass uniform all the brass will need to be trimmed roughly at the same time.
When I was first reloading it didn't matter much to me. I mixed it all up and didn't keep track. I had some brass that had been shot more then others and didn't catch it was a little long. Then I started sticking cases in the semi autos and that was a problem.
I am a bit of a numbers freak on my reloading. More so then most and it just my opinion that you get better uniformity when running brass that has all been fired the same amount of times.
Post by: Wazukie on July 02, 2014, 05:24:47 PM
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 :o
Can you take us through your process for reloading steel cases please. :hello:
I will say this, directed to the OP, if you are an inexperienced re-loader, do not reload steal cases. I will leave it at that as I don't want to hi-jack the thread.
:tup:
Post by: Bofire on July 02, 2014, 05:39:23 PM
Carl
Post by: Jim the Plumber on July 02, 2014, 11:09:24 PM
Well I did answer the OP with a certain amount of brevity.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 :o
You can ( and I have) reload most steel cases. You can also load 6mm bullets in a 30 caliber case, as well as a slew of other more advanced loading practices.
I've been activity loading ammunition since 1977, so I'm aware of the ins and outs of ammunition loading.
Feel free to quit loading steel simply because I advised the OP it cannot be done within his realm of reloading experience.
Post by: 300rum on July 03, 2014, 10:40:51 AM
Old discolored brass that is or has been wet can come out real nice if you wet tumble with stainless media. Do a search on it. My particular feelings are that I won't wet tumble high pressure cartridges like rifle, for instance. The problem isn't the stainless media, it seems, it is the lemi shine or other products that you can use when you wet tumble that can weaken the brass. It's one of those things, it's probably fine to do until it isn't.
At the minimum, save your brass and you can probably find a buddy to give it to or find someone who will trade you for it.
Post by: mountainman on July 03, 2014, 11:30:40 PM
To clarify,you can store brass cases in anything you like.:tup:
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.
Post by: Biggerhammer on July 04, 2014, 06:39:46 AM
Post by: mountainman on July 10, 2014, 06:27:21 PM
agree :tup:Well I did answer the OP with a certain amount of brevity.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 :o
You can ( and I have) reload most steel cases. You can also load 6mm bullets in a 30 caliber case, as well as a slew of other more advanced loading practices.
I've been activity loading ammunition since 1977, so I'm aware of the ins and outs of ammunition loading.
Feel free to quit loading steel simply because I advised the OP it cannot be done within his realm of reloading experience.