another case ID question.

[shenck]

this was in a bucket of range pickup brass. I'm sure it has only been fired once, I also don't think it has been in contact with a chemical that would have changed the composition of the brass, but I have no explanation for the copper color. It came from a federal gov. shooting range. I loaded it but now I question if I should use it.
Now that I've looked at the close up picture, and see the surface is rough, the zinc may have been leached out by some chemical contact.

 

[troy fairweather]

Winchester cartridges co. Should be fine, think some just turn color maybe from the sun.

 

[Jim Watson]

Wet cleaned with extra citric acid or vinegar that de-zincified the surface.

 

[Swampman]

WCC = Western Cartridge Company

As Jim Watson said, probably someone got a little over enthusiastic with the Lemi Shine and leached zinc out of the brass surface.

It'd probably be fine to shoot, but why risk it?

It's just a 9mm NATO case, they're not exactly rare.

 

[lordpaxman]

Shoot it, it’ll turn a bit darker, and life will be good. It’s good brass, I’ve reloaded a lot of it, many time over. Good luck.

 

[CQB45ACP]

Depending on which source one uses, it seems WCC was originally Western Cartridge Company. At some point, Olin bought them and today they are Winchester Western Division. Have no idea what the dates or transition periods were for all this.
Sources: IAA, AFTE

 

[Rule3]

He said:
this was in a bucket of range pickup brass. I'm sure it has only been fired once

But 93 is pretty old Govt Nato round.

 

[shenck]

Yes 93 is old, I've had the bucket for quite awhile. Cleaning up the gun room, and decided to clean and load that bucket to get better organized. It just seemed odd that it is the only "copper colored case" in the bucket. I am sure they are all once fired, they came from a qualification range, unlikely to be reloads. I understand it's a WCC case, more puzzled by the color, it may have come into contact with something that leached the zinc, but it had to happen before it got into the bucket. the bucket has been in my possession for ten or more years.

 

[FROGO207]

It probably sat in the dirt at the range for years and the zinc leached out of the surface. They found it when policing the brass. You could shoot it and scrap it if you are concerned.