Have been reloading for a few years. I use Range pick up cases and some once reloaded that some of them are missing brass finish are they ok to reuse again or should they be tossed. Is there something wrong in loading that could prevent this I am using 231 5.4 grains of 231 I have looked online but couldn’t come up with anything thanks

My "Brass" just gets dirtier.....
however I do have some old Nickel cases that have the outside
flake off or wear down to the base finish, after many, many loadings.

I toss brass when they start to get nicks at the rim or split.

Just depends on how fussy one is.

What caliber are we talking about ? Details will help with an answer.

Are the cases in question steel? All my brass is brass all the way through, and only steel cases are plated (finished) with brass. Some say reloading steel cases is OK, some say you'll ruin all your equipment. I don't reload steel cases (even though a few years ago I did experiment with steel cases) mainly because I have plenty of brass for all the ammo I reload...

If you are talking about dull, brown cases, just wipe them with a solvent dampened rag as you inspect them and reload as normal (I did this for 12 years before I got a tumbler).

Sorry 45 acp

I only shoot pistol 9mm,38,357,45acp
and only brass cases some nickle that i pickup

Since the cases are 100% brass, what you are seeing is stains on them. I pick some up after it rained(something in the dirt) and they look pretty bad, but keep on working.

Are you talking about spots and stains, or do the cases have a pale, all-over frosty look to them? Do you use a vibratory tumbler?

The frosty look comes from tumbling too many cases at one time, for too long, in media that's too dirty.

I've once been given a lot of .45 acp cases that had beenstored in less than ideal conditions.Long story short,after tumbling 4 hours with lots of car polish in the media,I recuperated aprox 50%.My standard is if I get my finger over the stain and I feel some resistance,I scrap it( brass recuperation).If it is so smooth that I can't feel the difference,I guess it won't damage the sizing die or the chamber of the gun it is to be fired into.

After firing them some of the brass finish is gone to bare metal

Brass cases don't have a finish, They come as bare metal. Unless you have brass plated steel cases.

Pictures? Brand?


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If the brass finish is coming off and you see bare metal then the cases you have are not brass, but brass plated. Toss those in the trash... Brass cases that you keep for reloading are made entirely of brass, it won't wear or flake off.

Not all ammunition is made from brass. There are some that are brass plated steel such as the cheaper bulk range ammo by Tula, Monarch and Winchester steel and some of Freedom munitions brass plated steel range ammo.

Stick to Winchester white box, Green & white boxes of Remington, UMC, Blazer Brass, Federal, Sellier & bellot, Magtech, to name a few. these bulk packages of range ammo are brass and are good for reloading.

What color is the case under the "finish". Also what does the headstamp say?

Is the bare metal steel....check with a magnet.
Steel cases can be reloaded but they are harder on carbide dies and tend to crack sooner than brass. The steel is a bit harder and not as flexible as brass. I used to have a lot of 45 acp military steel cases from WWII , the US started using them to conserve our brass supply. They work well in low pressure 45 acp loads but case life was 4 to 6 reloads before they would crack.
If they are aluminum....most aren't designed to be reloaded. I have tried it but 2 or 3 loads and they crack .
Gary

This thread is worthless without pictures.
We need to see what your talking about since it defies much of our experience

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it just needs more voltage

Only other idea is the 45acp is low pressure.. as many of us know, the cases don't fully seal in the chamber and blast stains the side of the cases..

Run in the vibratory cleaner longer or ignore it..

Unless you are shooting steel cases with a finish, brass cases have no finish, solid brass all the way thru. Check those case with a magnet.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

I will try to post some pics of the cases they most likely brass finish cases truly didn’t know that about them at all ��

Are these steel cases? Do they stick to a magnet?

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Old paratrooper in NC

No they are not steel cases

Look at the bottom of the case, the case head. What does it say?

I will have to get back to all of you when I head back to the range

I believe that there are some steel cases that are brass plated. I guess we'll have to hold our breath until the OP gets back to us.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

All this time I thought those dull silver cases were aluminum, but now I realize they just have the brass finish worn off, which is of course what makes them feel so light.

FWW: I've encountered brass plated steel 9mm cases with an S&B headstamp.

IMO, with all this banter I would surmise that all concerned could/should personally test/observe their own BRASS for degradation of the cases over time.

In other words, COVER YOUR OWN BRASS! It truly never hurts to do so.

I have seen brass, aluminum and lacquer and plated (zinc) steel cases. They are very easy to tell what the base material is. Never saw a "plated" or painted aluminum case. I've seen very few brass plated steel (99.9% of all the steel cases I've shot or seen at the range) and most are galvanized/zinc plated or painted. I've shot a lot of 5.45x39, 7.62x39 and some 9mm imports, three or four different manufacturers, but none have been brass plated....

He is probably talking about nickel plated brass cases that are losing the nickel.

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Regards,
Lee Jarrett

With how long pistol brass lasts....why not buy a few bads of new Starline brass and not worry about crazy this?

Sometimes a feller just wants to know...

I haven’t had a chance with watching our granddaughter and very hot temperatures my range doesn’t have any cover in the pits. Will venture out when it gets a little cooler thanks again

Magazines and brass are the disposable components in the shooting sports. They are supposed to "wear out" before the gun or reloading press.

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S&WHF 366

Yesterday a friend of mine gave me his once fired R&P 38 special cases some of them are missing its brass finish are these plated if so can they be reused to reload again

I have never seen brass-plated R_P cases. We really need some pictures to know what you are talking about.

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Old paratrooper in NC

Trying to copy and paste aaaaaaaaaaaaaaagggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhh

CHECK OUT MY AVATAR

that pic is pretty small, but it looks like carbon/lube fouling to me; perfectly normal and nothing to do with "plating" wearing off.....

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Merle, retired
western PA

http://smith-wessonforum.com/attachm...1&d=1533846551

hope this helps TYAOT

Several folks have told you very clearly that your cases are made of solid brass, not plated with brass.

Listen to them.

invalid attachment

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Merle, retired
western PA

second try hope it works fingers crossed

Attached Images

IMG 8052.jpeg (7.1 KB, 57 views)

Why do you think the finish is coming off? All I see is some blow-by caused by the case mouth not sealing, probably from too low pressure.

That's perfectly normal. Keep loading until they split.

Totally normal sooted cases. May or may not come off after tumbling.

Yep, sooty brass. If it doesn't come off in a vibratory tumbler, I can guaranty it will come out clean as a new case if you had a wet tumbling setup. But it is nothing to worry yourself about.

Heh, I've never had a case that didn't come out looking brand-new after tumbling with the Nu-Finish/mineral spirit homebrew.

Those are brass cases with powder residue near the case mouth, that's all. My brass cases look similar, some powders and combinations of powder and pressure will put more residue on the case than others. It's nothing to worry about.

Appears to be normal powder residue / soot on fired casing.

I have some 38 Special and 357 Magnum nickel plated brass that has been reloaded so many times the nickel has worn off is some spots (but that's a lot or reloadings...).

Thanks to everyone who chimed in see you all on the Range

Again many thanks