June 17, 2000, 02:56 PM | #1 |
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I have decided to give reloading a try. I will be ordering the equipment soon. I have just started collecting my .45 once fired brass when I go shooting. I have been coming home and putting it in a bucket. Here are the questions:
1. Do you sort your brass by headstamp? If so, why. 2. Do you keep track of how many times you have reloaded/shot your brass? If so, why and how? 3. Once you clean your brass, do you just put it into a different bucket and grab it when you start reloading? Thanks for any and all info. Regards, Frank |
June 17, 2000, 04:18 PM | #2 |
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One usually sorts by headstamp for shot to shot consistency since there are usually differences in case capacity from one mfg. to another. I keep track of times reloaded with rifle brass, but I loose enough semi auto pistol at "lost brass" matches that it averages about six reloads before I'm buying more. |
June 17, 2000, 05:05 PM | #3 |
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I never sort handgun brass by headstamp. I simply tumble-clean it before storing it in large coffee cans or ammo cans. If the headstamp gets so battered that I can't read it (or an inspection reveals some defect or weakness) I trash the case.
Rifle brass--I always keep it separated by lots along with a record of the # of firings. Don't want any case head separations, etc. |
June 17, 2000, 07:53 PM | #4 |
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I do a certain amound of segregation and record keeping on high-pressure brass. For pistol, .44 Maggie and .45 Colt. I don't worry about "plinking" brass in rifle.
I'll keep .45ACP brass separated between "serious" loads and stuff no hotter than, say, 5.8 gr. of 231 and 200-gr. SWC. The latter cases get shot and cleaned and reloaded until it finally splits. If I miss a minor split during loading, I just use it as the first round in the chamber, for practicing... FWIW, Art |
June 18, 2000, 12:09 AM | #5 |
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I don't sort by headstamp. I did for the first 5,000 rounds, but have seen no reason to continue.
I don't keep track of the number of times I have reloaded/shot the brass. As the .45 is low pressure (and I load a soft target round) I am not really pushing it. I tumble, and them put it in a separate container so the tumbler is available for another load. Casey |
June 18, 2000, 08:45 PM | #6 |
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Howdy. Yep, I sort almost all of my brass by headstamp. After tumbling (cleaning and polishing), I put them in wood loading block trays (from Midway). I then "paint" them with nail polish - a different color stripe across the head for each different "brand". This does two thing for me - first, it allows me to sort them by headstamp faster and second, it allows me to tell my brass from other's at the range. Although I don't keep an actual count of # of firings, I keep a log of all reloads and part of that info is the brass used. Using that info, I could go back through the log and count the number of times each case has been fired. In the beginning I started to do that, thinking that cases would have a finite life. After tens of thousands of rounds, I just check them for case splits, etc. after tumbling and discard cases that look bad. I have some .45acp cases that have about 30 firings on them. I actually stopped counting at 20. My .38 special should last forever. Good Shooting, Rod.
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June 20, 2000, 08:37 AM | #7 |
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I'm with the majority. I keep all my revolver and pistol brass in 5qt ice cream pails, and don't sort. Used to, when I shot IHMSA and Hunter Pistol silhouette with my Contender, but haven't since then. You'll probably lose your pistol brass before you wear it out.
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June 20, 2000, 09:20 AM | #8 |
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I have been shooting since 1960 and re-loading since 1970. The .45ACP was my 2nd set of dies. In this 30 year period, I have had only 11 pieces of brass SPLIT at the mouth---you are working at low pressure?
You need only to sort out the ALUMINUM brass, which is not reloadable. I pick up brass at the range, not worrying if it is only once fired. Don't worry about .45 ACP brass, just get to reloading it. |
June 21, 2000, 08:44 PM | #9 |
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I think all of us who have been reloading for a while, have kept track of our brass for at least a few years. I would consider this part of the learning process. I still sort some of my brass like others. But for the most part
I just shoot it, clean it, and reload it. Waterdog |
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