Which would you prefer

[Alpo]

You buy bulk used brass. And you get a couple that are not what they're supposed to be.

 

Would you prefer that the wrong pieces used a different shell holder, so it was immediately obvious it was the wrong stuff? Or would you prefer it used the same shell holder but it was still a different cartridge - like you had some 308s in with your 7 mm Mauser?

 

I bought some 32 Smith & Wesson long. Got two 32 H&R Magnum. Same shell holder, different cartridge.

 

This afternoon I was sizing some 380. Found two 9mm Mak. Different shell holder. Obviously the wrong stuff.

 

Just got me thinking.

[Eyesa Horg]

Different shell holder would catch it quicker if they otherwise pretty much look the same.

[SHOOTIN FOX]

What is worse is small primer 45 acp.

[DeaconKC]

Agreement with both the previous answers!

[Blackwater 53393]

7 minutes ago, DeaconKC said:

Agreement with both the previous answers!

Same here!!

[Cypress Sun]

1 hour ago, SHOOTIN FOX said:

What is worse is small primer 45 acp.

 

When you're loading .38 spl and get a piece of .357 mag in the mix. Ruins the brass but makes a helleva bell!

[Cypress Sun]

2 hours ago, Alpo said:

You buy bulk used brass. And you get a couple that are not what they're supposed to be.

 

Would you prefer that the wrong pieces used a different shell holder, so it was immediately obvious it was the wrong stuff? Or would you prefer it used the same shell holder but it was still a different cartridge - like you had some 308s in with your 7 mm Mauser?

 

I bought some 32 Smith & Wesson long. Got two 32 H&R Magnum. Same shell holder, different cartridge.

 

This afternoon I was sizing some 380. Found two 9mm Mak. Different shell holder. Obviously the wrong stuff.

 

Just got me thinking.

 

I'd rather the wrong brass use a different shell holder as it would then be easily identifiable.

[Ozark Huckleberry]

I use 2 pieces of an egg carton florescent light cover cut to fit in the bottom of an old cake pan for sorting brass

 

 

Shake it as I pour the brass across the grid, most of the cases drop into it base first. The few that don't are simple to flip

 

The differences between 9mm/.380/9mm Mak; .38/.357; and .45 acp/.45 GAP are easy to spot when you look across the rows. Plus the cases are all mouth-up, so it's easy to inspect inside. Then carefully lift lift the grid off of the cases and spray a little One Shot across the batch from a couple of different angles to lube the sides and get just a touch inside for resizing (make sure the One Shot has time to thoroughly dry before loading).

 

(No, I've never had a FTF from the powder being wet by the One Shot)

 

Still hate the small primer .45 acp, but do have a few hundred stashed on the back shelf-- 'just in case' another LP drought comes up.

Edited December 26, 2024 by Ozark Huckleberry

[Eyesa Horg]

10 hours ago, Cypress Sun said:

 

When you're loading .38 spl and get a piece of .357 mag in the mix. Ruins the brass but makes a helleva bell!

It sure does!!! I mark all of Ellie's 38s. Then when we get home and dump them on the bench it's real quick to identify hers. Any without the mark get looked at closer. Some are somebody else's 38s, but a few 357s sneak in too.

[Pat Riot]

Option 3 - all brass the same. 

 

I have purchased a lot of “Once Fired” brass over the years and most of the time the cartridge brass where I find some oddballs got into the mix is with 9mm and the oddballs are usually .380 ACP cases or 9x18. A couple of times I found .38 Super. 
 

Never had an issue with .45 Colt.

I have found a few .38 Spl in .357 Mag and vice versa. 

In picking up range brass I have gotten small pistol primer .45 ACP brass. It seems that I see that more and more. Is that now becoming the norm?

I do have a .45 ACP cylinder for my New Vaquero and I will occasionally load .45 ACP, but not much. 

[Cypress Sun]

1 hour ago, Pat Riot said:

Option 3 - all brass the same. 

 

I have purchased a lot of “Once Fired” brass over the years and most of the time the cartridge brass where I find some oddballs got into the mix is with 9mm and the oddballs are usually .380 ACP cases or 9x18. A couple of times I found .38 Super. 
 

Never had an issue with .45 Colt.

I have found a few .38 Spl in .357 Mag and vice versa. 

In picking up range brass I have gotten small pistol primer .45 ACP brass. It seems that I see that more and more. Is that now becoming the norm?

I do have a .45 ACP cylinder for my New Vaquero and I will occasionally load .45 ACP, but not much. 

 

I'm very careful about range pickup brass. I've had .22 LR brass go all the way through the tumbling in vibratory tumbler process, media separation process and putting it in a storage container. Didn't discover it until it got stuck on the decapping pin, jamming up the loader one time and breaking the decap pin on two other occasions. Sure, decap pins are not expensive and replacing them is easy, but it sure disrupts the reloading process.

 

As far as small primer  .45 ACP brass, I inspect every piece of brass before it goes into the tumbler and cull the small primer brass out to be stored in a separate container for future emergency use.

[Pat Riot]

5 minutes ago, Cypress Sun said:

 

I'm very careful about range pickup brass. I've had .22 LR brass go all the way through the tumbling in vibratory tumbler process, media separation process and putting it in a storage container. Didn't discover it until it got stuck on the decapping pin, jamming up the loader one time and breaking the decap pin on two other occasions. Sure, decap pins are not expensive and replacing them is easy, but it sure disrupts the reloading process.

I rarely keep found brass at the range. I usually buy my once fired brass from US Reloading Supply out of Florida. 
https://www.usreloadingsupply.com/

 

Great bunch of folks there. 

[Cypress Sun]

20 minutes ago, Pat Riot said:

I rarely keep found brass at the range. I usually buy my once fired brass from US Reloading Supply out of Florida. 
https://www.usreloadingsupply.com/

 

Great bunch of folks there. 

 

They are a good bunch of people...but I'm cheap...I mean thrifty!

[Earl Brasse, SASS #3562]

I'd rather have it be obvious.

I years ago bought about 3k of new 38-40 Winchester un-primed bulk brass,

I didn't mind the few primed .223 cases.

What did cause me to check EVERY case were the 3 live primed 9mm cases I found that were inside the 38-40's.

[Colorado Coffinmaker]

PLUS SEVERAL for the First FOUR Guys!!

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

Are you really our Alpo?  

 

This a very useful, valuable,  and realistic question?

[SHOOTIN FOX]

And after today, add 44 special, 44-40 brass in with 45 colt. Range pick up from EOT 2024.

[Cold Lake Kid, SASS # 51474]

On occasion, I've had .45 ACP creep in with my .45 Cowboy Special and didn't notice the case as I was depriming/Resizing.

Then the  ACP case gets well and truly stuck in the .45 Colt die, since the shell holder won't grab it to pull it out. (*%$&&^ and %$#@*()(*&^%$

[Sedalia Dave]

On 12/26/2024 at 8:47 AM, Cypress Sun said:

As far as small primer  .45 ACP brass, I inspect every piece of brass before it goes into the tumbler and cull the small primer brass out to be stored in a separate container for future emergency use.

 

Almost all factory 45 ACP that has been produced post Covid uses small pistol primers.

[Cypress Sun]

9 hours ago, Sedalia Dave said:

 

Almost all factory 45 ACP that has been produced post Covid uses small pistol primers.

 

Great, just great.

 

Shows how much I buy factory ammo. I only buy .22's because I can't make them...and even if I could, I wouldn't. That'd be a real PITA.