Your opinions on this brass I found today-

Wyoredman · March 20, 2013, 05:37 PM

I answered a want add in the local paper today. The fella was selling 600+ rounds of .223/5.56 brass.

I contacted him and I met him to examine the stuff. It is mixed military/commercial, mostly clean with some tarnish and some smashed cases.

We dickered on price for awhile. At first, he was wanting $0.50 apiece for them! I offered him $0.05 and we settled on $0.10 a piece. I paid him a total of $60.00.

It looks like I will probably get about 550 usable pieces out of the bucket of 600+.

What are your opinions? Did I get taken on this stuff or was it an OK deal.

I guess it reall doesn't matter, as I already bought it, but what do you think anyway?

highrolls · March 20, 2013, 05:52 PM

Last gun show in my area was in Nov 2012. There is a reputable guy there who sells 223 recovered from a police range (which he runs).

I picked up a couple of bags of 223 from him for $30 per bag, all cleaned, nice and shiny. It was 500 cases per bag. It was a mix of Speer and Lake City. You could also pay him a $1.00 extra and he would give you a sorted bag of either all speer or all Lake City.

After a complete examination, there were no reject cases. The only downside is that the speer brass tends to require an extra preparation step. After using a primer swage, I still need to hand-chamfer the primer rim on these things or they will not prime properly.

(Edit to correct spelling)

gundog5 · March 20, 2013, 06:05 PM

considering that most online dealers are out of once fired 223 brass and the lgs wants $40 per hundred for new brass, i think you made a good deal.

Jimro · March 20, 2013, 09:13 PM

Fair deal in today's market, all things considered.

Jimro

LarryFlew · March 21, 2013, 07:36 AM

here well cleaned and de-capped is selling at $165/1000

Wyoredman · March 21, 2013, 09:02 AM

Damn! The deal just got a bit worse!

I sorted and cleaned the batch last night. There were 198 pieces of commercial brass in a mixture of PMC, Winchester, FC, and R-P. There were 210 usable Lake City military. The remaining 200 were un-useable berdan primed or damaged so bad they went to the recycle bin!

So, in all, I got 408 peices of useable brass for $60.00. $0.15 a piece. Not so good.

I learned my lesson. If you are buying used brass from somebody, take a flashlight and inspect inside any cases that have a head stamp you are not fimiliar with. I should have done this rather than trust the guy selling the stuff to me. He either didn't know about berdan priming, or knew and was not honest!

Lesson learned.

Barnacle Brad · March 21, 2013, 04:25 PM

Quote:

After using a primer swage...

highrolls - could you explain this for me please? My son has a mini 14 and we have picked up brass that we couldn't seat primers into and just chamfering the pocket did not resolve the issue.

Thanks for your time!

Ozzieman · March 22, 2013, 02:13 PM

Military cases have the primer swaged in for numerous reasons. If there not removed it’s very difficult to get new primers in the case.
It’s a simple tool that will remove the crimp after the primer has been removed
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/235...swager-combo-2

redleg1013 · March 22, 2013, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ozzieman

Military cases have the primer swaged in for numerous reasons. If there not removed it’s very difficult to get new primers in the case.
It’s a simple tool that will remove the crimp after the primer has been removed
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/235...swager-combo-2

I just use my chamfer/deburr tool to cut the crimps out of the old Lake City brass I get for my Garand, it does the trick and it's already paid for.

Barnacle Brad · March 22, 2013, 02:30 PM

Quote:

It’s a simple tool that will remove the crimp after the primer has been removed

Well hell yeah! I had no idea there was sich a tool! Is it any wonder I spend so much time on this site? I am always picking up useful tidbits here.

Thanks very much Ozzieman!

Barnacle Brad · March 22, 2013, 02:38 PM

Watched the video for the pocket swager combo and found RCBS also has a pocket cutter for the prep center:

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/146...r-large-pistol

I think I will try this - just one more operation at the prep center.

Cool beans!

Jimro · March 22, 2013, 09:12 PM

Wyoredman,

There is a silver lining to your dark cloud. It was still a lot cheaper than new, and if it wasn't fired out of machine guns a lot easier to process than must 556 surplus.

Jimro

Diamond LawDawg · March 23, 2013, 10:20 AM

Federal 223 and 556 and PMC 223 once fired outta my Colt AR looking for a buyer

Leave a message with your offer and shipping cost. Thanks

March 20, 2013, 05:37 PM	#1
Wyoredman Senior Member Join Date: September 6, 2011 Location: Wyoming Posts: 1,350	Your opinions on this brass I found today- I answered a want add in the local paper today. The fella was selling 600+ rounds of .223/5.56 brass. I contacted him and I met him to examine the stuff. It is mixed military/commercial, mostly clean with some tarnish and some smashed cases. We dickered on price for awhile. At first, he was wanting $0.50 apiece for them! I offered him $0.05 and we settled on $0.10 a piece. I paid him a total of $60.00. It looks like I will probably get about 550 usable pieces out of the bucket of 600+. What are your opinions? Did I get taken on this stuff or was it an OK deal. I guess it reall doesn't matter, as I already bought it, but what do you think anyway? __________________ Go Pokes! Go Rams!

March 20, 2013, 09:13 PM	#4
Jimro Senior Member Join Date: October 18, 2006 Posts: 7,097	Fair deal in today's market, all things considered. Jimro __________________ Machine guns are awesome until you have to carry one.

March 21, 2013, 09:02 AM	#6
Wyoredman Senior Member Join Date: September 6, 2011 Location: Wyoming Posts: 1,350	Damn! The deal just got a bit worse! I sorted and cleaned the batch last night. There were 198 pieces of commercial brass in a mixture of PMC, Winchester, FC, and R-P. There were 210 usable Lake City military. The remaining 200 were un-useable berdan primed or damaged so bad they went to the recycle bin! So, in all, I got 408 peices of useable brass for $60.00. $0.15 a piece. Not so good. I learned my lesson. If you are buying used brass from somebody, take a flashlight and inspect inside any cases that have a head stamp you are not fimiliar with. I should have done this rather than trust the guy selling the stuff to me. He either didn't know about berdan priming, or knew and was not honest! Lesson learned. __________________ Go Pokes! Go Rams!

March 22, 2013, 02:13 PM	#8
Ozzieman Senior Member Join Date: December 14, 2004 Location: Northern Indiana Posts: 6,117	Military cases have the primer swaged in for numerous reasons. If there not removed it’s very difficult to get new primers in the case. It’s a simple tool that will remove the crimp after the primer has been removed http://www.midwayusa.com/product/235...swager-combo-2 __________________ It was a sad day when I discovered my universal remote control did not in fact control the universe. Did you hear about the latest study.....5 out of 6 liberals say that Russian Roulette is safe.

March 22, 2013, 02:38 PM	#11
Barnacle Brad Senior Member Join Date: March 12, 2009 Location: Greybull, Wyoming Posts: 416	Watched the video for the pocket swager combo and found RCBS also has a pocket cutter for the prep center: http://www.midwayusa.com/product/146...r-large-pistol I think I will try this - just one more operation at the prep center. Cool beans! __________________ Brad

March 20, 2013, 05:52 PM	#2
highrolls Senior Member Join Date: January 20, 2009 Location: already given Posts: 115	Last gun show in my area was in Nov 2012. There is a reputable guy there who sells 223 recovered from a police range (which he runs). I picked up a couple of bags of 223 from him for $30 per bag, all cleaned, nice and shiny. It was 500 cases per bag. It was a mix of Speer and Lake City. You could also pay him a $1.00 extra and he would give you a sorted bag of either all speer or all Lake City. After a complete examination, there were no reject cases. The only downside is that the speer brass tends to require an extra preparation step. After using a primer swage, I still need to hand-chamfer the primer rim on these things or they will not prime properly. (Edit to correct spelling)

March 20, 2013, 06:05 PM	#3
gundog5 Senior Member Join Date: January 27, 2013 Posts: 116	considering that most online dealers are out of once fired 223 brass and the lgs wants $40 per hundred for new brass, i think you made a good deal.

March 21, 2013, 07:36 AM	#5
LarryFlew Senior Member Join Date: June 15, 2009 Location: Minnesota CZ fan Posts: 902	here well cleaned and de-capped is selling at $165/1000

March 22, 2013, 09:12 PM	#12
Jimro Senior Member Join Date: October 18, 2006 Posts: 7,097	Wyoredman, There is a silver lining to your dark cloud. It was still a lot cheaper than new, and if it wasn't fired out of machine guns a lot easier to process than must 556 surplus. Jimro __________________ Machine guns are awesome until you have to carry one.

March 23, 2013, 10:20 AM	#13
Diamond LawDawg Member Join Date: May 19, 2009 Location: Illinois Posts: 75	2000k plus Federal 223 and 556 and PMC 223 once fired outta my Colt AR looking for a buyer Leave a message with your offer and shipping cost. Thanks