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Old January 23, 2005, 02:40 PM   #1
Boudin
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Marking brass lots

What's the best way to mark different lots of brass with the same headstamp so that they can be kept apart? Thanks, GasMan.
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Old January 23, 2005, 05:08 PM   #2
steveno
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I consider keeping track of case lot numbers to be a waste of time
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Old January 23, 2005, 08:42 PM   #3
griz
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I try to keep rifle brass sorted, but mostly by keeping differnt batches separated. I have used a sharpie marker to code the primers, but of course that is only good until you deprime. You can use the sharpie on the case itself, but tumbling or solvents will wear it away after a short while. I've heard of people who file a small notch on the rim, and this could be a way to keep track of the nimber of firings on a single piece of brass. I've never tried that.

Pistol brass I pretty much just sort by headstamp, if that. The exception is max magnum loads, for which I use either once or twice fired brass.
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Old January 24, 2005, 11:40 AM   #4
Master Blaster
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I keep track of the number of firings on all of my many different calibers and generations of brass. Here is what I do.

When I get a new batch of once fired brass, I clean it in my tumbler, then I place it in large ziploc bags (2 Gallon heavy duty) I mark on the bag with masking tape, The date, 1X fired. when I load it for the second firing, I mark the date load and the number of loaded (2x) on a slip of paper in the box of relaoded rounds. I fire it and place the fired cases in a cut off gallon milk jug marked with the caliber and number of firings(2X). I then clean the brass again when the jug fills and mark, the plastic bag with the loading number 3X. And so on, its not hard to do. So I know how many firings on every piece of brass I have.

I load .223, 30.06, .308, 9mm, .38 spl, 357 mag, 44 mag, .45 acp, 32 acp, and I manage to keep track of it all. I toss the brass when a particular lot has a large number of splits (hasnt happened and some of my .45 has been loaded 15x). or shows signs of case seperation or loss of case neck tension due to work hardening in the case of rifle rounds. I buy once fired brass or new brass, from a local range in the case of pistol. My rifle is bought new, or given to me by those who dont reload, .223 and .308 I buy 1x fired 100 % processed lake city brass from scharchs(sp). Is ort the .223 and .308 by headstamp for accuracy reasons.

My procedure is not difficult or expensive, just requires masking tape, a marker, milk jugs, and plastic bags, and keeping things seperated.

I think it enhances safety, and quality of my reloads.
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Old January 24, 2005, 11:56 AM   #5
jerryd
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Plastic zipper bags!!
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Old January 24, 2005, 01:03 PM   #6
30Cal
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I color code the case heads using a sharpy on rifle brass to keep track of how many times it's been fired. Still, it's a PITA.
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Old January 24, 2005, 01:23 PM   #7
Robert M Boren Sr
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I feel it's a waste of time unless you're shooting compitition. Then I would just keep the brass seperated while I shoot it by keeping it in a container like a coffee can marked target. If it's just for normal stuff like hunting and plinking I feel it's just a waste of time.
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Old January 25, 2005, 08:56 PM   #8
HSMITH
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You can take a file and put a notch in the rim, one notch for one lot, two notches for the next......
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Old January 26, 2005, 12:18 PM   #9
Boudin
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Thanks everybody, I have been filing small notches; it's a pain to do with a hundred cases, haven't found a way to color code that doesn't wear off as fast as you put it on.
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Old January 26, 2005, 02:01 PM   #10
Dave R
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Most of my cases I don't track. 9mm, .308, etc. If the neck splits, I toss it.

But for my .17 wildcat, I'm more careful, partly because I want to see how many loadings I can get out of the brass.

So what I do is give each batch of brass its own cartridge box(es). Then, every time I load that brass, I mark the number of times loaded on the box. I'm up to 8 loadings on my most used batch.
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Old January 26, 2005, 03:29 PM   #11
Tim R
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Some I keep track of, some I don't. I don't keep track of 45 ACP as I use it until it wears out or is lost. I do keep head stamps as close to the same as I can. For other pistol calibers, I keep track by using the same ammo box ie, loaded ammo is pulled from the box, and the empties are placed back in the box when picked up. On the lid I use a avery label for load data and # times fired. Wheel guns make this easy.

For rifle, since I load so much of it, I use zip lock bags to store brass with a label or piece of paper telling me how many times fired. For the match rifle stuff, I put 125 cases into a "lot" and load a hundred at time saving the 25 in yet a smaller bag within the bigger bag. I use these 25 to replace lost cases I've shot. Brass monsters seem to like L/C match brass. After the cases have 4 reloads max on them they are pitched. If there is any of the 25 left over they go back in the mix as they are only once fired to start with. I have a fair amount of L/C match brass with same year manf. Hunting ammo is kept in 50 rounds lots and when fired the 50 ends up in a zip lock with details on a label or paper. I hang on to hunting rifle brass until the brass is done and number of reloads depends on the heat of the round. I also reload for a '06 M-1 and shoot it in John C. Garand matches. Sort of the same deal as the 308 ammo but I reload it intil there is a issue with the "Lot".
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