I have been reloading 9mm and .45ACP for about a year and until now, I've not needed to purchase any brass. I had thought I would buy new from Starline but now I'm considering once fired brass (to save $). What are the opinions on new vs. once fired? And where would be a good place to buy once fired brass?
New vs. Once Fired
- Thread starter Baldwin
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AVirginian
New member
Pistol brass doesn't stretch like rifle brass. I have some 45 ACP that has probably been loaded over 10 times. Also, there are several Facebook groups that deal in brass only.
9mm is about .03 each, 45 about .05 or so, cleaned and ready to load generally.
9mm is about .03 each, 45 about .05 or so, cleaned and ready to load generally.
GeorgeandSugar
New member
I pick it up and buy once fired. Some good deals at Esty and quality. I do get split cases when I am reloading 9mm. Probably a little more than I would expect. It varies and might be more of a coincidence. I reload a lot of 9mm.
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I keep once-fired on hand, but I'm able to recycle our brass during practice, not at matches. 9mm cases eventually crack, but I don't even try to track the number of times I reload cases. I'm sure many see 20 reloads or more. The important thing is carefully checking rounds that are going to be used in a match. For practice we just wing it.
We shoot steel challenge so no need for bullseye precision; pickup and once-fired are fine.
We shoot steel challenge so no need for bullseye precision; pickup and once-fired are fine.
When I started reloading 45acp I remember buying two boxes of ammo . Used those cases at first , then bought a 500 box of Remington new brass. At the indoor range people shooting 45acp , I would ask if they weren't reloading could I have the brass. I still haven't touched the new box of brass , I'm talking years. I shoot 50 45acp rounds every week . Have over 600 used cases and that 500 box of new. Depending on how many rounds your shooting an how often you shoot . Range brass is pretty easy to get also most times it's once fired if they're not reloaders.
Sure Shot Mc Gee
New member
Once fired is good brass. On most occasions I pick up better once fired brass than that new I would purchase for my use.
The trick in other peoples brass use. Its good to know how to anneal brass properly. Although I have on a couple occasion pick up so called first fired?~~ brass that was so memorized {fired formed to chamber} no matter what I tried too do to relax its spring back like behaviour. I simply gave up and ended up pitching such brass into junk box. I prefer Federal like Winchester put up with Frontier but will leave any & all Remington brass where it lies.
The trick in other peoples brass use. Its good to know how to anneal brass properly. Although I have on a couple occasion pick up so called first fired?~~ brass that was so memorized {fired formed to chamber} no matter what I tried too do to relax its spring back like behaviour. I simply gave up and ended up pitching such brass into junk box. I prefer Federal like Winchester put up with Frontier but will leave any & all Remington brass where it lies.
Pistol once fired is wonderful and usually free range pickup.
I buy once fired brass for rifles and I do target shooting (recreationally, not competition)
My personal take is the brass shoots better once its fired in for rifle.
Pistol I bought brass only because my calibers did not get left around back in the day. I have yet to buy any new brass for them. Lasts longer than I will
I buy once fired brass for rifles and I do target shooting (recreationally, not competition)
My personal take is the brass shoots better once its fired in for rifle.
Pistol I bought brass only because my calibers did not get left around back in the day. I have yet to buy any new brass for them. Lasts longer than I will
45 Auto brass not only does not stretch, it actually shortens about half a thousandth with each reloading cycle, so if you have match loads and don't want the case to headspace on the extractor, then you want to check that periodically. I once put some Winchester 45 Auto bulk brass through 50 reloading cycles. By then a lot had been lost to the range or split, but they had all shortened about 0.025".
Don Fischer
New member
The only once fired brass I use is military but it must still have the crimped in primer. For handguns, don't buy that much, stuff just doesn't seem to wear out no more hand gun than I shoot. I've got and use 38 spec brass over 30 yrs old. Just picked up 100 9mm case's in a second hand store for $3. They had a couple more bag's but I'm over run with 9mm brass right now!
FrankenMauser
New member
I don't buy semi-auto 'handgun' cartridge brass.
It's too easy to obtain for free.
But, even if the free stuff didn't exist, I'd only buy once-fired.
There really isn't much point in buying new brass.
It's too easy to obtain for free.
But, even if the free stuff didn't exist, I'd only buy once-fired.
There really isn't much point in buying new brass.
Sure Shot Mc Gee
I fire alot of different brands an I like Remington the best , it is thinner an seats best with plated bullets , haven't had any issues with any of the brass as of yet . What problems have you had with Remington brass , I'd like to know what to look for.
Chris
PS I'm only talking about pistil brass.
I fire alot of different brands an I like Remington the best , it is thinner an seats best with plated bullets , haven't had any issues with any of the brass as of yet . What problems have you had with Remington brass , I'd like to know what to look for.
Chris
PS I'm only talking about pistil brass.
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Don's point to avoid military brass without a crimped primer is to ensure you aren't getting something someone else has already reloaded and fired umpteen times.
Below is a photo of two range foundlings in .308 W that I sectioned. The upper one is what a multiply fired case can look like. It had been through case prep, had had the internal donut at the neck and shoulder junction reamed out before and was forming a new one.
One thing to watch out for with once-fired is stuff that has come out of full-auto guns. You can find some .223 brass stretched so badly you can't get it back far enough for a tight chamber without resorting to special dies or else owning a roll-sizing machine. Another is "pregnant" cases with a big bulge either from premature extraction or too little head support during firing. These can be weak.
But all that's is saying is you have to inspect the brass you pick up to see if it is in good enough shape to use. If the primer pockets are still tight and there isn't incipient head separation, and you aren't trying to roll super accurate long range match loads, there is little reason not to. And especially, if you shoot guns that are brass flingers in an area where it's easy to lose your brass, it makes little sense to pay extra to lose new brass rather than used.
I have bought a fair amount of new headstamp 45 Auto brass in the past, either for an experiment like the 50 reloadings run, or in order to get a headstamp that was different from what other match shooters were using and thereby make policing my personal brass easier to do without resorting to Magic Marker. But given that a tight bull's eye match pistol tends to shoot about 4-8 times more moa than a tight bull's eye match rifle (2-4 moa vs. 0.5 moa), carefully matching your brass up isn't likely to produce an apparent accuracy difference in a pistol the way it can in some rifle chambers at some ranges.
Below is a photo of two range foundlings in .308 W that I sectioned. The upper one is what a multiply fired case can look like. It had been through case prep, had had the internal donut at the neck and shoulder junction reamed out before and was forming a new one.
One thing to watch out for with once-fired is stuff that has come out of full-auto guns. You can find some .223 brass stretched so badly you can't get it back far enough for a tight chamber without resorting to special dies or else owning a roll-sizing machine. Another is "pregnant" cases with a big bulge either from premature extraction or too little head support during firing. These can be weak.
But all that's is saying is you have to inspect the brass you pick up to see if it is in good enough shape to use. If the primer pockets are still tight and there isn't incipient head separation, and you aren't trying to roll super accurate long range match loads, there is little reason not to. And especially, if you shoot guns that are brass flingers in an area where it's easy to lose your brass, it makes little sense to pay extra to lose new brass rather than used.
I have bought a fair amount of new headstamp 45 Auto brass in the past, either for an experiment like the 50 reloadings run, or in order to get a headstamp that was different from what other match shooters were using and thereby make policing my personal brass easier to do without resorting to Magic Marker. But given that a tight bull's eye match pistol tends to shoot about 4-8 times more moa than a tight bull's eye match rifle (2-4 moa vs. 0.5 moa), carefully matching your brass up isn't likely to produce an apparent accuracy difference in a pistol the way it can in some rifle chambers at some ranges.
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I'm another guy that picks up range brass...for my handguns.
I clean it, and then inspect it carefully ...and recycle anything that looks cruddy or worn after its cleaned. I go thru a lot of brass...and will only occasionally see one that cracks after the bullet is seated...( maybe 1 in 2,000 )...and I reload and shoot at least 500 boxes or 25,000 rds of 9mm a year...
I clean it, and then inspect it carefully ...and recycle anything that looks cruddy or worn after its cleaned. I go thru a lot of brass...and will only occasionally see one that cracks after the bullet is seated...( maybe 1 in 2,000 )...and I reload and shoot at least 500 boxes or 25,000 rds of 9mm a year...
To the OP: the news is good news, the bulk of handloaders and high volume handloaders will tell you that they happily burn through free range brass, low-cost "once fired brass" (more aptly named used brass with absolutely no known history) and of course, we also re-use our own stuff more times than almost any of us would care to even try and count.
Generally speaking-- some calibers can be re-used so many times that it approaches silly. I still keep loading some .38 Special brass that I got back in 1992... and it was USED BRASS when I bought it. That's the truth. And some guys can show you .45 brass where you can barely read the headstamp but they still run the stuff. Higher pressure stuff typically won't last as long (.357, .44, .327 Federal for sure) and the monster magnums like .454/.460/.500 Mag really has a tough operating environment. But for the most part... it's unnecessary to buy NEW brass for common stuff like .380, 9mm, .40, .45, etc.
A word of caution to others who are discussing likes, dislikes and preferences for headstamps:
Hey, me too! However, NEVER will it be as cut 'n dried as "this stamp fantastic, this stamp horrible" for handgun brass. Nope, no way. It varies (wildly!) by caliber, also varies a heckuva lot by the bullets you wish to use and in some cases, it makes a difference based on the launch platform of the ammo.
You can count on some headstamps to usually be cheap and not give a long life, but even that doesn't make them worthless. There are great times to load ammo in to brass where ya don't care so much if you lose it -- when you know it'll be used somewhere that is difficult to retrieve.
Generally speaking-- some calibers can be re-used so many times that it approaches silly. I still keep loading some .38 Special brass that I got back in 1992... and it was USED BRASS when I bought it. That's the truth. And some guys can show you .45 brass where you can barely read the headstamp but they still run the stuff. Higher pressure stuff typically won't last as long (.357, .44, .327 Federal for sure) and the monster magnums like .454/.460/.500 Mag really has a tough operating environment. But for the most part... it's unnecessary to buy NEW brass for common stuff like .380, 9mm, .40, .45, etc.
A word of caution to others who are discussing likes, dislikes and preferences for headstamps:
Hey, me too! However, NEVER will it be as cut 'n dried as "this stamp fantastic, this stamp horrible" for handgun brass. Nope, no way. It varies (wildly!) by caliber, also varies a heckuva lot by the bullets you wish to use and in some cases, it makes a difference based on the launch platform of the ammo.
You can count on some headstamps to usually be cheap and not give a long life, but even that doesn't make them worthless. There are great times to load ammo in to brass where ya don't care so much if you lose it -- when you know it'll be used somewhere that is difficult to retrieve.
Thanks for all the info. I don't live near a range so picking up brass there is not an option (I shoot in the backyard). I had saved a good bit of brass before I started reloading. I'm starting to shoot more so I want to load more rounds during a reloading session. Definitely sounds like finding some once fired brass is the way to go.
blackwidowp61
New member
Something those who posted here do not anticipate, evidently.
I sometimes buy new, depending upon the availability, and to what use I am going to put it, and its availability. For instance, for my .38 Super, I buy new because I tend to load .38 Super a little hotter than 9MM and they don't seem to hold up as well as the more tapered 9MM. 9MM's I buy once fired because they seem to take a lot of reloading with no problems. For .45 ACP, I find that they are scarce enough that I buy whichever I can get...they are a whole lot more scarce now than when I was young and the .45 ACP was still the standard military cartridge and also the most common target competition chambering.
There is a sticky with the URLs of various component merchants. A few places I have used have been:
http://rangebrass.us/
http://www.evergladesammo.com/
https://americanreloading.com/en/
http://www.reloadingvalley.com/Default.asp
http://www.oncefiredbrass.com/
http://brassbombers.com/
http://www.diamondkbrass.com/
https://www.kensbrass.com/
Remember to clean and inspect your brass before adding it to your reloading stream. I usually expect to throw around 5% of the cases in a given order into the recycling bucket, but I'm really picky.