Match Ammo

[Montana Mike]

I am just beginning my CAS journey. I have shot one match so far and absolutely had a ball!!

 

I load my own ammo and have a bin full of 45Colt brass that has been around the block a few times, if you know what I mean. I also have a bin full of either once-fired, or new Starline 45Colt brass.

 

My question is this. How many of you load your old beat up brass for practice, and only load your good starline brass for actual matches?

[Jay Vendetta]

I've seen a lot of people use new brass for state and regional level events, and use everything else for monthly matches. I personally use anything as long as its not cracked. Not too picky.

[SHOOTIN FOX]

If it is a lost brass match, I use serviceable older brass. 

[Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971]

I use once-fired or new brass in my rifle for major matches and use brass loaded 2X or more times in my revolvers.  For practice or local matches I use brass reloaded multiple times.  I reload until minor splits appear and then toss in the recycle can.  I only use nickel-plated brass in revolvers regardless of how many times it has been reloaded.  (Nickel-plated cases are particularly prone to splitting.)  Split cases in revolvers can be cleared at the unloading table.  However, split cases in a rifle often lock-up the action.  At EOT I shot once-fired 38 Specials picked up on concealed carry qualification ranges.  The lost brass cost me nothing.

[Dream Chaser, SASS #79316]

My practice is same as Edward R S Canby

[Rip Snorter]

It really becomes relevant it you are likely to win or place in your class.  Otherwise, if I am going to lose brass in these times of shortages it will be carefully checked and loaded older brass.  Anything questionable has already been routed to the scrap can.

[Abilene, SASS # 27489]

1 hour ago, SHOOTIN FOX said:

If it is a lost brass match, I use serviceable older brass. 

I bought all the 32-20 brass that the Boy Scouts picked up at EOT one year.  Holy Crap was that stuff ugly and beat up.  I was surprised that people would shoot EOT with brass that bad.  There was very little that I could use.  But hey, the money went to a good cause. 

[G W Wade]

I feel bad for the guys shooting the dash calibers,  44/40-32/20 ETC   but except for "lost brass"  matches you get most of your brass back.  Considering the cost of going it is nothing!          I shoot 38's because I am cheap.    Although I break out the 44/40 for WB and there the 45 brass really flys.   4 to 6 mags of 7 rds each really makes the brass pickers moving       GW

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

Load your old stuff.

When see how much you loose, it won't hurt so much.

[watab kid]

i use all of mine but inspect at each reload and discard any that show signs , ive not noticed any difference with older brass vs new starline save that the new works better for me after at least one use , 

 

oh and i shoot predominantly 45 colt , some 38 spcl 

[Creeker, SASS #43022]

Brand new Starline brass:

45 Colt - 23 cents each

38 Spl - 16 cents each.

 

12 stages of lost brass - 120 pieces

(only rifle brass is "lost")

45 Colt - $27.60

38 Spl - $19.20

 

Entry fee for EoT or Land Run

$200

 

A championship, Top 10 or even a clean match lost because of a split case?

Priceless.

 

You decide what is acceptable to you - I know what I use.

(Once fired is actually my preference - any failures due to manufacturing flaws are eliminated and any failures from overwork and age are as well)

 

[Patagonia Pete]

45 Colt brass last kinda forever ... 

[Itchy Trigger]

1 hour ago, Creeker, SASS #43022 said:

Entry fee for EoT or Land Run

$200

And even that expense is minimal compared to transportation there, hotel rooms, eating out, stretch raffle - well that one is not a “required” expense.

 

Still no need to spend extra money when it isn’t essential.

[Captain Bill Burt]

I’ve never bought new brass for myself. I’ve bought new Starline for my wife’s 32 H&R pistols, but we purchase our 38 special used. After a little over 11 years of CAS each of us have had one split case.

[Badlands Bob #61228]

I guess after a while, you figure out what level of quality control and effort you are willing to put into your reloaded ammo.  I visually inspect each piece of brass when it comes out of the wet tumbler.  Any cracks or splits get trashed, no matter how small.  I also chamber check each round after loading.  I don't have separate brass for practice and matches.  

[Randy Saint Eagle, SASS # 64903]

3 hours ago, Creeker, SASS #43022 said:

Brand new Starline brass:

45 Colt - 23 cents each

38 Spl - 16 cents each.

 

12 stages of lost brass - 120 pieces

(only rifle brass is "lost")

45 Colt - $27.60

38 Spl - $19.20

 

Entry fee for EoT or Land Run

$200

 

A championship, Top 10 or even a clean match lost because of a split case?

Priceless.

 

You decide what is acceptable to you - I know what I use.

(Once fired is actually my preference - any failures due to manufacturing flaws are eliminated and any failures from overwork and age are as well)

 

I agree with Creeker except I shot new Starline brass this year at EOT because I was out of once fired.  If I am traveling and staying in a motel I don’t want a split case to ruin my weekend. For Pistols I load anything that isn’t split and if it splits on the stage doesn’t matter.

Thanks

Randy

 

[H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619]

I just load up my brass and shoot it.  When I get new brass it goes into whatever ammo box is available at the time of reloading.  At the shoot, I make no effort to shoot all new or all used brass, and once I take it home for cleaning, it just all gets in the tumbler.  I doubt very much if I have a single box of ammo, that is reloaded, that has 50 identical headstamps, and they probably range from once fired to used only the Lord knows how many times.   I just shoot 'em till they split and then discard 'em.

[TN Mongo, SASS #61450]

When brass was readily available, I also would only use new brass at big matches.  Fast forward to today's craziness, I am reluctant to throw out brass, unless it is damaged in some way.  I knock out primers and wet tumble all my brass and carefully evaluate all of them before reloading them again.  It's a PIA, but I'm retired now and I have more time for better quality control. 

 

I check every case for splits.  I now also drop fired brass into a chamber checker before reloading.  I was having issues with brass sticking in my rifle chamber and being hard to eject.  After making sure my chamber was spotless, the problem persisted.  I found that some well used brass was ballooning near the base after being fired.  By checking all fired brass, in a chamber checker, after firing, I eliminated any ballooned brass and the problem disappeared. 

 

Another issue that sometimes occurred with older brass was that I had primers coming out of the primer pockets after firing the round.  In one local match an ejected primer locked up the internals of my 73 like a bank vault.  I am now very watchful of how my primers go in during that stage on my Dillon 650 and remove any brass that I can't feel the primer going in. 

 

If I were a top contender at a national match, I'm sure that I would take more precautions with my match ammo.  But being an old curmudgeon who hates to waste money, I'm going to continue to shoot my used brass until goes belly up.

[Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971]

I shot some trap with local cowboy shooters yesterday.  A couple who are serious clays competitors joined us.  They had three primers back out of their much reloaded Nitro hulls.  They tossed the hulls and just said this is just practice.  They shoot good ammo in competition.  Most every match an old .32 case splits in my wife's revolvers.  I have to extract it for her at the unloading table.  This year three cases split in my WB rifle at local matches.  I agree with RSE and Creeker.  I bring my best ammo for my long guns when traveling to major matches.  However, I use much reloaded ammo for warmups.  BTW, I have had Starline brass split on first firing.

[DeaconKC]

Check every case. After seeing a fellow shooter who was in contention for the Alabama State Championship a few weeks ago have a split case tie up his 73, it cost him his chance on the last stage! I now run every round loaded on my Dillon through a case check gauge and try to look at each before it starts in it's trip through the 550.

[Griff]

I shoot slow and make up for by missing often... Ammo is ammo... either you shoot it or you save it for ??? You can eliminate pistol brass as a concern if you simply shoot Frontiersman.   There, half your problems are solved.  I feel better already!   Need the other half solved?  WHAT?  You think I'm going to solve ALL your problems for you?   Sorry, some things you're just going to have to tackle your-ownself!

[Dusty Devil Dale]

On 6/3/2022 at 3:09 PM, Dream Chaser, SASS #79316 said:

My practice is same as Edward R S Canby

What is this thing you all call "practice"?  Is that a throw-back to the pre-primer- shortage days of long ago?  

[H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619]

On 6/3/2022 at 8:32 PM, Creeker, SASS #43022 said:

Brand new Starline brass:

45 Colt - 23 cents each

 

 

12 stages of lost brass - 120 pieces

(only rifle brass is "lost")

45 Colt - $27.60

 

 

Double that if you are also shooting Wild Bunch
 

$55.20

Factor in the fact that you are also providing ammo for three friends, which means 4 shooters total...

$220.80

Factor in Side Matches.   Figure just 50 rounds per shooter...

 

.23x50x4=46

that brings us to...

$266.80.

4 State Mini Warm Up Match...
 

.23x10x4x4=36.80

that brings us to...

 

$303.60

 

And I have a feeling I've underestimated somehow.  

Too me, that's ridiculous.   And can you even FIND brass these days?   It is exceedingly difficult.   Lost brass is a bad idea.  In my opinion.

["Big Boston"]

Montana Mike, that is how I roll, depending on the caliber and how much brass I have. 

 

I recently got a pair of 45 S&W Schofield open tops. I only have 250 brass. For load development I used 10 brass, over and over. On the tenth loading I had a decent enough load. Those 10 were set aside. After a few practice sessions using one box, reloading, and repeat, I've labeled that box practice. That way I know that the remaining 150 are good for match. 

 

38 Spl, I use the oldest date ammo for practice, that way what's used for match is fairly fresh. 38 Spl brass is plentiful, no need to worry about saving good. Anything iffy gets tossed. 38 Spl is my rifle caliber, so I expect a few to not come home. 

 

I have enough 44-40, so it gets the same treatment as 38 Spl. Except that I recently acquired 100 rounds that were used in a 45 Colt. Those are labeled practice only. Interestingly, even after that abuse, the brass still looks and works fine. 

 

45 Colt, use it without segregating between practice and match. Most of my 45 Colt brass came my way used, way more than 1F, wouldn't know how to separate the brass. 

 

I don't do anything special with my brass. it gets polished if it is real grungy looking. I do however keep the mouths smooth to minimize splits, except for 38s. I just drag the mouth across a sheet of 800, or 1000 to make it smooth, occasionally. Usually if I notice a couple of rough mouths. Any nicks or flaws will create a stressor for a split to begin. Tossing split 38s is not something to cry over. Loosing a 44-40, yes, that brings a tear to the eye. 

 

I do tend to keep my batches sorted by head stamp. This keeps the case weights the same, keeps crimps consistent, and gives me a warm fuzzy feeling. I like to feel confidence in my ammo. 

 

I was planning to cull some calibers to keep it simpler, but It looks like our handguns may be confiscated or at the very least we'll be prohibited from buying or selling them till death do us part. In response to the latest shooting in Texas, Canada has decided that a handgun freeze is required to keep schools safe. Gun control is a big vote getting program. 

 

BB

[Gateway Kid SASS# 70038 Life]

14 hours ago, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said:

Double that if you are also shooting Wild Bunch
 

$55.20

Factor in the fact that you are also providing ammo for three friends, which means 4 shooters total...

$220.80

Factor in Side Matches.   Figure just 50 rounds per shooter...

 

.23x50x4=46

that brings us to...

$266.80.

4 State Mini Warm Up Match...
 

.23x10x4x4=36.80

that brings us to...

 

$303.60

 

And I have a feeling I've underestimated somehow.  

Too me, that's ridiculous.   And can you even FIND brass these days?   It is exceedingly difficult.   Lost brass is a bad idea.  In my opinion.

Not being argumentative but if you are footing the bill for everybody I think your “friends” are taking advantage of your good nature. Are they not kicking in for some of the cost? Are they not watching out for brass for you? Also the big Wild Bunch championships (EOT and previously WR) typically only average 8 in the rifle, at the side matches using the rifle I got back everything that stayed on the table and most of what landed on my side as well as some that others had abandoned. (45’s as I didn’t care about the 38’s)

Yes lost brass matches can be expensive but trying to get 700 plus shooters through in 9 hours is tough enough without adding in everyone who is trying to find every last piece of brass on the ground! (and you and I both know some who will want that very last piece before they leave the stage )

Regards

    
Gateway Kid

[Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS #32933]

I use my best once loaded Remington STS hulls for my main match CAS ammo.

 

[Skullbone Willie]

I’ve only shot 2 matches but I inspect and case gage 100% for matches.

[watab kid]

i see some that are concerned about cost - in the end your going to reuse that brass a lot , so that cost is a one time investment , part of getting involved , the next thing you need to know is that you seldom get back a;ll of your brass at a match and sometimes you get someone elses , thats why we inspect at each reload and discard what is damaged , you gotta factor in a bit of loss over the years , its just the cost of shooting , 

 

ive been fortunate in that i have range officers at my local range that save me 45 colt 38 spcl and 4570 brass when it gets discarded , ive sorted and loaded what i got from them and had no difficulty with anything i sorted and saved , you can get fired/cleaned brass at a gun show too - used to be reasonable not sure that is still true ,