Are there questions I should ask when buying used brass

[Ben_hutcherson]

I've been buying brass recently from an indoor range, and most of their brass is(from my judgement) truly "once fired." In general, I think that range pick-ups tend to be primarily once fired, as most folks who reload take their brass with them and most who leave it are shooting factory ammo.

Probably the worst was 500 or so pieces of "once fired" 38 special brass I bought from a local gun store. They didn't let me look at it too closely before buying(should have been a red flag) but a bunch of cases had live primers, and several had been flared so much that they mouths crumpled when I ran them through the sizing die. Several other cases had been reloaded so much the nickel plating remained only on the head. There were a bunch headstamps in that lot that in that lot that I don't think have been made for 30 or more years, including Super Vel, S&W, Western, W.R.A., and others. The only redeeming quality of that particular lot was that I got about 200 pieces of wadcutter brass out of it.

Even with the problems with the one above lot, brass for low pressure rounds like 38 special seems to last forever. All of the above(or at least all that didn't get culled for split mouths or other issues) went into my rotation and I've reloaded some of it two or three additional times. Wadcutters and other really low pressure loads don't stress the brass very much.

 

[joeintexas]

I haven't really ever had a problem with any particular headstamp. Mainly, make sure the brass isn't cracked or frail or Berdan primed and you can still read the headstamp and you should be ok. Brass really is pretty tough. If you plan on tumbling your brass then buy uncleaned brass, it is much cheaper. After tumbling, always inspect closely. Never run dirty brass into your dies. As far as knowing if the brass is once fired, I am not sure anyone can do that 100% of the time. Good luck and have fun!

 

[SW_shooter]

Just as a follow up:

I've made a few purchases from individuals. Two of them admitted the brass was off the floor of ranges, so no guarantee on "once fired". Both tumbled the brass, but being rather particular about how shiny it looks I tumbled it some more. The third guy was LEO and sold me a 5 gallon bucket of 40s&w from a LE practice range. I will admit it is really dirty stuff and most likely from Glocks. So I purchased the Lee Bulge Buster to use on this bucket of 40s.

I have looked at the various websites people listed and while I appreciate the websites, I find it hard to pass up the cheaper prices I get from local sellers. Perhaps one day I will buy from an online source when I want some really shiny brass!!

 

[mtgianni]

I don't care for nickle cases as flaking can stay in the dies and scratch the next case. Nickle seems to split easier as well. Used brass comes in all flavors, I will spend much more time cleaning up 32 long brass than I want to with 223. Availability of brass and your time will dictate what you need to know.