How do you acquire cases?

I think somebody new to reloading should start with new brass or brass that he is absolutely sure was once fired. Once you get the hang of how fired brass looks, you can start using pick up brass. I used to buy once fired, pick up brass at shows, but had so many problems I stopped and now buy new when I get another gun. Don't be afraid to read the book. Some of the worst problems I had starting out were caused by listening to people that had been "Reloading for years".
 
Starline or once fired factory brass used in my own guns. I do not pick up range brass due to it's unknown history. Rod
 
Depends on the cartridge. I usually buy or pickup once fired .40, .45, 6.8, .308, and 30.06 brass. Use my own 5.56 and 6.8 brass from ammo I purchased previously. Buy new 6.5x57 brass since I never find it laying around at the range.
 
Range brass is cheap aka "free"

Free is one on my favorite words and actions. At my public outdoor range brass may be picked up with permission from the shooter or range officer. Range brass is inspected and cleaned prior to reloading.

Exceptions:

1. Steel cased Russian ammo is left in place to rust away quietly or swept and placed in the trash bin.

2. Brass cased ammo for Mosin Nagant is bought new and cheap, fired, then reloaded.

3. Can't find 41 Magnum cases at the range and was forced to buy 200 Starline cases. It was agonizing.
 
The only one fired case's I start with would be either handgun or military. I use the military stuff shooting cast bullet's. Other than LC Nat Match case's I have never had much luck getting Military case's to shoot well enough. With rifle's, 30-06 and 308, if I switch back to jacketed bullet's I go back to new commercial case's. Mostly what I get are either Remington or Winchester case's. I don't recall the price of new case's right off but no where near $1 a case! I do shoot hot loads so I get five or six loads out of a case, fine with me. Normally I end up shooting the primer pocket's loose.
 
There are a lot more people buying and shooting handguns these days than are reloading. Range pickup brass is far more likely to be once-fired than worn out. I think most people who reload, too, would sort their brass at home and throw away the rejects rather than dropping them at the range for other people to pick up.
 
I sweep up my area at my local range...and pickup whatever is around from shooters that say they don't want to keep it. I probably pick up 20 lbs of brass a week...80% is 9mm.. 10% is .45 acp ...5% is .40 S&W...( the remainder is .38 spl , or odd ball calibers..)...

I reload and shoot at least 25,000 rds a year in handguns ...mostly 9mm.../ after I clean the brass, I inspect it ..sort out anything that is really old, bent, or doesn't look ok.../ ...and I recycle all brass from AMERC, S&B, Maxxtech...and anything that didn't clean up pretty well, or there is a lot of crud around the primer pocket or I can't read the head stamp..I recycle it. I have not bought any brass, even for revolvers in .357 mag or .44 mag...in at least 25 yrs...

I always fully resize a case ...never just neck size. In low velocity calibers like .45 acp with very thick cases, load them until they crack.

In calibers like .40 S&W...high velocity, higher pressure...I inspect them very closely.

In 9mm...I just clean, inspect...load them until they crack...
 
This past year I've become friendly with a RO at one of the ranges I frequent, so I can take home just about as much brass as I care to haul out.

However, probably 90% of my brass came into my care via the old-fashioned method: buy bullets. Shoot bullets. Recover brass.

P.S. Just a side note: Perfecta brass sucks. This may be just my experience, but in 9mm and .40 S&W, Perfecta brass has not reloaded well. Won't pass the plunk test, not even in my Shield which will eat rocks. Also, the rims bend during the re-sizing process. Again, ymmv, but after three separate attempts to reload the stuff, I've given up on Perfecta. Just toss those suckers out now.
 
I pick mine up off the ground. I literally scour my range for brass when I go.

Days like today literally pain me when there are hundreds of brass on the ground and I have to leave it due to time constraints. I'll probably try to grab it tomorrow.
 
Al of my pistol brass is range pickup, the majority of my rifle brass is purchased. The exception being .223 AR fodder. I have more of it than I will ever use it is so common
 
Most common handgun brass can be purchased for $.05 to $.10 for once fired brass from indoor ranges. Granted there is no absolute guarantee it's once fired but it's probably pretty close.

For rifle brass you can find once fired .30-06 for $.25 per case and I believe .308 is a little more common and cheaper

Brass life is dependent on too many factors to give a good answer. How hot the loads are, how loose the chamber is, how much resizing your dies do all factor into the mix. I have .357 brass that has been load 25 times. I usually retire a batch of brass after it's been shot 20 time. The most reloads I have on .30-06 is 5, but I just started reloading .30-06 and have been using light loads.
 
Itsa Bughunt said:
What's the best way to get good brass? By best I mean high quality cases that will last through many reloadings? I mean if you pay $1 each for new brass that'll last through 10 reloads, that's 10 cents per use. I'm now just using cases from the ammo I purchase, but I'm thinking there's probably a better way.
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I either save the brass when I shoot factory ammo, or (with permission frpm the range owner) I scrounge the discard buckets at the range where I shoot. My deal with the proprietor is that I buy powder and primers from him, and he allows me to scrounge enough brass to satisfy my modest reloading habit.

In general, shooters who reload won't be tossing their brass into the buckets, so it's about a 90 percent or better probability that the brass I scrounge is once fired. I started out before I began reloading by shooting mostly Winchester USA in both 9mm and .45 ACP, and I started saving the brass long before I actually loaded my first case. I had good results, so for the sake of foolish consistency I generally try to scrounge only Winchester brass.
 
I grew up reloading with my father. I have some 45ACP and 38/357 brass that goes back to the 70's when I was a teenager. The common calibers I have done the range pickup. The more unique or boutique calibers I usually buy loaded ammo and start reloading that as my inventory.

There is also a group of us that will do bulk bullet and powder/primer buys and we will trade brass as well.
 
For my 9mm Luger, 45ACP, 308, 7mm-08AI I usually use range brass. Ditto when I was reloading 40 S&W.
I do neck down 308 brass for the 7mm-08.

For the 7mm Rem Mag, and the 257 Roberts I get PPU brass from Grafs.

For the 257 I get 7x57 Mauser and neck down.
 
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