Using brass from the range?

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Guilty,

as much as possible. If the shooter doesn't want it, I do. Caliber is unimportant. I've gone to IDPA shoots, lost some, and still returned home with more .45s than I shot. Plus loads of .40S&W, that I wasn't even shooting. I've got over a thousand rounds of 9mm brass - every bit of it range pickup. And I don't even own a 9mm (yet). I foresee a Barstow barrel for my P239 may be in my future. Ah, yes, a 9mm Sig for $200. Gotta love it!

Just one caution about 9mm brasss though. Before reloading check them for berdan primers. Berdan primed cartridges do not do nice things to decapping pins.
 
Berdan primed cartridges do not do nice things to decapping pins.
Click to expand...

I have a couple of broken .223 pins to prove the above. lol

Cuz I am a range brass whore of the highest order, once in a while, a berdan primed case ends up in the pile, and a pin gets broken.

It's so hard to see down into that skinny little case.
 
berdan brass is good too. The local recycling places pay about $.60 a pound IIRC for brass so the junk cases and the berdan cases find a spot in my trunk. I have a big collection of brass for all my guns (and calibers I don't shoot) though I still haven't bothered to learn how to reload or cough up the cash for the equipment. But right now only one of my guns is expensive to shoot. The others are very cheap.
 
It must be in the genes.
Click to expand...

Nope... It's in the jeans...

the coat pockets... the shirt pockets... the range bag... the walmart bags...

Those cloth bags for belt fed(?) guns (4 for $1 at surplus store) are nice, but only hold enough brass to clean up around a table or two...
 
Spencerhut,
On the .40 brass, Evolution Gunworks used to sell a Lee Factory Undersized (U) die that they then turned the face down on to reduce the amount of radius that guides the brass in the die. The end result was a die that sized .40 down a little tight and much farther down the case, making glock brass no problem.

Pick up brass? Yes, especially shooting at a range where only military folks go to recreational shoot. Most do not reload. I will never own a Desert Eagle, but if someone is dumb enough to not save .50AE brass, I am dumb enough to save it.
 
Guiulty as charged. Had to quit though I was running out of room to store the brass.
My club used to let the Coast Guard train there and they left behind brass I being the cheap skate that I am picked it up.
At one point I had something like 25k rds of 9 mm sized and crimp removed ready to go. Being fired from Beretta's they had a bulge in the case used a 7.62x25 steel die to size them.
Carbide rolled the brass back making it look like a mini belted case
 
Aah...Yes/No Ma'am...If it is "brass" Load it. If it is "aluminum" Absolutly not. The CCI aluminum Blazer amunition was not ment to be reloaded and is highly recommended that you NOT reload it. But "brass" on the other hand is reloadable. The only time I have seen CCI brass is in Speer "Lawman" boxes and that's because Speer and CCI are afiliated.
 
Ok- I have issues. I was at Sigarms today for a class and there was 16+ shooting 300-400 rounds each. Mostly 9mm, .40 and .45- some .357Sig. All I could think about was all the brass! Well, not really but there was lots of brass I was eyeballing. Too scared to ask for it though. :rolleyes:
 
If you have a die, like Lee, that can iron out the bulge near the case head they are not a problem. If you don't.................:)

Oh and Madmike...Not only did I marry a lady that likes guns and fast cars, she picks up the range brass for me, too...:D :D
 
Yes...A lot of auto pistols do not support the lower base of the case where the ramp is located. Glock, at least the early ones, are notorious for bulging some cases in 9mm X 19 and .40 in this area...
 
I am always picking up range brass. My only advice is:

Don't accidentally mix up some Berdan Primed brass with your normally reloadable Boxer brass! :eek: :eek: :eek:

I've snapped more than my share of de-priming pins in the past few years! :cuss:
 
Once every couple of months, go to the range the Monday after the gun show weekend. Bring a trashbag. :D

Never, ever, ever, tumble the whole bag without sorting out the 9 from the .45! :eek:

S/F

Farnham
 
When tumbling brass of various sizes, sort it first and then put the larger brass in the tumbler first. This lets the cases fill with media. Then put in the smaller cases. You'll find that you very seldom get them stuck inside one another this way.

Hope this helps.

Fred
 
I went to the range Thursday and shot 100 9mm range reloads. Came home with 205 cases. Some were Sellier & Beloit. Never had reloaded them and thought I remembered they had loose pockets. NOPE! Tight. These had sealed primers- red. When I was uniforming the pockets they were much tighter than normal. I didn't get out a glass, but I think they were crimped. I had five primers mashed trying to seat. Gonna decap, reream and reprime.

Throw away Berdans? no way. I'm getting stuff to make a hydraulic decapper (RCBS has on for 50 bucks- this one should be 10-15). The guy at my range is listed as a dealer for berdan primers. None of my South African .308 brass will go to waste. Just keep throwin' it away, boys.:D
 
reload .40 with scrounged brass NEVER AGAIN

Like another post said, the .40 brass is from mainly unsupported chambers and has what I call an incipient bulge at the head of the case. The Glocks are the worst.

My son and I shoot and reload both 9mm and .40 and my hot nine mm Power Pistol load is his target 40 S & W power pistol load. So when he swaps out my powdermeasure to his .40 tool head everything works fine when I get it back.

Until he started getting what I call out of battery discharges that damage his gun. He too is shooting a not fully supported chamber gun. He now buys new .40 ammo and instead of ME getting the CZ 40 I wanted (fully supported chamber) I got a .45 which Ii can reload with scrounged brass,and HAVE been since '64 without worry

I wont reload .40. PERIOD

Yodar
 
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