Being frugal.....or crazy

[M4bushy]

I just spent the last 2.5 hrs de-priming 2000+ pcs of crimped primer 45 ACP brass. I figure another 2hrs to swage the primer pockets and it will be ready to load. This was headed to the scrapper but I rescued it! I gave the guy 20.00 and he was happy.

[Houndog]

Sounds like a deal to me! If you figure $120.00 (average price on swapin & sellin) for the brass that leaves $100.00 for prep. If you figure 5 hours to get it ready to load, your time was worth $20.00 an hour, and most of the brass on swapin & sellin hasn't been processed either. That's not a bad deal in my book!

[toooldtocare]

Ive done it too. De prime for a while. rub icy hot on fingers. de prime more. wait for pain to go away. de prime more . take some aspirin. oh wait...I am crazy

[Dale53]

My experience with military .45 ACP brass has been excellent. I have thousands that I have deprimed and using an RCBS swage, swaged the primer pockets. You only have to do it once. Using a 1911, I can get enough reloads to actually wear out the brass. Using a .45 ACP revolver, I can get about 20 reloads (taper crimping). That is time well spent, in my opinion.

FWIW
Dale53

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

It's Smart if you enjoy the time case prepping...I generally do ;)

It's crazy if you'd rather do something else !
Jon

[DCM]

Dillon 1050 makes short work of that. :bigsmyl2:

[km101]

20 bucks??? That's not a "good deal", that's a STEAL!! Wissh I could come across some like that. I wuld happily spend the time and energy to process it.

CONGRATS on your find. YOU DONE GOOD!

[M4bushy]

I figured being the brass hoarder that I am, it was worth the time and effort. I must admit that there is no way I would do this for 9mm or 40 S&W, there is just to much of this brass laying on the ground at the range that I can pick up for free. ;-)

[44man]

After the work you will hate to lose one in the grass! :kidding:
I am still working on a brass and lead magnet but the alien craft went home so I have no help! :coffeecom

[Freightman]

After the work you will hate to lose one in the grass! :kidding:
I am still working on a brass and lead magnet but the alien craft went home so I have no help! :coffeecom
Put me down for one when you get it perfected, and all my friends will want one.:kidding:

[Shooter]

After the work you will hate to lose one in the grass! :kidding:
I am still working on a brass and lead magnet but the alien craft went home so I have no help! :coffeecom

I have a batch of .45 ACP match brass.
I carry a metal detector with me when I shoot my Gold Cup.

[EMC45]

You did real well. That is military brass that should last and last and last...

[Firebricker]

That's not frugal just common sense LOL At that price you can't afford not to shoot ! FB

[azrednek]

I just spent the last 2.5 hrs de-priming 2000+ pcs of crimped primer 45 ACP brass. I figure another 2hrs to swage the primer pockets and it will be ready to load. This was headed to the scrapper but I rescued it! I gave the guy 20.00 and he was happy.

I gave up on the RCBS swage tool as being to slow. I just cut the crimp with a chamfer tool. I've been told a few horror stories, fictional I'm sure and told of the danger in not having the very top of the primer supported. After shooting thousands of 45, 223, 308 and 06's with reamed out primer crimps. I've never had a problem or do I expect any.

[FISH4BUGS]

This is a HOBBY. Your time really should not be counted in the value of the hobby. The time spent lead scrounging, brass scrounging, sorting, processing military brass, smelting lead into ingots, alloying, collecting H&G moulds, case prep, casting, resizing and lubing, reloading, shooting, and doing it all over again, really is just all part of the deal.
I once had a small lobster boat and fished out of Portsmouth (NH) harbor. I had 25 traps. By the time the season was over, lobster probably cost me $30 a pound what with lost gear, fuel, bait, a blown motor, boat repairs, etc. Did I care? No. There is nothing more beautiful than being out on the water at 5 a.m. at sunup on a flat calm day hauling traps by hand.
The same can be said for the hobby we are now engaged in: casting, reloading and shooting. If you value your time that much, then you should work all the time. That is the highest and best use of your time to you.
However, I think most of us need productive down time and we need something that we enjoy. It helps that our time is spent doing something we enjoy and we get some pleasure from it....not to mention we actually manufacture something of value. (A friend brought over a bunch of brass he had been picking up at the range for a long time - I gave him 100 cast 38's for his troubles - just bring back the brass and the box is all I asked). 357's, 380's 9mm, 44 mag, 38's, 45's, 308, 223, and a bunch of other stuff.
Like working on your house, like gardening, like yard work, etc. this is our chosen way of relaxing.
I machine gunned my TV 25 years ago. never regretted one second of it. That is what gives you the time to enjoy the rest of your life.

[PS Paul]

Look, it seems to me the things we do in our hobby/obsession are things that not only bring us pleasure, but also are things that keep us from allowing the stresses of everyday life to overwhelm us and make life much less tolerable. I personally find the act of brass prepping and primer seating to be relaxing, and I often do these "chores" while sitting with my family and watching a movie or some sort of history program.

I consider these things, like fishing, hunting, shooting, boating, hiking, camping and the like, as things that benefit the soul and the types of "redundant" or "boring" acts of case prep actually allow my mind to "re-set" and tune out for my health and benefit. AND for the benefit of my wife, kids and employees....

So, you are only crazy if you DO NOT take care of that brass!!! LOL!!