To load them or not to load them?

[dmclark523]

This may be an obvious yes answer, but I thought i'd see what you guys think.

Did some range pickup the other day and came across a tonnn of .40 and 9mm casings, mostly Speer.

After washing the dirt off, drying, and putting them to tumble for 5-6hrs, I got this:

48515

Now, about 1/3 of my casings look like the two at left, another 1/3 look like the two on at right, and the last third are nice, shiny, and look like I shot them today. The marks on these cases are where the finish has worn away. They aren't rusted or molded over.

My instinct says to discard the ones that look sketchy or have any defects and then load em'. What do you say?

[UBER7MM]

dmclark523,

It all depends for me. The accurate guns get TLC. The others get range brass. One things for sure, if you have any doubts about brass, junk it. Don't skimp where your eyeball isn't that far from gunpowder going off.

Good shooting,

[1Shirt]

Good advise from Uber! Suggest you take it!
1Shirt!

[trapper9260]

I would do the same that was said .If it dose not feel or look right sell it as junk brass.I do the same with what dose not look right .i will not shoot what i think will damage the gun I will not use .In the long run brass is cheap when your life and gun in on the line .

[462]

Toss 'em.

[largom]

Which do you favor more? Your body, your gun, or range brass that cost you nothing. The choice would be easy for me.

Larry

[dmclark523]

I see all of your points and you are correct, but... Literally, its just chipped paint on the finish. I easily tossed about 80 of the 500 I had cleaned, due to dents, rust, grime, age, and chips out of the case mouth, but... I can't bring myself to throw away good brass thats just chipping some paint.
Does it not make sense that the shells structure is still perfectly fine? I mean the stuff thats coming off and making it look that way is a millimeter thick.

[I'll Make Mine]

If it's actually "paint", the "brass" it's attached to is probably steel (and may be Berdan primed). Check with a magnet and look into the mouth for two flash holes flanking a dimple that's the back side of the swaged-in-place Berdan anvil. If it's steel, and especially if it's Berdan primed, just pass it on by.

Yes, it's possible to reload steel cases, and yes, it's possible to convert Berdan primed to Boxer (the kind we usually use), at least in a brass case, but unless you shoot a chambering that's hard to find either loaded ammunition or cases for, it's probably not worth the effort to convert (and most steel cases are Berdan).

[HangFireW8]

Does it not make sense that the shells structure is still perfectly fine? I mean the stuff thats coming off and making it look that way is a millimeter thick.

I hope you're wrong about that.

A millimeter is 39.3 thousandths.

Shell brass at the neck is only 11-13 thousandths.

HF

[462]

That's nickel plating over brass, not paint.

Those calibers are sold everyday, in the Sellin' and Swappin' sub-forum.

Toss 'em and buy some quailty brass.

[runfiverun]

the black is zinc oxide.
here's how i look at range brass.
what did you pay for it?
it's still worth about 1.50 a lb at the scrapper.

[reloader28]

I'm not a huge fan of nickle brass, but I do have and shoot some.
I hate throwing the stuff away tho, so I shoot until the necks split on mine.
I've shot many that look like yours, so I would just load and shoot them, although I will say they were 38spl.

Did you rub it hard with your fingernail? Sometimes it could be grime that sticks on dirty cases.

[Wayne Smith]

If it is nickle flaking off the brass they are perfectly safe to shoot.

[polara426sh]

Nickel flaking off of the cases can scratch steel dies.

[fcvan]

Really ugly brass like that generally gets the primer pockets drilled out to 1/8" and used for wax boolits or hot glue boolits. That way they if they ever get mixed in with my good brass I can easily tell them apart. They are fun for just punching paper but even more useful for teaching draw drills at the house. Frank

[snuffy]

I can't see from the picture, whether those cases are just stained, or the corrosion has eaten into the case material. If it's just stained, load 'em up. OR an acid type of case cleaner or ultrasonic cleaner will take the stains right off.

If however, the corrosion has penetrated the surface of the case, then they're scrap brass. The structural integrity has been compromised. They will be weaker at the site of the corrosion.

Your description of it as rust, means those are probably steel cases. They can be reloaded, but only if they're boxer primed. Tulammo has a line of steel cases that ARE boxer primed , I just finished loading some .45's a friend gave me,(along with a boatload of regular brass). My mission is to see how many reloads I can get before they fail. I used my own lead boolits, both from Miha's excellent brass molds, 200 452 HP, and 200 .452 #68 SWC. Fit was tight, but they loaded without problems---(except one case, the extractor groove wasn't deep enough for the shell holder to go on).

[snuffy]

Nickel flaking off of the cases can scratch steel dies.

No it can't!:groner:

Nickle is no where near hard enough to scratch hardened tool steel. If your dies were scratched by nickle, they were poorly made of mild steel. Even then, nickle is NOT hard enough to cut mild steel.

If you repeat myths, you WILL get called on it.

The modern COATINGS on brass cases is not "plated. It's just that, a coating, extremely thin. It's called electroless nickel coating. As such, it covers the entire surface of the brass casing, even down to the flash hole

At first, the nickle WAS plated on, it could and would flake off. Those were most likely 38's or .357 cases. Why, because policemen used leather belt loops to hold extra ammo for their service revolvers. The plain brass cases would turn green in just a week or two. Something to do with the chemicals left in the leather from the tanning process.

[ShooterAZ]

I say throw them out. I learned a long time ago not to fool with range brass. Some of it is there for a reason...sometimes a bad one.

[mpmarty]

Sort by primer type and dispose of berdan primed and small primer pocket brass. Troll a magnet through them and discard the ones that stick to the magnet.

[fatelk]

If the headstamps are Speer, then it's nickel flaking off. I've loaded plenty of them that bad. I don't think tarnished, ugly brass is nearly as dangerous as some folks make it out to be, UNLESS the case head is compromised somehow, then all bets are off.

That said, personally I would scrap them. 9mm and .40 are both super common and cheap. You can buy nice shiny brass for barely over scrap price. I've seen some really good deal on the Swapping and Selling forum. I scrap a lot of brass nowadays that I would have loaded in the past.

[MtGun44]

nickel plating can definitely scratch steel dies.

Bill

[MBTcustom]

I'll be the odd fellow in this discussion. I believe I would shoot 'em if they look to be mechanically sound.

[Moonie]

I would have no problem at all with shooting them and have for many years with no issues. I do not however load to max pressures. For max pressure loads I work up in brass that I have had since it was new.

[Mud Eagle]

I bet those cases would clean up well in stainless media.

[bob208]

clean them up with some scochbrite see how they look then. if it is just knickel flaking off shoot them.

[Sonnypie]

I love my old guns too much to shoot questionable brass in them.
After a good cleaning of some really bad range finds (breaking in Stainless Steel media) the corrosion was gone.
And the truth revealed....

http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa382/Sonnypie/Stainless%20Tumbling%20Media/failed_cases2.jpg

http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa382/Sonnypie/Stainless%20Tumbling%20Media/failed_cases4.jpg

http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa382/Sonnypie/Stainless%20Tumbling%20Media/failed_cases1.jpg

I never intended to use these for anything but break in brass for the media.

Here's some range brass from buddy in Alaska. Before and after SS tumbling.

http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa382/Sonnypie/45%20ACP%20Brass/P3010308.jpg

http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa382/Sonnypie/45%20ACP%20Brass/P3020309.jpg

I LOVE good range brass. But I cull out anything funny looking. ;)

[spfd1903]

Damaged brass goes in the scrap jug. I don't scrap it by the lack of visual appeal. To me, it is a worthwhile challenge to try cleaning first. I have found .45 acp that is mostly black, except a spot on the head. Rinsed the grit off and soaked it in IOSSA liquid cleaner for 5 minutes. Rinse, dry and tumble. Nice and shiny. Black stuff was formed by laying in the elements for who knows how long. There was no pitting or degradation of wall thickness once the deposit was removed. Loaded 3-4 times, no issues. Brass is used for target practice and load development.

[Captain_Howdy]

scrap the fodder. if it was free you have only gained. you got some good brass and some bad brass. gain a little bit of piece of mind and put the trash where it belongs...in the can.

[badbob454]

if you have any doubts as to the safety / scrap the ones you arent certain are safe , dont scratch up your sizers dies and chamber much less blow up a nice gun , we want you to keep both eyes ...
WHEN IN DOUBT TOSS IT OUT !!

[Raygun]

I have lots of brass with dark spots in 38 special. If the spots are rough feeling or pitted I toss them. Nickel flaking brass is culled also.

[Sasquatch-1]

You may want to go to swapping and selling, AND WITH A VERY GOOD DISCRIPTION, maybe you could sell or trade them to a swager for jackets. That is if they are brass and not steel. Make sure they know exactly what you are trying to get rid of.

[**oneshot**]

range brass is free, dies are costly.

I would scrap the brass even if I had bought it. Scratch the die and you'll scratch your good brass too.

[Cadillo]

I bet those cases would clean up well in stainless media.

You're right. I bet that after a four hour run and rinse, he would not even recognize them anymore. If it is nickel flaking, you can run them long enough to remove the plating to the point that they are no longer nickel colored.

I've done it. No ill effects.

After cleaning you can readily see whether or not thay are corroded. If they aren't corroded, they are just fine. Corroded(pitted) brass goes to the scrap yard.

[bruce381]

In see just plain old tarnish NO nickel anywhere unless my eyes are bad try some citric acid soap soak.

[Blammer]

scrap them, get good money, then buy some new cases. :)

[montana_charlie]

I see all of your points and you are correct, but... Literally, its just chipped paint on the finish. I easily tossed about 80 of the 500 I had cleaned, due to dents, rust, grime, age, and chips out of the case mouth, but... I can't bring myself to throw away good brass thats just chipping some paint.
Does it not make sense that the shells structure is still perfectly fine? I mean the stuff thats coming off and making it look that way is a millimeter thick.
If you didn't want advice to follow, why did you post the question?

CM