Tennessee Snuffy Posted April 1, 2022 Share Posted April 1, 2022 I was wondering if anyone has ever tried to coat their brass with a red or orange color (or what other color you so desire) in order to make finding it in gravel and weeds a lot easier? If so, what did you use and how did you do it? Tennessee Snuffy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rip Snorter Posted April 1, 2022 Share Posted April 1, 2022 Was more to I.D. brass at matches, but we used Hobby type paint sticks to paint the base of each round. Held up pretty well, came off in tumbling. I wouldn't think painting more than that would be a good idea. IMO retard chambering and likely build up in the chamber. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheyenne Ranger, 48747L Posted April 1, 2022 Share Posted April 1, 2022 to distinguish between my rifle and pistol loads I use a good old marker: black for pistol and red for rifle. wet tumbling will remove it but stays on fine after firing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Branchwater Jack SASS #88854 Posted April 1, 2022 Share Posted April 1, 2022 I do the same Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abilene, SASS # 27489 Posted April 2, 2022 Share Posted April 2, 2022 If your reason for marking it is to make it finding it easier, it won't help. Having your brass as shiny as possible does help. There is a device some company sells that will put colored stripes on the side of brass. Doesn't help it show up but does identify it as coming from a specific shooter and is much easier to notice than stripes on the bottom of the rim. When I was shooting a match with Dream Chaser and found some of her brass that is marked like that, I saved it and handed it to her even though she was on the posse in front of us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watab kid Posted April 2, 2022 Share Posted April 2, 2022 interesting topic , ive used the majic marker to ID certain loads or to mark cases i suspected of being on the verge of becoming recyclable , if it wants to hide it seems to find a way , i figure 10% loss and am very happy when i get 5% , its just the cost of shooting i guess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister Badly Posted April 2, 2022 Share Posted April 2, 2022 13 hours ago, Tennessee Snuffy said: I was wondering if anyone has ever tried to coat their brass with a red or orange color (or what other color you so desire) in order to make finding it in gravel and weeds a lot easier? If so, what did you use and how did you do it? Tennessee Snuffy Maybe we need a thermal cam Snuffy. And a layer of smaller stone to keep the brass out of the big stone crevices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tulsey, SASS#11236 Posted April 2, 2022 Share Posted April 2, 2022 Years ago some guy gave me some brass that he had dyed purple. I loaded it, but never shot it and don't know how it would work, but it sure looked different, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyesa Horg Posted April 2, 2022 Share Posted April 2, 2022 I use a marker as well on the head across the primer. With Ellie's 38's it makes it quick when checking that no 357's get in the mix. I also mark my 45 rifle to catch any 44 brass and other 45 colt that might mix with my Starlines. Only minor issue I've noticed in our Marlins is the fp starts to get gummed from the marker, hasn't caused any issues yet however. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griff Posted April 2, 2022 Share Posted April 2, 2022 Let's see... mark them with a fluorescent color so that it shows up under a black light... All stages must be equipped with a battery powered blacklight for brass picker use... Oh... nobody makes a battery powered blacklight... That's okay, the technology will follow demand right? Yep... I'm from the Gov't... and I'm here to help you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abilene, SASS # 27489 Posted April 2, 2022 Share Posted April 2, 2022 Provide the brass picker with heat-sensing goggles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oak Ridge Regulator Posted April 2, 2022 Share Posted April 2, 2022 They do make a battery powered black light, I made them for a company to check for oil residue in beach sand after the horizon disaster ( you don’t want to know what’s in the beach sand between you toes believe me ) pretty dangerous and costly to use, let’s just hire the Boy Scouts instead they do a great job at finding brass, and we can thwart the government guys at the same time ! Seriously as a former Boy Scout I think it’s great anytime we can instill a interest in our sport into a group of young adults and maybe even throw their organization some cash to help them meet expenses. To be fair I have no problem with Girl Scouts picking brass either ( or selling cookies on the side lines ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bison Bud Posted April 4, 2022 Share Posted April 4, 2022 While I have used a permanent marker to mark and identify some ammo, primarily my black powder loads, I pretty much expect to lose some brass pretty much every time I go out to shoot (practice or competition). Frankly, clean and shiny brass is probably your best option for making the spent cases the easiest to find and although I seldom use it, because it seems to split easier, nickel plated brass is probably the easiest to recover as well. Also, the type of rifle one shoots can make a big difference in brass recovery as my Marlin Carbine tends to throw cases forward of the firing line which makes then only recoverable after the match or on a cold range, while my 73 Border rifle tends to throw the cases up and back, which at least gives the brass pickers a chance to recover them during a match. In any case, losing a few rounds is pretty much inevitable and I doubt that any other colored brass is going to make enough difference to be worth the cost and effort required. Although, I'd love to get it all back, losing some is simply part of the cost of shooting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blind Squirrel Posted April 4, 2022 Share Posted April 4, 2022 On 4/2/2022 at 1:22 PM, Griff said: Let's see... mark them with a fluorescent color so that it shows up under a black light... All stages must be equipped with a battery powered blacklight for brass picker use... Oh... nobody makes a battery powered blacklight... That's okay, the technology will follow demand right? Yep... I'm from the Gov't... and I'm here to help you! Black Light Battery Operated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rip Snorter Posted April 4, 2022 Share Posted April 4, 2022 For practice when several of us went, we would put down a large tarp. We lost almost no brass, and it was easy to pour it from the tarp to a bucket for sorting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Bill Burt Posted April 4, 2022 Share Posted April 4, 2022 Pistol ammo is easily distinguished as such by the brass 38 special case it comes in. The same is true for rifle ammo, the 38 special brass case is a dead giveaway. That makes things pretty straightforward at the LT. My newly acquired Rebel 17 in conjunction with a dab of Lemi Shine, a dash of Armor All Wash and Wax, and 2 hours of tumbling (no media) leads to very shiny and easily found brass. The gentleman who loads BP for me (for the very few occasions I shoot BP) marks the head of the case with a small black dot, so I don't get mixed up and get an unpleasant surprise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griff Posted April 4, 2022 Share Posted April 4, 2022 On 4/2/2022 at 5:43 PM, Oak Ridge Regulator said: They do make a battery powered black light, I made them for a company to check for oil residue in beach sand after the horizon disaster ( you don’t want to know what’s in the beach sand between you toes believe me ) pretty dangerous and costly to use, let’s just hire the Boy Scouts instead they do a great job at finding brass, and we can thwart the government guys at the same time ! Seriously as a former Boy Scout I think it’s great anytime we can instill a interest in our sport into a group of young adults and maybe even throw their organization some cash to help them meet expenses. To be fair I have no problem with Girl Scouts picking brass either ( or selling cookies on the side lines ) 2 hours ago, Blind Squirrel said: Black Light Battery Operated T'was a joke... maybe a bad one... but... there's a big, 4-syllable word for what type of joke... but, that probably won't go over well either... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cajun bandit Posted April 4, 2022 Share Posted April 4, 2022 I use an ink pad and stamp before I prime the case Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Duncan Posted April 5, 2022 Share Posted April 5, 2022 OP sure went North quick. Weren’t asking how to mark headstamps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyesa Horg Posted April 5, 2022 Share Posted April 5, 2022 21 minutes ago, Matthew Duncan said: OP sure went North quick. Weren’t asking how to mark headstamps! Seems to be the nature of posting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 Posted April 5, 2022 Share Posted April 5, 2022 Generically, I'll take a Sharpie and mark up the head of the cartridge if it's loaded with black powder. Specifically, if it's a special load of .45-70 for use in my Lightning, I put an L on the head with the Sharpie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abilene, SASS # 27489 Posted April 5, 2022 Share Posted April 5, 2022 Well, since the thread drifted anyway, my system is: green stripe = 777 (not many) red stripe = app (when I get lazy) blue stripe = bp w/ unlubed bullets (pistol only) black stripe = bp w/ lubed bullets smokeless get no stripes but if I'm trying out a new load I dot the bottom with one color or another. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watab kid Posted April 6, 2022 Share Posted April 6, 2022 interesting , i did not think of going so in depth with this , but then i only load two so i can sort real easily even then id only mark the cases i think ill discard due to age , i see the reasoning but never thought of doing it because i dont try all these options , i like the concept tho Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tennessee Snuffy Posted April 6, 2022 Author Share Posted April 6, 2022 Thanks for all the advise The best I can tell is that no one paints there brass to make it easier to find Tennessee Snuffy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griff Posted April 6, 2022 Share Posted April 6, 2022 1 hour ago, Tennessee Snuffy said: The best I can tell is that no one paints there brass to make it easier to find Tennessee Snuffy Yep... it seems that the hidden entry fee to any range is a donation of a small percentage of brass fired... For some reason... mother earth doesn't care for nickel cases... I seem to get all of those back.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucky R. K. Posted April 6, 2022 Share Posted April 6, 2022 When I shoot my 44-40 Lightning, I almost never get a majority of my brass back. There are several others usually on the posse who also shoot 44-40. Unless the brass is uniquely marked I cannot say "that one is mine". My solution was to mark the center of the brass with a colored ring, usually red, all the way around the case. Some have a red and a green ring on them. Lucky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Duncan Posted April 6, 2022 Share Posted April 6, 2022 On 4/1/2022 at 6:26 PM, Tennessee Snuffy said: I was wondering if anyone has ever tried to coat their brass with a red or orange color (or what other color you so desire) in order to make finding it in gravel and weeds a lot easier? If so, what did you use and how did you do it? Tennessee Snuffy A long soak in RIT dye might work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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