Post by mortensen on Nov 12, 2008 23:00:56 GMT -5
We have a wealth of brass at our range on the ground and as a member we are allowed to take what we need for our own reloading purposes. The rest of the brass is collected and cashed (recycled) in and used in supporting our junior shooting programs. We have the CHP (California Highway Patrol) which comes out two times a week for qualifying and the Sherriff Deputies that qualify twice a month. Also many of our members are retired military, so we get quite a mix of brass on the ground.
There are a few things to be aware when picking up range brass. I noticed some very clean 8mm Mauser brass on the ground. Judging by it's head stamp code it was a good quality European brass, but it had a 'Berdan' primer. If I had tried to resize this case I would have broken my die. Berdan - Boxer explamation:
www.recguns.com/Sources/VIIF3.html
Some of the .223 brass at our range had been fired (example) the Ruger Mini 14 and is not ideally suitable for reloading. You can take the time to bump the shoulder down, but in time there will be .223 brass on the ground fired from bolt action rifles. Be careful in finding brass that has been ejected from semi or automatic weapons. Many times it will be blistered or have a nick on the case from being ejected. Ideally, once fired brass from a bolt action rifle would be your best choice.
It's not a bad idea to aquaint yourself with headstamp codes if your picking up range brass. Your usually safe in reloading Winchester, Remington, Federal,, LC, etc, and I've found the Korean brass, PMC was pretty softy to reload. As you may be aware of, Winchester use's different head stamp codes such as; Winchester, WW Super Speed, WCC and 88. At our range we have the law enforcement brass. These are company's that specialize in contracting with law enforcement in providing them ammunition. The law enforcement brass will likely come from Winchester, LC, Frontier, HSM, to name a few.
Keep away from reloading mil-surp, Chinese and brass you can't identify, and any bi-metals such as Wolf which is not reloadable. Keep in mind there are probably other reloaders at the range and any brass they intentionally leave behind will probably not be reloading as its been reloaded to it's maximum case life.
If your a collector of brass, you may find the mil-surp brass the most interesting to collect. and especially brass from com-bloc nations as some of this brass is intentionally unidentifable. It's as though the maker and nation do not wish their presence known as being the aggressor in combat or providing ammunition to an aggressive country.
You will find some manufacturers using a letter code, others using a number code, while others may use both.
Brass Head Stamp Codes"
cartridgecollectors.org/headstampcodes.htm
There are a few things to be aware when picking up range brass. I noticed some very clean 8mm Mauser brass on the ground. Judging by it's head stamp code it was a good quality European brass, but it had a 'Berdan' primer. If I had tried to resize this case I would have broken my die. Berdan - Boxer explamation:
www.recguns.com/Sources/VIIF3.html
Some of the .223 brass at our range had been fired (example) the Ruger Mini 14 and is not ideally suitable for reloading. You can take the time to bump the shoulder down, but in time there will be .223 brass on the ground fired from bolt action rifles. Be careful in finding brass that has been ejected from semi or automatic weapons. Many times it will be blistered or have a nick on the case from being ejected. Ideally, once fired brass from a bolt action rifle would be your best choice.
It's not a bad idea to aquaint yourself with headstamp codes if your picking up range brass. Your usually safe in reloading Winchester, Remington, Federal,, LC, etc, and I've found the Korean brass, PMC was pretty softy to reload. As you may be aware of, Winchester use's different head stamp codes such as; Winchester, WW Super Speed, WCC and 88. At our range we have the law enforcement brass. These are company's that specialize in contracting with law enforcement in providing them ammunition. The law enforcement brass will likely come from Winchester, LC, Frontier, HSM, to name a few.
Keep away from reloading mil-surp, Chinese and brass you can't identify, and any bi-metals such as Wolf which is not reloadable. Keep in mind there are probably other reloaders at the range and any brass they intentionally leave behind will probably not be reloading as its been reloaded to it's maximum case life.
If your a collector of brass, you may find the mil-surp brass the most interesting to collect. and especially brass from com-bloc nations as some of this brass is intentionally unidentifable. It's as though the maker and nation do not wish their presence known as being the aggressor in combat or providing ammunition to an aggressive country.
You will find some manufacturers using a letter code, others using a number code, while others may use both.
Brass Head Stamp Codes"
cartridgecollectors.org/headstampcodes.htm