Keeping Case Records

campfire · #1 02-19-2009, 07:14 PM

Before Christmas I bought a used Dillon Square Deal reloading outfit along with quite a few bits and pieces and about 300 empty 357 magnum cases.
There are 200 PMC, 50 nickel coated Winchester and about another 50 Norma.
I have no idea how many times each case has been fired but they all appear to be in reasonable condition, the nickel ones look to have only been fired a couple of times.
While I am still only new at this I have already loaded about 500 rounds and I have to admit that I am thoroughly enjoying my new found hobby.

My question is;
Do you keep a written record of how many times each case has been fired, or do you just rely on a visual inspection of each case to determine suitability (irregardless of the amount of times fired) while you are in the process of setting up to reload.

Also, if you do have a variety,are you keep the different manufacturers cases separated or do you just mix them all together. I have been advised that this isn’t such a good practice and I guess I can understand why but I’m curious what others do.
As always, any opinions gratefully appreciated.
Campfire

campfire · #2 02-19-2009, 07:14 PM

Before Christmas I bought a used Dillon Square Deal reloading outfit along with quite a few bits and pieces and about 300 empty 357 magnum cases.
There are 200 PMC, 50 nickel coated Winchester and about another 50 Norma.
I have no idea how many times each case has been fired but they all appear to be in reasonable condition, the nickel ones look to have only been fired a couple of times.
While I am still only new at this I have already loaded about 500 rounds and I have to admit that I am thoroughly enjoying my new found hobby.

My question is;
Do you keep a written record of how many times each case has been fired, or do you just rely on a visual inspection of each case to determine suitability (irregardless of the amount of times fired) while you are in the process of setting up to reload.

Also, if you do have a variety,are you keep the different manufacturers cases separated or do you just mix them all together. I have been advised that this isn’t such a good practice and I guess I can understand why but I’m curious what others do.
As always, any opinions gratefully appreciated.
Campfire

AZ Pete · #3 02-19-2009, 07:20 PM

For pistol loads, I don't keep track of how many times the brass has been loaded. Unless you are shooting maximum loads, all of the time, the brass should last a very long time. You will probably start seeing split case mouths from repeated roll crimps at some point. Discard the brass then.

Again for pistol, I do segregate brass. That is just because I do, it really doesn't make any difference..with pistol brass. Rifle brass is a different story, on record keeping and segregating brass by brand and how many times loaded.

Hope that helps.

max · #4 02-19-2009, 07:41 PM

If I have new brass or factory that I fired once, then I keep a record. I use old business cards and on the back I put the powder, weight, bullet, date, etc. I also record each time that I load it. So it says fired twice, fired 3 times, etc. With brass that I don't know the history, I don't worry about it.

Papaw · #5 02-19-2009, 10:04 PM

I seperate nickel from brass cases just because it looks better. I don't track number of reloads as I'm not going to toss them all at a certain number.

campfire · #6 02-20-2009, 12:16 AM

Thanks for the comments so far;
I think I will just continue to keep the cases separated by manufacturer and count each firing
just to satisfy my own curiosity about how many shots I can get out of them before they have to be thrown away.
Campfire

Ron H. · #7 02-20-2009, 12:46 AM

Sir, I'm a little fussy about my cases, largely a product of handloading for high power rifle competition. I'm very suspicious of cases whose history I don't know; "range pickup" brass is not for me.

I track by number of firings, headstamp, and year for rifle cases. I used to segregate them by weight as well, but found no significant difference in accuracy.

Pistol cases, I still track number of firings but don't segregate by headstamp except for load development or big loads.

I don't normally keep a logbook with case info. Instead, I keep each batch in a separate container marked as to what it is and how many firings (for example, "LC M2, 1x fired"). Inside the container, I put a piece of paper (old business cards work well) listing what's been done to that batch of cases. For example, tumbled, deprimed, resized, trimmed/deburred, flash holes deburred (match rifle cases only), ready to go.

Hope this helps, and Semper Fi.

Ron H.

45cal · #8 02-20-2009, 05:32 AM

I do sort but do not keep records,I shoot lots of 45apcand keep shooting it till it get really beat up.Some of the cases I believe got fired more than a dozen times last year alone.
I like the nickel cases for the forty and 9-MM.
I stay away from remington cases and amerc.Speer,Winchester and old style Blazer brass are good cased,I always separate by manufacture.

H Richard · #9 02-20-2009, 09:43 AM

Yes, and no. I do not keep records on how many times brass has been fired, but inspect and routinely trim for consistency. I do sort by headstamp and lot (if possible) for competition. In handguns, it may make a difference of a half inch or an inch at 25 yards, max. For routine plinking, I don't worry about it.

Rifle is another matter. If I'm going to shoot at anything with a rifle I want to know exactly where it will be going. I never mix brass, and always start with new brass which I prep before first loading. Size, trim, champfer, debur, flashole debur, primer pocket uniform. I routinely get 1/4" to 1/2" MOA accuracy from my loads.