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Old December 30, 2008, 01:28 AM   #1
Citizen Carrier
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LC .308 brass...should I buy?

I've been offerred over 2000 pieces of once fired .308 Lake City brass for what amounts to about 7 cents apiece.

If the stuff looks to have been fired from a semi-auto like an M1A, I'm inclined to believe a good amount of it won't be in a condition to reload.

If on the other hand it was fired from a bolt-action and appears in good overall shape, would you consider this a good deal?

Within the last week I had probably the best gun-related deal with .308 anyway. A widow sold me 78 boxes of Remington "Kleenbore" 7.62x51 International Match hollowpoint, 168 grain for $5 a box. They don't even make this stuff anymore.

Not sure I really need the once fired LC stuff. Wasn't the LC brass supposed to be of a tougher alloy than you'd find in regular commercial brass?
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Old December 30, 2008, 01:38 AM   #2
Powderman
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Drill Sergeant hat ON:

"Why have you not paid for that brass? Why do you not have it in your posession? Why are you not loading that brass as we speak? Why are you not filling that good US specification brass with proper amounts of suitable propellant and match quality bullets? DO I HAVE TO HOLD YOUR HAND, YOUNG TRAINEE?!?!? IT'S A QUESTION OF MIND OVER MATTER--YOU BETTER NOT MIND AND IT DOESN'T MATTER!!! NOW, GET TO THAT RELOADING PRESS BEFORE I GET UPSET!

TO PAY FOR YOUR TRANSGRESSIONS, YEW WILL NOW LOAD 2000 ROUNDS OF 7.62 AMMUNITION! IN CADENCE, LOOOOOAAAAAAD! ONE, TWO THREE...."

Drill Sergeant hat OFF...

Seriously, snap it up! Once fired LC brass is excellent brass, as a rule. I have 500 LC match cases that I am hoarding jealously. I have found that 41.5 grains of RL15, under a 168 grain MatchKing gives fantastic results out of my M1A--and also out of my Savage 10FP. Buy it with confidence--and quick! That's a heck of a bargain.
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Old December 30, 2008, 02:02 AM   #3
Antihero47
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Buy it up and then sell it to members here. I would love to have about 300 rounds of that.
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Old December 30, 2008, 04:09 AM   #4
lll Otto lll
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Quote:
I've been offerred over 2000 pieces of once fired .308 Lake City brass for what amounts to about 7 cents apiece.
I get LC 308 for 5ยข a piece and it's not MG stuff.
Your price is ok but I'd pass on it unless I really needed it.
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Old December 30, 2008, 04:19 AM   #5
HiBC
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You folks might have good connections,but good .308 brass is pretty scarce to buy at all.

I think 7 cents is a bargain.Yours is all one headstamp,Lake city.If you have a .308,I'd buy it.
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Old December 30, 2008, 06:43 AM   #6
tbtrout
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Buy it
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Old December 30, 2008, 08:21 AM   #7
NuJudge
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Worry about whether it was fired in an MG

Most of the LC fired brass you will find today was fired in a machinegun of some sort. Headspace is usually generous, and chambers are typically huge.

Cases fired in semi-autos are rarely a problem, especially if it was an M14/M1A or M1.

I'm not saying don't buy it, but know what you are getting into. You may well need to have a small base full length size die. You definitely will need a primer crimp remover. Trimming 2000 cases does take awhile.

In my experience, brass fired in an MG is almost always very grungy, and it probably has "link rash".

Last edited by NuJudge; December 30, 2008 at 08:47 AM.
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Old December 30, 2008, 08:45 AM   #8
jaguarxk120
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Buy it Jeff Bartlett is getting 15 cents each in 1000 piece lots. It's a good buy.
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Old December 30, 2008, 01:28 PM   #9
Citizen Carrier
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Turns out it was 1966 LC match brass. My friend inspected a batch of it and told me about it over the phone. He believes it was probably fired once out of a .308-barreled M1 Garand, but we cannot know for certain. The guy who shot them is deceased. I'm told it is clean and in good condition.

I was wrong about the quantity as well. It is about 3300 pieces. We talked them down to $200 for the lot of it, plus 5 ammo cans.

Sheesh, I don't even have dies for this caliber...
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Old December 30, 2008, 01:31 PM   #10
armedtotheteeth
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WOW! thats a great Buy!! Where do you live so I can come steal it??
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Old December 30, 2008, 02:19 PM   #11
kraigwy
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Don't buy the hype about not being able to load brass from a machine gun.
I've loaded 10s of thousands of 308s out of an M-60 with no ill effects. Even shooting them in NM M14s and M1As.

I use to get '60 brass by being a range office on gunnery practice in Huey's hanging out on the skids to catch the brass in a bag.

Propertly size it using a case gage, trim if necessary and you're good to go.
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Old December 30, 2008, 04:07 PM   #12
Powderman
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Quote:
I use to get '60 brass by being a range office on gunnery practice in Huey's hanging out on the skids to catch the brass in a bag.
You, sir, are a steely-eyed missileman.

Now, THAT'S a serious brass rat!!!
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Old December 30, 2008, 05:57 PM   #13
the_right_reverend
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Lake City Match won't take that much prep no primer crimp and most of it will be uniform excellent buy
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