Prepped Brass Life for Military Rifles

[mew]

This is my very first post. Hopefully I am putting this in the right spot.

I have multiple military rifles, load for them all and have over 40 years experience behind a loading press. But this question is kind of new to me. Over the last few years I have accumulated quite a bit of .30-06, .308 and 5.56 brass that I have prepped to load and am storing until I am ready to do so. Different from the shoot it and reload it relatively quick process. I call prepped brass as being annealed, sized, trimmed, sonic cleaned and ready for primers, powder and bullets. I store them in zip lock bags inside tubs to keep them free from exposure to outside air. So here's the question. How long can that prepped brass set there before I load it and I expect not to experience any issues?

[55fairlane]

Ahhhh...idk......as long as it is stored clean and dry......close to forever?

I have some WW2 brass I bought at a garage sale, tumbled it,inspected it, loaded it shot it......that brass was just stored in a coffee can in that garage for years.....

Aaron

[Lloyd Smale]

you will be in the ground before it will be.

[mew]

My thoughts tell me the same thing since it has all been annealed. However, I have experienced case neck splits with brass that had been fired once or twice, never annealed, and then loaded and set in the cabinet for 8-10 years. Yes, I did that! Shame on me! Had a couple boxes of M1 Garand food that got stuck in the back of the cabinet. If it was unfired brass I wouldn't have expected a problem. My research back then netted information that the work hardened necks over time would get brittle and crack when fired if it was loaded and sat for many years. I believe that Elmer Keith's stated in his book that ammo loaded multiple times would be good for 10 years sitting before it would get brittle. I have fired many rounds of 40s, 50s, and 60s ammo with no issues. The difference being it was all new brass and not work hardened by repeated firings.

My hope is I get to shoot it all quite a few times before I beat it into the ground!

Monty

[dale2242]

I have been using issue 30-06 brass from the 20s and 30s in my Garand.
No issues as of yet.
It seems it will last along time.....dale

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Welcome to the forum--a good place to be! I think you're getting good advice here. The main concern would be corrosion of the brass. If it's turning green in color you can expect some problems, but given the storage environment you've outlined I doubt if you'll ever have problems. I also use a lot of WW II .30-06 and .45 ACP brass over and over with no problems. I think that one can encounter the occasional split neck that is the result of that individual case having missed the annealing process, or even being from an inferior lot of cases, and it doesn't hurt a thing to keep track of the head stamps and see if you can anticipate a problem with a certain batch of cases down the road. But in general, your cases are going to last a long, long time.

[mew]

Thanks everyone! Good info. I appreciate it.

[NoZombies]

As long as it's been cleaned and annealed and hasn't suffered embrittlement from mercury exposure or other chemical issues, it should last essentially forever if stored properly. Loaded ammo can be different, the neck tension can be too much for brass over time. Some new ammo will have neck splits from extended storage.

[mew]

Thanks NZ. That's what I have experienced with loaded ammo.

[303Guy]

Yeah, old loaded military 303 Brit brass splits, sometimes before firing. If I'm not mistaken, if the bullets can be pulled without splitting the necks and the brass annealed, they won't split at all. Meaning that if there are some splits in the batch, those that are not split can be rescued.

[Lloyd Smale]

yup ive shot ww2 06 ammo and reloaded the brass and am still using it. Only problem ive ever seen with really old ammo is sometimes pulling bullets can be tough.

[Mr_Sheesh]

Just don't anneal the rounds with powder still in the case <Yep I'm being silly today!>

[Bigslug]

U.S. military .30-06 made prior to 1953 would have originally been loaded with corrosive priming compounds, which could render the brass brittle over time. Anything later, and of course your .308 and 5.56, won't have that problem.

Storing non-corrosive era brass in a cool dry place? You're good for eons. If you live so long that you have to worry about the atomic decay rate of brass, you're either drinking blood, running around with a sword saying things like "There can be only one!", or in posession of a portrait that keeps getting uglier.

[S.B.]

My first experience with prepped brass was recently. I have plenty of '06 and converted some for both 7.7 Jap and 8mm Mauser have no idea why I never thought of this before? I have to think Lloyd and others who say it lasts forever in the condition you describe?
Steve

[mew]

That picture got so ugly I moved it to a box in the garage!

[mew]

I did hear a story a few years ago about some bright fella annealing primed brass. Many, many years ago I came to the conclusion there are some folks that have absolutely no business playing around anything firearms/ammunition/reloading related without "intelligent" adult supervision.

[TNsailorman]

I have WW II brass that was fired with the corrosive primer and it is still going strong. Of course I washed it in Tide soap powder hot water before I did any prep work. Corrosive primers might cause trouble if not promptly taken care of after firing. Who knows, I have never seen any tests that prove the case one way or another. my experience anyway, james

[fjruple]

mew--

I like to store prepared cases in vacuum sealed plastic food bag with a small desiccant gel bag used in electronics. I try to keep them in bags that are easy to handle. 20 cases for large caliber ammo (308 Win or 30-06), 50 cases for .223, and pistol calibers. For real large volumes, I use 5 gallon bucket that are modified with pressure release valves on the top. I fill the buckets with prepared brass cases and several large desiccant bags. I put the lid on with some silicone chalking. I then pump nitrogen into the bucket with the second valve open or I can use a vacuum pump that forces the nitrogen into the bucket. These cases will last for generations.

[6bg6ga]

You have prepped brass ready to reload and its stored in plastic bags so there is no shelf life like say a dozen eggs in your frig or a can of soup in your cupboard. The brass will outlive you.

[S.B.]

mew--

I like to store prepared cases in vacuum sealed plastic food bag with a small desiccant gel bag used in electronics. I try to keep them in bags that are easy to handle. 20 cases for large caliber ammo (308 Win or 30-06), 50 cases for .223, and pistol calibers. For real large volumes, I use 5 gallon bucket that are modified with pressure release valves on the top. I fill the buckets with prepared brass cases and several large desiccant bags. I put the lid on with some silicone chalking. I then pump nitrogen into the bucket with the second valve open or I can use a vacuum pump that forces the nitrogen into the bucket. These cases will last for generations.

And the Democrats say our economy isn't good under Trump? What does all this cost you? I've used old coffee cans in the basement.
Steve