7.62 x 51 brass
- Thread starter sure as shootin
- Start date
Thanks,,,,pretty sure it's the former. Where does one drop off scrap brass?
I throw it in a garbage can. When it is full I call the scrap dealer and he picks it up.
You could also just GIVE it away to someone willing to go through the effort of reloading the cases. Berdan primers are no longer hard to find and run about the same price as boxer primers.
The main difference is that either a special decapping tool needs to be used. There is a commercial unit available from RCBS and IMHO it is an expensive pain in the butt to use. I use a brass punch with an offset pin that will fit into one of the flash holes and tap out the berdan primer with a small hammer.
I got into doing this with cartridges like the 8mm Kropatschek. Making up Boxer primed cases from a relatively modern case is a pain in the butt and using original cases just makes shooting those old girls more fun.
Once you get the hang of it there isn't much to hold a hand loader back.
I like to use milsurp cases for reloading. Even the steel cases can be reconditioned and re loaded in a pinch. When I shoot my milsurps part of the overall experience is loading to the same specs as the originals.
OP, if you hand load, the South African brass is some of the best made. If you shoot a lot, then as Ganderite mentioned it is a lot of effort. There is so much 7.62 Nato or 308Win brass available it may not be worth it to you.
Recently I got ahold of some vintage 7.65x53. Of course it was all Berdan primed. I drilled out the center post and now it can be re loaded in the same manner as Boxer brass.
When re sizing Berdan brass the decapping pin needs to be removed but the expander ball needs to be retained.
The main difference is that either a special decapping tool needs to be used. There is a commercial unit available from RCBS and IMHO it is an expensive pain in the butt to use. I use a brass punch with an offset pin that will fit into one of the flash holes and tap out the berdan primer with a small hammer.
I got into doing this with cartridges like the 8mm Kropatschek. Making up Boxer primed cases from a relatively modern case is a pain in the butt and using original cases just makes shooting those old girls more fun.
Once you get the hang of it there isn't much to hold a hand loader back.
I like to use milsurp cases for reloading. Even the steel cases can be reconditioned and re loaded in a pinch. When I shoot my milsurps part of the overall experience is loading to the same specs as the originals.
OP, if you hand load, the South African brass is some of the best made. If you shoot a lot, then as Ganderite mentioned it is a lot of effort. There is so much 7.62 Nato or 308Win brass available it may not be worth it to you.
Recently I got ahold of some vintage 7.65x53. Of course it was all Berdan primed. I drilled out the center post and now it can be re loaded in the same manner as Boxer brass.
When re sizing Berdan brass the decapping pin needs to be removed but the expander ball needs to be retained.
Where abouts in the Okanagan are you, bearhunter? I get into Kelowna quite often. I could bring it up to you. Seems like a waste to just chuck it.
SAS I have quite literally thousands of pieces of 7.62 brass. Thankyou for the offer though.
Just put an ad in the EE and someone will snap them up locally. I have done this in the past and it's usually gone in the first day.
