it pays to inspect those "range brass" cases...

[Magnum Wheel Man]

I've been buying a lot of brass lately... this weekend I was processing ( decap & wet tumble & sort by headstamp ) 100 - 25-06 cases...

I usually dump the tumbler in a big bowl, & pluck them out 2 at a time, & shake any pins out, inspect that none are lodged in the flash hole, inspect & sort them...

last night, I was having trouble getting all the pins out of one particular case... finally got them out, & looked in side, & there was something in there ( good thing the inside of those cases were so shiny & clean )... took me a few minutes, & a dental pick, but I finally worked out a small red piece of plastic... on further inspection, it was a plastic about 1.25" long, red Dynamo label, that some one had folded in half, sticky side to sticky side, then rolled up, & put it in the case...

balled up like it was, it did not stop the pin from decapping, but if I had charged the case, likely one of a couple things could have happened... the powder could have pushed the "ball" to cover the flash hole, & cause a squib load, or it could have just taken up case capacity, & likely increased the pressure on that one cartridge...

just a reminder to always inspect those cases

it's likely the strangest thing I've found in a case todate... I couldn't read it, the pins must have worked the impressed label too much...

what is the strangest thing you've ever found in a case ???

[schmellba99]

Back when I lived in AZ, I used to frequent many of the unofficial shooting ranges in the desert and would pick up brass there. Sometimes the bras was old - tarnished to the point it looked like Wolf steel case in color.

I found a few organic things in those cases from time to time - mostly old caterpillar cacoons, a few spiders (and I absolutely despise all things spider), up to and including what can only be described as sandstone formed when the rare rain would hit and fill a case up with sandy water.

Always check, because of things like that.

[Brotherbadger]

You can never be too thorough. Good job spotting that.

[Average Joe]

I find all kinds of things in shot shell range pickups. Mostly stink bugs, they crawl up inside where it shelters them from the weather.

[TimSr]

I looked in a 30-06 case and found Jimmy Hoffa.

[Metal god]

This is a good reminder for me . I have yet to find anything crazy in a case but was thinking the other day . I don't inspect my cases like I did when I first started reloading . I used to look at each case one at a time . turning it , looking inside and when I would see anything odd the magnifying glass would come out .

Now ? well not so detailed . I do inspect but it's more of a quick look at each step of the reloading process . I do now have a much better idea as to what to look for . When I first started every nick , scratch and smudge had to be re-looked at closer . The amount of case prep I do also allows me to inspect the cases at least three times before loading . I decap , clean primer pocket and neck then tumble . After tumble I FL size . trim and uniform flash holes then tumble again . After second tumble I take 4 or 5 at a time and inspect flash holes for media . Once all flash holes are confirmed clear I hand prime each case and place up side down in tray to make sure nothing can fall in case before charging .

So as you can see I have a lot of close up hands on with the cases but the fact I don't inspect like I did when I first started gives me pause . Only one case has got to the priming stage where I noticed something wrong and that was a very small split/crack in the case mouth . I often find any issues by the time I size the cases .

Not sure why I posted here .

[Magnum Wheel Man]

sounds like you have a good regiment... I would not likely have noticed the plastic, if it weren't for the stainless pins...

I end up with 2-3 pretty close inspections during my wet tumble process before I box up new to me brass... I'd worry / look a lot less on rounds fired by me & been in my control the whole time...

these rounds were vibratory polished before I bought them, but I still decap & wet tumble before I box up anyway... plus I sort by head stamp, & sell off any that aren't the brand I'm using for that caliber... sometimes I'll buy sorted brass, but other times I'll buy mixed head stamp, depending on the price or availability of the brass...

with the Dynamo label folded over stick side to sticky side, it was a quite rigid piece of plastic, that did not want to come back out of the case mouth...

[Vet66]

I've found cigarette filters stuffed inside the brass, need to be careful as you are for sure.

[g.willikers]

Yeah, and those danged sneaky 9mm cases inside of .45s are really aggravating.

[9mmSkeeter]

Or how bout a .22 case inside of a 9mm case inside of a 45 case? Gotta love those triple whammys.

[schmellba99]

A 9mm case in a .45 is no big deal - they fall right out.

Now a .40 case inside a .45 case with a 9mm nestled snugly in the .40 case? That's aggravating as all get out. But I also pretty much despise the .40 in general.

[Metal god]

Now a .40 case inside a .45 case with a 9mm nestled snugly in the .40 case? That's aggravating as all get out.

Yep , I had this to where i just throw those groups away because it was taking to much effort to get them apart . I never tumble 45s and 40s or 40s and 9mm together anymore . If I multitask I'll tumble a rifle case and a hand gun case together . How about the missed 22lr case in your large bottle neck case . While decapping you Perice the 22 case and it sticks to you decapping rod . Next case trough you clip the case mouth with the 22case stuck to the rod . Nope never happened to me

[T. O'Heir]

Doesn't pay to much around with range pick up brass at all. You have no idea what has been done to it, what it's been loaded with or how often.

[Clark]

I got 7000 pieces of mixed 223 brass for $62 at a gun show.
I was loading ~ 35,000 psi rodent loads and shot them in a Ruger #1.
I never had problems.


Years ago a friend 900 miles from home was shooting prairie dogs, went to my brother's car, grabbed more ammo, shot this round, and got something in his eye. He had to drive 150 miles to find a doctor. That ammo traced back to me.

I felt terrible

Those two have since bought houses back there and last week were at the same spot with .223s.
But they are afraid of other people's brass. They only shoot Win brass from sealed bags when they buy it.
I wear eye protectors when shooting mass rodents now.

[BigG]

I don't shoot anybody else's reloads. See Clark's post above.

[Unclenick]

I once had an experience similar to Magnum Wheel Man's, but the brass was once-fired military .30-06 from a DCM match that I attended. One of the cases felt heavy. I looked in and could see a dark mass at the bottom. A dental pick freed what turned out to be a flattened slug of lead. It must have been part of a bullet core. Whether it came from the bullet that was loaded into that case or some other source at Lake City, I don't know. But the way it was fireformed to one side of the case head, it was clear the cartridge had been fired that way. Since the pressures of those military loads weren't maximum, it was apparently OK (no high pressure signs on the case). But I am glad I didn't try to put a maximum load in myself, before noticing the issue.

The incident became an excuse to indulge my OCD side and start weighing cases as part of first-time inspection.