How do you get your brass?

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  • Abominator

    Plinker
    Rating - 100%
    4   0   0
    Jun 22, 2019
    81
    8
    Auburn
    Just getting started in reloading and wondered your preferences. Do you guys buy new brass? Once fired? Pick up your factory loads after shooting? Range scavenge? Also do you keep track of how many times you've fired them or just keep checking over and using them as many times as possible?
     

    Backpacker

    Expert
    Rating - 100%
    27   0   0
    Apr 5, 2008
    932
    43
    Greenwood
    I have purchased brass new and used. Often times I pick up my brass and a little more at the range if a fellow shooter offers it up. I do inspect every case after cleaning and before handloading.
     

    red_zr24x4

    UA#190
    Rating - 100%
    4   0   0
    Mar 14, 2009
    28,791
    113
    Walkerton
    Just getting started in reloading and wondered your preferences. Do you guys buy new brass? Once fired? Pick up your factory loads after shooting? Range scavenge?



    Also do you keep track of how many times you've fired them or just keep checking over and using them as many times as possible?

    All of the above


    Pistol brass is shot until it starts to split
    Rifle brass (from semi auto) is usually lost before I have any issues
     

    vvet762

    Marksman
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Jan 16, 2013
    248
    18
    Fort Wayne
    BK Bullet casting in Peru. It's once fired and cleaned. I usually buy them by 1000's. 1-765-473-7801. He has been doing this since the 1960's
     

    Hawkeye7br

    Expert
    Rating - 100%
    1   0   0
    Jul 9, 2015
    1,360
    67
    Terre Haute
    Rifle- I'm accuracy oriented, so I buy new brass as well as picking up my brass from factory ammo. I have a bunch of once fired range brass that I use for plinking only rounds in my .308.

    Pistol- 9mm I shoot budget factory. I don't shoot enough of it to spend the time reloading.
     

    BigBoxaJunk

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    3   0   0
    Feb 9, 2013
    7,314
    113
    East-ish
    I used to shoot at an outdoor public range and I'd go early Sunday mornings. Usually there would be lots of pistol brass laying around from the day before, so when I picked up my own, I'd get whatever was around my lane. This got me a good bit of 9mm, .40, .45, some .380, and rarely some .38 and .357. At that time, I only reloaded 9mm, so I gave the others to a friend.

    When I started reloading .38, I bought new brass at a gun show. I've never found much revolver brass at the range.

    I don't shoot or reload as much as I used to, and I don't have a system for keeping track of how many times each case is reloaded, other than a visual check for problems.
     

    schmart

    Sharpshooter
    Rating - 100%
    4   0   0
    Nov 10, 2014
    559
    47
    Lafayette
    I've mostly picked up my and other brass on the range and that has worked well for me for the past 20 years. However, I have had a few instances where I needed to purchase new brass (eg 44 Mag and other revolver calibers) simply because I never see it left behind. The biggest exception is that this year, I've started shooting NRA High Power at our club. Although I've got lots of mixed commercial brass, I've purchased 1000 once fired lake city cases so that I have some consistency in the loads. In this case, I'll only pick up my brass for re-use. For the stuff my son uses in Mag dumps, I still use a light to moderate load in the mixed range brass.

    You should have no issues picking up 9mm. If you were closer to me, I'd give you some. 45acp is less used so is much harder to find. For instance, I brought home about 500 9mm cases last night and only had 1 45acp in the whole bunch. If you start with enough factory rounds to handle a range session (eg 200) and take care to pick them up, you should be able to gradually build up your quantities.

    --Rick
     

    1775usmarine

    Sleeper
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 100%
    81   0   0
    Feb 15, 2013
    11,264
    113
    IN
    I pick up everything I find at the range and have recently started depriming and wet tumbling before inspection. Anything that is crud gets tossed in a scrap bucket. What I dont reload gets separated to trade or sell.
     

    cmann250

    Sharpshooter
    Rating - 100%
    18   0   0
    Jan 2, 2018
    503
    27
    Land of 300bu corn
    A bunch of my 45acp and 223 brass came from the INGO classifieds. The people here seem to be realistic about what their stuff is worth. Most of the time...

    I tried the “buy a bunch of factory ammo and save the brass” route. I found out quickly my reloads out performed factory ammo in my guns in the settings I was in. Full power 45 in competition and minute-of-man 223 on the rifle range is just frustrating.



    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     

    Fullmag

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    15   0   0
    Sep 4, 2011
    1,956
    74
    38sp and 45acp are real easy on brass. 223 on the other hand with its short neck and high pressure does not.
     

    EGParatrooper

    Marksman
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Jul 18, 2011
    255
    18
    I pick up my own spent casings, as well as others that I might find if I am using a public range. Inspect them for cracks, and run them through my tumbler before I reload.
     

    1775usmarine

    Sleeper
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 100%
    81   0   0
    Feb 15, 2013
    11,264
    113
    IN
    Sometimes the Brass Fairy will drop me a line on garage sales or people I know who will sell or give me brass dirt cheap.
     
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