Red dye/paint on shot brass

[1wise1]

Going through a bag of 9 mm brass to ready it for reloading and noticed a dozen or so Seller & Beloit shells. ("Sellier & Bellot, Prague, Czechoslovakia, now Czech Republic, Factory in Vlasim)" ....thanks to the guide.

They have a bright red stain/paint all over and around the primer. Is this some kind of glue, lock-tight etc. or just cosmetic? This is the first and only time I've seen anything like this on ammunition and since I have made it nearly a day without asking a stupid question. Anybody got an answer?

[Bloodman14]

Primer sealant; no biggie. Got some .303 and 7.62X39 with some of that on them.

[ku4hx]

To me it's a red flag. I have no serious problems with S&B cases, but the primer pockets are a smidgen smaller than others. Consequently I accumulate them and ever so often load them separately. I do better when all the pockets "feel" the same.

[Wayne Smith]

To me it's a red flag. I have no serious problems with S&B cases, but the primer pockets are a smidgen smaller than others. Consequently I accumulate them and ever so often load them separately. I do better when all the pockets "feel" the same.

I collect them until I have a bunch and then standardize them with my Lyman reamer chucked into a drill motor.

[ku4hx]

I collect them until I have a bunch and then standardize them with my Lyman reamer chucked into a drill motor.

I've done that too with my old school Lyman hand reamer. But what works for me is having them all feel the same as I seat primers. An occasional tight pocket just throws me off and I tend to seat them high. But when they all feel the same, I can get a good work flow going and seat them consistently.

[Lizard333]

I would treat them like they have a crimped or military primer pocket. Personally I throw them in the pile to swage them into 40 cals.

S&B brass is my least favorite brass to reload. The pockets are just to darn tight.

[tomme boy]

I like the S&B 45 acp brass. They are a little tight the first loading. After that they are no different than how Win. feels. They seem to last a very long time also. This is 45 brass. The only other S&B brass I have used is 7.62x54 and I do not recommend that or the Win. The Win 7.62 is made by S&B and the head stamp is the only difference. The pockets are too small and too shallow and the brass is very hard. Does not last very long.

[429421Cowboy]

I haven't been able to get the sealer off no matter how many times it gets loaded and sent back into the tumbler afterwards.
But it makes me happy to be able to just look for the red flag then toss in the scrap bucket, the pockets are too tight and it is awfully hard brass, hard enough that it crushes cases and scrapes the plating off of my Berrys bullets where as the Win-Fed-CCI brass does not. I rank it with military brass in the 9mm; not worth the trouble when I can find piles of other brass on the ground after each weekend.