Reloading "the governor's brass" - what's the red paint for?

raindog · November 18, 2012, 04:29 PM

I live in a state where new gun sellers are not required to send an empty shell casing to the state police. So if I buy a new gun, there's a little sealed envelope inside with one empty case.

I realized the other day that's one more reloadable brass, so I opened the envelopes.

For a Ruger GP100, the factory used a .357 Magnum Hornady. There's a coat of red paint on the primer end...looks like someone picked up the round and dabbed it in red paint. Same thing in a Ruger LCR casing. What's the paint for? Assuming I scrape the paint off, any issue with reloading these? I assume not.

For a Glock, they used CCI. I'm not sure the brass is actually brass, as it's a grey metal. Two empty rounds inside the envelope.

WIL TERRY · November 18, 2012, 04:34 PM

Most pistol ammunition with red markings in the case head, and sometimes elsewhere, are proof loads.

FrankenMauser · November 18, 2012, 04:57 PM

A red-lacquered case head indicates a proof load.
The case should also have a silver-grey appearance. SAAMI recommends all proof load casings be tin-plated.

You can reload them, but you need to keep in mind that the cases experienced a minimum of a 30% over-pressure (over maximum allowable pressure).

November 18, 2012, 04:29 PM	#1
raindog Member Join Date: August 29, 2009 Posts: 69	Reloading "the governor's brass" - what's the red paint for? I live in a state where new gun sellers are not required to send an empty shell casing to the state police. So if I buy a new gun, there's a little sealed envelope inside with one empty case. I realized the other day that's one more reloadable brass, so I opened the envelopes. For a Ruger GP100, the factory used a .357 Magnum Hornady. There's a coat of red paint on the primer end...looks like someone picked up the round and dabbed it in red paint. Same thing in a Ruger LCR casing. What's the paint for? Assuming I scrape the paint off, any issue with reloading these? I assume not. For a Glock, they used CCI. I'm not sure the brass is actually brass, as it's a grey metal. Two empty rounds inside the envelope. __________________ NRA Endowment Member Oregon Firearms Federation Member

November 18, 2012, 04:57 PM	#3
FrankenMauser Senior Member Join Date: August 26, 2008 Location: 1B ID Posts: 5,398	A red-lacquered case head indicates a proof load. The case should also have a silver-grey appearance. SAAMI recommends all proof load casings be tin-plated. You can reload them, but you need to keep in mind that the cases experienced a minimum of a 30% over-pressure (over maximum allowable pressure). __________________ "Such is the strange way that man works -- first he virtually destroys a species and then does everything in his power to restore it."

November 18, 2012, 04:34 PM	#2
WIL TERRY Senior Member Join Date: July 7, 2000 Location: BLACK HILLS Posts: 988	Most pistol ammunition with red markings in the case head, and sometimes elsewhere, are proof loads.