Does brass go bad?

[hometheaterman]

I had a guy give me some older brass today. Some of it's probably 20-30 years old at least. Anyway, I've got it in the tumbler now, and I don't think brass goes bad, but I just wanted to make sure. Is there anything to look for on this other than typical case or neck splits? He says the brass is all once fired, just older.

 

[Taroman]

20-30s is nothing as far as brass goes. I have fired and loaded 1943 .30-06 with no splits.

 

[hometheaterman]

That's just an estimate, some may be older than that or newer, but that's a guess. So it should be fine still?

 

[1SOW]

I found this on another forum from a metallurgist:

The most common brass is nominal 70% copper 30% zinc. It is also known as "cartridge brass".This brass is subject to dezincification if left for long times in water. The Zn disappears, and the metal has a dull copper color, as copper is all that is left on the surface. You can see this in old plumbing fixtures, which used to be made of metal rather than plastic.Brass with less than 15% zinc is supposed not to dezincify in water.

I have used a 'home brew" solution containing vinegar to clean brass cases and too long an exposure will cause the case to have pinkish highlights where Zinc has been removed.

On the other hand, I have polished 40 yr old brass fixtures with 'brasso' in the military, and they looked like new again.

All this means is that if it looks okay, it's probably still sound.

I know of claims for 40 year old ammunition that still fires as advertised.

FWIW, I'd load some and try it out.

 

[788Ham]

htm,

Go to the auto parts store and get some Turtle Wax rubbing compound, if you use ground up walnut, squirt about 3-4 tablespoons of the wax in the grit, mix it in good with the walnut and then throw the cases in for about 1 1/2 hours, they'll be like brand new.

 

[Jesse Heywood]

Brass does not go bad due to age. In firearm use, brass failure is usually from use. Failure is found by inspection for cracks and bulges.

Corrosion is another enemy to look for, most is either pink or aqua. Surface corrosion is usually not a problem, but does call for closer inspection.

Another problem to look for is dents that have sharp corners or creasing of the metal. These create weak points an lead to case failure.

 

[evan price]

As long as they are in good shape visually, load em up.

 

[pikid89]

i was given some old 243 that was slightly discolored just above the rim...i gave it a though then threw it in my rem 700...the first 5 went fine...the 6th ruptured above the rime and shot hot gasses thru the bolt into my face...that hurt
WEAR EYE PRO

also i had discolored 22mag that kept splitting open upon firing...then sticking in the chamber

i guess brass can go bad

 

[tactikel]

Any idea if they have been reloaded and if so how many times? if once fired they are good to go ( have shot some WWII surplus .30-06 with no problems).

 

[hometheaterman]

This guy says they are all once fired, and I really have no reason to doubt him. He doesn't reload which is why he gave me this brass, but even though he doesn't reload, he said he had just been picking up what he shot and throwing it in a bag. So he has been collecting it for quite a while. There are no signs that I see of it being reloaded, it just is a little on the dirty and slightly tarnished side, but that's nothing the tumbler won't fix. I just wanted to make sure that there weren't any extra steps I needed to take on this brass to make sure it's fine.

 

[dogrunner]

I strongly doubt that any reasonably aged brass will present you a problem.

I have a box or so of Norma .44 mag stuff that I bought new as primed brass back in the mid '60s that's still in use and as good as when I got it.

That said, I also have several pre WW1 '06 rounds that have split in both the neck and shoulder areas, those're dated 1910........no, they're not reloads and carry the original cupro nickel bullet. I presume that splitting is a consequence of not being annealed but can't know for sure. I have seen, and shot WW1 ammo as late as the mid '60's that functioned normally. I have also fired a few .45-70s that dated from the 1880 that did split.

So, does it go bad..........yeah it can, but what the parameters are likely depend on a lot of issues.

Frankly, I've seen some really scary brass failure with brand new Buffalo arms shells, including one that resulted in a complete case head separation!

If anyone's interested in that last, I'll gladly supply the guy who had it happen's PX!!!

 

[The Bushmaster]

I still have some .357 Remington brass that I bought new in 1966 that I'm still reloading.

 

[10mmreloader]

dozens of loads and only discard splits.

Got a set of about 10000 45 cal ACP brass cases from a shooter that claimed he got them from his dad in 1940. Polish up a new batch for each season and shoot em till the neck slits force me to throw them away. The key thing is to always full length size straight walled cases. I have some of the cases I have shot target loads in for over 5 years straight.

 

[UpTheIrons]

Brass doesn't go bad, but you might get bad brass to start with. I saw a thread somewhere here from rcmodel (IIRC) who reloaded a bunch of Federal 9mm cases. Many of them crushed during bullet seating, and another several split during firing. Looks like they were brittle to start with, since there were no other signs of unsafe reloading.

 

[mbogo]

Ammonia can weaken brass, but most people do not expose their brass and ammunition to ammonia.

mbogo