how can i tell if a piece of 9mm range brass can be used or not?

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strikeraj

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Hi
I some range brass but i am not sure if they can be used for reloading. There is no visible split or crack, some of them have traces of corrosion.
Usually what is the rule that you guys go by when sorting range brass?
Thanks
 
tumble and resize first, then take a good look at them all
try and keep them seperate, in case they are bad, then you know what ones to toss into the brass recycle bin
 
NEVER EVER save range brass! Package it all up and mail it to me.
Sorry, just trying to get my post count up.
Probably 98% of range brass is once fired...like why would a handloader leave it in the gravel? As above, you'll clean it up and have a look anyway, and if it seems ok it is.
 
thanks for the reply
my problem is when i am taking the look, i cannot tell which ones are good and which ones are bad....... they dun have crack/split on them but some of them DO have spot of corrosion (green dots)
on top some of them looks as if they were burnt badly since tumbling with brasso cannot make them brass shiny either
thanks
 
When I load mine, I look at each piece quickly, checking for cracks, nicks, etc, anything suspect gets tossed. after I load it, I roll it in my fingers feeling and looking for cracks, bulges, etc. also check the height of the primer, takes a couple of seconds per rd.
 
When I get range brass, I take a small bunch (10-15) and gently shake and roll them around in my hand. If there are any that are split or are just starting, they will sound different than the others. Pull them out :rolleyes: . Take a look at the others. If there's a lot of corrosion, toss them out. 9mm is easy to find. Clean and resize the rest.

(E) :cool:
 
These are my criteria for reloading range pickup 9mm. No kabooms yet.

-Check the primer to see what the pressure on the previous firing was like. If it's flattened, don't reload it.
-Any bulges, cracks, splits or "smiley" marks? Chuck it.
-If corrosion comes off with tumbling, it was only cosmetic and it's safe to load.
-Tarnish/scorching/powder burns near the mouth and along the walls are fine.
-If you load it and the primer falls out, it's been fired too many times.
-Check all your loaded rounds with a cartridge case gauge. If it doesn't fit, something is wrong, fix that round or recover components.

9mm is so plentiful, I'm at the point where I throw out a piece of brass if it even gives me a funny feeling, which I admit isn't often.
 
range brass

One thing i have noticed is that 1f brass is usually pretty clean inside the case, once it has been fired a few times there is a much more significant buildup of burnt powder. YMMV
cueball
 
damndirtyape said:
These are my criteria for reloading range pickup 9mm. No kabooms yet.

-Check the primer to see what the pressure on the previous firing was like. If it's flattened, don't reload it.
-Any bulges, cracks, splits or "smiley" marks? Chuck it.
-If corrosion comes off with tumbling, it was only cosmetic and it's safe to load.
-Tarnish/scorching/powder burns near the mouth and along the walls are fine.
-If you load it and the primer falls out, it's been fired too many times.
-Check all your loaded rounds with a cartridge case gauge. If it doesn't fit, something is wrong, fix that round or recover components.

9mm is so plentiful, I'm at the point where I throw out a piece of brass if it even gives me a funny feeling, which I admit isn't often.
Click to expand...

thanks very much
but wt is a "smiley" mark???:confused:
 
brass

Hey "strikeraj" you should pick up a good reloading manual if you haven't already. Hornady or Lee both publish a good reloading book with great reloading articles and photos of good and bad brass. Tips and things to be aware of and look for in reused brass. xray
 
Most times you can tell after you deprime. Factory stuff leaves a unique primer residue pattern in the primer pocket that cannot usually be created with reloads, even if the primer pockets have been cleaned.

Not very scientific, I know, just another clue to go along with others that have been posted here.
 
strikeraj said:
thanks very much
but wt is a "smiley" mark???:confused:
Click to expand...

If you take the barrel out of most semi-autos and drop a round into the chamber, you can see a semi-circle formed around the feed ramp where the chamber is unsupported. If you shoot a round that's far overpressure, the brass will bulge in this unsupported area and have a semi-circle mark from the edge of the unsupported area, kind of resembling a smiley face.
You never want to see this, it's a hair's breadth from kabooming.
 
one other thing to consider is if there's anybody that's got a full or c/a these days- while i know the majority of them are safe queens( mine included) i managed to get some that went trhrough a sterling a while back and it had the "magnum" band around the head-from personal experience , anything that's been through a fixed firing pin , unsupported chamber, shouldn't be reloaded- on the other hand, if the place you're shooting has a shooting program that uses factory ammo to train new shooters and /or rentals, you're denying yourself a source of once fired brass
 
GANDERITE said:
But, glance inside or at headstamp and make sure the case is Boxer primed (one flash hole), not Berdan (two flash holes).
Click to expand...

That should be the first selection step of all. If it has IVI or DA (or some Chinese or East European marks) on the headstamp, donate it to the 'recycle' bucket. You'll break your decapping pin in a hurry if it gets into the press. Discriminate towards the standard US commercial headstamps and you won't go wrong.
 
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