{"id":126,"date":"2015-09-14T12:41:07","date_gmt":"2015-09-14T16:41:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.floridareloading.com\/?p=126"},"modified":"2017-02-04T21:23:09","modified_gmt":"2017-02-05T01:23:09","slug":"brass-sorting-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.floridareloading.com\/index.php\/2015\/09\/14\/brass-sorting-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"Brass Sorting Tips"},"content":{"rendered":"

The only reusable part of a fired cartridge is the case. \u00a0 This is fortunate for the reloader because the case is the single most expensive component. \u00a0 Also fortunate is the fact that there is plenty of brass lying around for the taking at just about every range.<\/p>\n

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You Don’t Want To Leave This Behind, But Are They Reloadable?<\/em><\/div>\n

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As you probably know, not every case is reloadable. \u00a0 Here are a few tips to help you out when you’re scrounging brass at the range.
\nGet rid of any steel or aluminum cases<\/b>
\nYou can’t reload steel or aluminum cases, so you’ll want to sort those out. \u00a0 Nickel-plated brass cases are<\/u> reloadable however. \u00a0 You can distinguish nickel-plated brass cases from plated steel cases using a magnet – it will stick to steel but not to brass. \u00a0 Aluminum cases are much lighter than nickel plated brass, and the nickel plated brass cases are shinier, with almost a mirror-like appearance. \u00a0 Aluminum cases have a dull grey, matte finish.
\nBe careful of ‘brass’ that isn’t brass<\/b>
\nThe Sellier & Bellot 9mm Range Safe and Golden Bear .223 ammo shown below look like they are brass-cased, but the cases are made from brass-plated steel. \u00a0 The look identical to brass, but can easily be separated out with a magnet.<\/p>\n

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These Look Like Brass But They’re Actually Steel<\/em><\/div>\n


\nBeware of AMERC brass<\/b>
\nBrass with the headstamp AMERC is made by American Ammunition Inc in Miami, FL. \u00a0 It is the worst quality brass imaginable. \u00a0 The flash holes are often off-center, the case diameter is out of spec, and it often splits on the first or second firing. \u00a0 Not only do I not pick it up, when I find it I crush the case mouth with pliers to prevent some other reloader from experiencing the horror that is AMERC brass.
\nSome .45ACP ammo uses small pistol primers<\/b>
\nTraditionally, all .45 ACP ammo used large pistol primers. \u00a0 A while back, several ammo companies began marketing ‘non-toxic’ .45 ACP ammo that utilized small pistol primers. \u00a0 Recently, at least one company began using small primers in their regular (toxic?) .45 ACP ammo. \u00a0 These cases are perfectly reloadable, however you should separate them from the .45 ACP cases with large primers so you don’t accidentally try to seat a large primer in a small pocket (it won’t fit).<\/p>\n

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This .45 ACP Ammo Uses Small Primers Instead Of Large<\/p>\n

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Discard any cases with pressure signs<\/b>
\nLearn to recognize the signs of over-pressure on fired cases, then discard any cases that exhibit them. \u00a0 If a case has a flattened, missing, or extruded primers, or an obvious imprint of the bolt face or extractor groove recess, then chances are that they were fired with an over pressure charge, and might not be safe to reload.
\nDon’t bother with Berdan primed cases<\/b>
\nMost American-made ammo uses Boxer primers. \u00a0 Some foreign ammo uses Berdan primers. \u00a0 Boxer-primed cases are reloadable, Berdan primed are not (using conventional methods). \u00a0 You can tell the difference by looking down into the case. \u00a0 If you see a single centered flash hole, the case is Boxer primed (and reloadable). \u00a0 If you see two flash holes, the case is Berdan-primed and should be left behind (or you can take them for scrap – brass is going for over $1 per pound now).\u00a0I show the difference between a Boxer and a Berdan primer in our class.<\/p>\n

Learn to recognize many-times-fired cases<\/b>
\nIf you find a pile of brass at the range in one caliber, with various headstamps that are hard to read (from repeated collisions with a bolt face), and a mix of silver and gold colored primers, chances are good that it was loaded a number of times and left behind by the reloader that fired it. \u00a0 You can pick it up and try to load it again, but before you do, ask yourself this question – “Why would a reloader leave this brass behind?”
\nThe answer is, “Because it’s worn out.” \u00a0 You should probably throw it away, or take it for scrap.
\nOn the other hand, if you find a shiny pile of brass in one caliber, with matching headstamps and primers, and an empty ammo box in the trash from the same manufacturer, it’s a good bet that it is once-fired brass left behind by somebody that doesn’t reload. \u00a0 If you don’t pick it up, someone else will.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The only reusable part of a fired cartridge is the case. \u00a0 This is fortunate for the reloader because the case is the single most expensive component. \u00a0 Also fortunate is the fact that there is plenty of brass lying around for the taking at just about every range. You Don’t Want To Leave This<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":104,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.floridareloading.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.floridareloading.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.floridareloading.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.floridareloading.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.floridareloading.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=126"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.floridareloading.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":244,"href":"https:\/\/www.floridareloading.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126\/revisions\/244"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.floridareloading.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.floridareloading.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.floridareloading.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.floridareloading.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}