"Once Fired Brass"

TXBryan · May 23, 2024

I occasionally order some "range brass" online and it's almost always advertised as "once-fired mixed brass." I'm guessing the common source is ranges that sweep up every now and then so mixed headstamps are expected. Generally a good deal if you're not desperate and can be patient for decent prices. Of course there's no way to know for certain how many times a cartridge case has been reloaded but certainly some of my purchases have been reloaded more than "once." Sorting and inspection is always a good idea.

Just took delivery of some .45 Colt, 9x19mm, and .32 H&R Mag brass. Kind of an interesting assortment in the "lots" of brass.

The 100 cases of .32 H&R Mag were 95% Starline brass. It brings up the question in my head of why brass, almost exclusively used by hand loaders, and in revolvers, would end up on the range floor? Am I missing something or is this a mystery? It looks to be in good shape.

Also two of the 200 .45 Colt cases were balloonheads. I know about them but have never actually held one in my paws. I'll just keep them in the collection as they won't insert into a .45 Colt shellholder in my inventory and I likely wouldn't reload them anyway.

I buy 9mm brass by the short ton every now and then because my loss rate approaches 20% when the grass gets high on our ranch range.

Two balloonhead .45 Colt cartridges

Compared to "regular" .45 Colt

Hopefully you can see the recess around the primer pocket indicating a balloonhead cartridge.

colt_saa · May 23, 2024

I wish I could remember the name of the company that I get my once fired brass from because they get it all from law enforcement ranges

I would bet you would be shocked at the quantity of Starline brass that is used by the various small ammunition manufacturing and loading companies. The small companies cannot afford to have brass private labeled for them with their own headstamp especially in oddball calibers that they might not load more than a few 1000 rounds a year of

For auto loading brass in cartridges that I shoot at outdoor ranges I tend to buy nickel plated brass. Much easier to see a nickel piece of brass in grass that a brass colored piece of brass and not too different in price

Oldsalt66 · May 23, 2024

Indoor ranges generally disallow the use of reloads, therfore, they can claim the brass they sweep up and sell to resellers is "once fired brass ".

The fly in the ointment is that plenty of rounds of reloads find their way onto those ranges and lots of tired old brass finds its way onto the range floor to be swept up and resold as "once fired brass".

Rule3 · May 23, 2024

Many companies use Starline brass as mentioned above.

colt_saa · May 23, 2024

Oldsalt66 said:
Indoor ranges generally disallow the use of reloads

You never completed your user information so I am unaware as to what State you reside in, but in Florida this comment of disallowing reloads is not true, at least in the most part.

I have been shooting at indoor ranges in Florida since the late 1970s and have never experienced a range telling me I could not shoot reloads

mikerjf · May 23, 2024

I’ve been told I couldn’t shoot reloads in Florida. The guy then inspected my box of reloads and said they were fine… because all the headstamps were the same, so they weren’t reloads. LOL…

Sevens · May 23, 2024

I will second the notion that most of the Starline brass you would find scattered on a range or left/tossed/not retained is going to be from a boutique ammo company and NOT from a handloader who specifically paid for new cartridge brass. This is especially so if it is generally revolver brass (as .32 H&R Mag is) and thus it was almost surely ejected manually and not launched mechanically by a semiautomatic firearm.

It also occurs to me as a handloader for decades that there is no cartridge I have ever handloaded where I did not have the full intent of loading and re-loading numerous times, so I surely won’t lose sleep if my “once-fired” brass had actually been twice or thrice fired. If it had been fired four times, I would then find myself in a genuine pickle because I have experience with twice and thrice but I’ll be darned if fource is even a word or if there exists a word that follows twice and thrice!

tlawler · May 23, 2024

In Florida, the only ranges that I know of that won’t allow reloads and actually inspect all of your ammo, are the Shoot Straight ranges. Plenty of other ranges to shoot at…my policy is don’t ask, don’t tell. Unless it’s prominently displayed that reloads are verboten, I’m shooting. Some ranges claim ownership of brass once it hits the floor. At those ranges, I just stick to revolvers.

TXBryan · May 23, 2024

I haven't shot on a public range in many years opting instead for the range my son and I constructed at our place. I'd agree that it would be relatively easy to fool somebody into thinking I'm shooting factory stuff.

If I clean the brass with stainless steel pins, sort by headstamp, and pack it back in a factory box bearing the headstamp brand, with appropriate looking projectile...good luck.

I guess I understand why they have rules like that but maintain my reloads are as safe and reliable as anything off the shelf. Every now and then one runs into an outfit that seems to understand most handloaders know what they're about. I even had a used firearm national sales outfit take back a defective revolver for a full refund after I truthfully admitted I'd shot handloads out of it. They asked for my load info, I gave it to them and they sent me a prepaid return label.

SGT ROCK 11B · May 23, 2024

Every Indoor Range is different.

One sold reloads to shoot but if you wanted to shoot a "Rental Gun" you have to buy factory ammunition from them to use it.

Ivan the Butcher · May 23, 2024

I get to a couple of gun stores on the East edge of central Ohio once or twice a year. This Spring they had 500 range pic-ups in 300 Black Out and 400 for 7.62x39. They mostly showed symptoms of being shot several times.

On the Blackout 17/400 had crimped primers and 1/400 was a LARGE PRIMER! I scrapped the LP case!

Ivan

alwslate · May 23, 2024

I don't think the recess around the primer pocket indicates a true balloon head case. With real balloon head cases the case rim and head is folded thin sheet metal rather than a solid case head. I had some old balloon head cased .45 AR reloads that I bought many years ago and threw them away after firing them.

TheTinMan · May 23, 2024

I would be fine with “once fired” pistol brass. Rifle brass? No thanks. You never know what chamber it came out of.

Even with pistol brass you have to worry about the “Glock smile” with certain cartridges.

venomballistics · May 23, 2024

Don't overthink it.
Find a load that works reasonably well in everything, bonus if it sings in something specific.
Crank it out by the thousands.
Sort by head stamp later if you need to or want to for range requirements.

Oldsalt66 · May 23, 2024

colt_saa said:
You never completed your user information so I am unaware as to what State you reside in, but in Florida this comment of disallowing reloads is not true, at least in the most part.

I have been shooting at indoor ranges in Florida since the late 1970s and have never experienced a range telling me I could not shoot reloads

I'm in South Florida and shoot between 2 and 4 times every week.

The indoor ranges don't allow the shooting of reloads.

Rule3 · May 24, 2024

Oldsalt66 said:
I'm in South Florida and shoot between 2 and 4 times every week.

The indoor ranges don't allow the shooting of reloads.

None of the indoor ranges around me allow reloads. They inspect your ammo. A few require that you buy their ammo!

Needless to say I shoot at a private outdoor range.

Dvus · May 24, 2024

Oldsalt66 said:
I'm in South Florida and shoot between 2 and 4 times every week.

The indoor ranges don't allow the shooting of reloads.

Time to find a different range. Do they sell range brass and reloading equipment? If so, I certainly wouldn't buy from them, and they would know why. They can give you all sorts of excuses as to why they don't allow reloads, but the only legitimate excuse is because they are greedy and want to sell you the ammo.

Telecaster · May 24, 2024

Why would it be a Florida thing?

The indoor ranges here in NE Fla don't allow reloads, the private outdoor range does.

As for .32 H&R, when I first tried out .32, I tossed the cases because I wasn't reloading yet. Later on, I decided I missed shooting .32 so I got an SP101, components, and dies, and unless one just gets away from me I won't be leaving any cases at the range.

Oldsalt66 · May 24, 2024

Dvus said:
Time to find a different range. Do they sell range brass and reloading equipment? If so, I certainly wouldn't buy from them, and they would know why. They can give you all sorts of excuses as to why they don't allow reloads, but the only legitimate excuse is because they are greedy and want to sell you the ammo.

They allow any factory ammo (including steel case)which I don't shoot.

I buy my ammunition online and they don't care.

The only reason I brought this up is that only ranges that require factory ammunition can be among the sources of "once fired brass" and that reloads that are invariably "smuggled in" are mixed in among that "once fired brass."

Shoot Straight, which I believe runs 9 range locations here in Florida, sells the spent brass and steel casings only as scrap metal, rather than as any sort of reloadable brass and they don't appear to care if someone retrieves their own brass and even additional brass off the floor.

I've been at ranges where unabashed scavengers tried to pick up hot brass that was still lying by my feet.

glenwolde · May 24, 2024

When I traded for my 657 it came with four boxes of Georgia Arms lead bullet ammo that was all put up in new Starline brass.

The Law Enforcement brass is great stuff. The last 1,000 Winchester .38 cases I got came from an instructor that sells his brass. He buys ammo and supplies it to the students that use his guns.

"Once Fired Brass"

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