Do You Shoot Tarnished Range Brass?

[Moleman-]

If the range brass looks like it's once fired (rifle) and not berdan primed it goes home with me. Pistol stuff as long as the case mouth doesn't have more than a 90 degree bend in it I'll shoot it until it wears out. More than a 90degree sharp bend in the case mouth usually will crack within a reload or two for me. The dark brown stuff included as long as there's no bubbly looking corrosion areas. I've been reloading some 45acp over and over again that I got back in the 80's. Rifle brass 30-06/308/556 generally I won't get fully bright and shiny the first couple times through the wet tumbler. Probably could easy enough but it doesn't bother me to use rescue brass.

[farmbif]

for decades I shot tarnished brass. and then when I built my first tumbler out of an old paint shaking machine I sure was in high cotton

[ebb]

Some of the new 308 Hornaday's have crimped primers, look first and save yourself some grief.

[Brassmonkey]

Nope I hand polish each case to a high luster.

[Somebody]

As long as it is not pitted or flakey, I'll shoot brown brass without any qualms. The browning is quite stable and nondimensional.

Range pickups with excessive verdigris get culled, as they are usually pitted. Mild verdigris gets the same tumbling as the rest of the range pickups.

The biggest issue I have with range brass is that I can never get all the grit out before tumbling. That tiny dose of grit makes a satin/matte finish no matter how much polish I use. Eventually, a batch fails the fingernail test, so it goes into the scrap bucket and I change my media.

[K43]

Range pickups always got tumbled until shiny pretty, but I don't pick them up anymore.
I used to tumble every reload. Now, maybe every third. My brass seldom hits the ground as I use a net.

[Pavogrande]

Why would you not ?
what do you think we shot before tumblers were generally available ? +

[Charlie Horse]

Only about 95% of the time. And I don't tumble. If it's really bad it gets the warm water, lemon juice, salt, and Dawn treatment.

[Baltimoreed]

Tumble every reload except if I’m working on a handgun load. Reload a handful of them, check for function, shoot them off my deck and reload again until I'm satisfied with them. I also don’t pick up as much as I once did but I do try to break even.

[TNsailorman]

I have never heard one legitimate reason not to use tarnished brass. Metal damage is another matter. And tarnish is not metal damage. my .02, james

[2TM101]

Everything I pick up and everything I shoot goes in the wet tumbler. But also in my case with the exception of 9mm everything is at least partially black powder or a substitute, so they need the wet cleaning.

Only a few cases still look tarnished after that and they still work fine. When they crack they go into a bucket and I take it to the range I pick my brass up at and make sure they see me pouring my bucket into theirs.

[Bull]

Hey jdgabbard, I have not used nufinish but it sounds like a good idea. Was looking it up and they seem to have different ones, which do you prefer? About how much do you use? Hope everything’s good up north.

[Winger Ed.]

Hey jdgabbard, I have not used nufinish but it sounds like a good idea. Was looking it up and they seem to have different ones, which do you prefer? About how much do you use? Hope everything’s good up north.

Anything at the auto parts store that says 'polish', 'rubbing compound', or even 'cleaner wax'
on the label will do fine. They all will have some amount of super fine abrasive/rubbing compound.
Nufinish is a favorite because it works, and is comparatively cheap.

[GONRA]

El Cheepo GONRA has been using Range Brass forever....
Just do NOT use annealed (SOOOOOOOFT) "Burn Barrel" range brass!! !
Yikes !!

[Texas by God]

I do.
And sometimes turn it into something else first.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Winger Ed.]

El Cheepo GONRA has been using Range Brass forever....
Just do NOT use annealed (SOOOOOOOFT) "Burn Barrel" range brass!! !Yikes !!

We have a big barrel for brass at our range about 2 feet deep in spent cases.
However; there are so many tobacco chewers, I pretend it's not there.

[dr_rick]

They're your dies and ultimately your barrel that will see additional wear for badly tarnished cases. I would at least sonic clean them prior to resizing and setting a bullet.

[cwtebay]

They're your dies and ultimately your barrel that will see additional wear for badly tarnished cases. I would at least sonic clean them prior to resizing and setting a bullet.

I understand your die comment, but how would the barrel be affected? Chamber I could understand if it's still gritty by not being cleaned, or not sized correctly - but would you expound on your barrel being affected comment?

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

[relics6165]

It depends on how hard to find the brass is.............

[steve urquell]

It's so easy to throw them in my dry tumbler and protect my dies I have zero desire to load tarnished brass. Below is my $1 "super-duper easy"® media separator from Goodwill.
https://youtube.com/shorts/tmgK2-brUsA?feature=shared