Q about brass condition

evan price · July 31, 2007, 22:05

I am going to buy a press and start reloading- the decision is made. I have been helping out at the local range and getting buckets full of brass in exchange for cleaning it up.
I started sorting brass by calibers.

My question is, I am culling stuff that is obviously bad or nonreloadable, but since I have not actually pulled the lever on a press yet, I am scrapping any brass that looks questionable. I have a lot of shells that are dinged on the case mouth, like during ejection. The mouth is slightly D shaped and there is a scuff, like the slide hit it. I was thinking anything that way might split when fired, but someone else told me the resizing die just pushes it back into shape and if it is minor don't worry about it. Mostly this is .45 ACP cases I see this in, and truthfully my Glock 21 tends to do this sometimes, I've seen. Is this a problem?

Also, I have a large quantity of nice rifle brass that is discolored. I was told it probably came from the trash barrel, where people put their empty cartridge boxes and shotgun hulls, then they burn off the garbage. Some people put their cases back in the box and drop them in the trash instead of using the brass buckets. We're talking like, almost 250 rounds of nice commercial .308, 30-06, and .223 ammo. I assume this brass is now annealed and unsafe to reload since it was heated up?

**moses** · August 01, 2007, 05:38

Sounds like the brass was wet for a while, I have actually left some outside for a while to get that cool brownish rainbow color after I tumble them.
I have had no problem with these.

As long as the brass doesn't crack when you size it you should be fine with the d shaped cases too.

instr8 · August 01, 2007, 08:07

Don't let the case mouth dings worry you unless they just about close it off, and I've even had some luck with those.

Sent you a PM also.

If the brass has been in a barrel fire, I don't know if i'd use that or not. In the PM I sent, I just gleened and thought you were talking about tarnish.

**W.E.G.** · August 01, 2007, 08:28

ABSOLUTELY do not use any brass that has been in a fire!
The heat anneals (weakens) the case head.
You want to find out about exploding guns, put that in ol' Betsy.

Brass that has been exposed to moisture may be brittle, depending on how long the exposure lasted, and the chemical composition of the moisture. I wouldn't waste my time with badly-discolored brass that has been on the ground, and exposed to moisture for an indeterminate length of time.

On otherwise clean brass, dents are fine. If the case mouth is dented, just use a punch or a screwdriver to flare the mouth enough to accept the resizing-die expander-ball.

If the dent is in the case-body, you probably will not be able to completely "iron-out" the dent with the sizing die. However, other than the cosmetic issue, a small dent in the case body will not render the cartridge unsafe to fire. Dented rounds will demonstrate bullet-axis runout. Depending on your standards of accuracy, this axis-runout may compromise your accuracy objectives.

Be cautious about reloading any scrounged case that may have been reloaded before.
You do NOT know where it has been.

July 31, 2007, 22:05	#1
evan price Registered FALaholic #: 20480 Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: THE source for Ohio CCW => http://ohioccwforums.org/ Posts: 2,127	Q about brass condition I am going to buy a press and start reloading- the decision is made. I have been helping out at the local range and getting buckets full of brass in exchange for cleaning it up. I started sorting brass by calibers. My question is, I am culling stuff that is obviously bad or nonreloadable, but since I have not actually pulled the lever on a press yet, I am scrapping any brass that looks questionable. I have a lot of shells that are dinged on the case mouth, like during ejection. The mouth is slightly D shaped and there is a scuff, like the slide hit it. I was thinking anything that way might split when fired, but someone else told me the resizing die just pushes it back into shape and if it is minor don't worry about it. Mostly this is .45 ACP cases I see this in, and truthfully my Glock 21 tends to do this sometimes, I've seen. Is this a problem? Also, I have a large quantity of nice rifle brass that is discolored. I was told it probably came from the trash barrel, where people put their empty cartridge boxes and shotgun hulls, then they burn off the garbage. Some people put their cases back in the box and drop them in the trash instead of using the brass buckets. We're talking like, almost 250 rounds of nice commercial .308, 30-06, and .223 ammo. I assume this brass is now annealed and unsafe to reload since it was heated up? __________________ http://www.ohioccwforums.org/ Ohio's best CCW resource!

August 01, 2007, 08:07	#3
instr8 Registered FALaholic #: 12904 Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 2,654	Don't let the case mouth dings worry you unless they just about close it off, and I've even had some luck with those. Sent you a PM also. If the brass has been in a barrel fire, I don't know if i'd use that or not. In the PM I sent, I just gleened and thought you were talking about tarnish. __________________ I'll have another......

August 01, 2007, 08:28	#4
W.E.G. Administrator Silver Contributor FALaholic #: 1211 Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Virginia Posts: 31,109	ABSOLUTELY do not use any brass that has been in a fire! The heat anneals (weakens) the case head. You want to find out about exploding guns, put that in ol' Betsy. Brass that has been exposed to moisture may be brittle, depending on how long the exposure lasted, and the chemical composition of the moisture. I wouldn't waste my time with badly-discolored brass that has been on the ground, and exposed to moisture for an indeterminate length of time. On otherwise clean brass, dents are fine. If the case mouth is dented, just use a punch or a screwdriver to flare the mouth enough to accept the resizing-die expander-ball. If the dent is in the case-body, you probably will not be able to completely "iron-out" the dent with the sizing die. However, other than the cosmetic issue, a small dent in the case body will not render the cartridge unsafe to fire. Dented rounds will demonstrate bullet-axis runout. Depending on your standards of accuracy, this axis-runout may compromise your accuracy objectives. Be cautious about reloading any scrounged case that may have been reloaded before. You do NOT know where it has been. __________________ . . . Ask me about the Mason-Dixon FAL Collectors Association.

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August 01, 2007, 05:38	#2
moses One of the original 400 Contributor FALaholic #: 392 Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: charlotte nc usa Posts: 5,494	Sounds like the brass was wet for a while, I have actually left some outside for a while to get that cool brownish rainbow color after I tumble them. I have had no problem with these. As long as the brass doesn't crack when you size it you should be fine with the d shaped cases too.