New or Once Fired Brass Which Is Best

[mullthing]

Which brass is better for reloading once fired or new? Also, what are the biggest risks of buying "once fired" brass? Obviously once fired could be fired more than once. I ask because I've always purchased my brass new over the counter ...never used brass or on a site like this. I'm new to this site.

Thanks so much.

[Beagle333]

I prefer new when Starline has it..... but with the craze going on.... sometimes there is a drought of brass and I will buy once fired for my pistols.
Rifle brass, I always buy once fired from here... but only because Starline doesn't make rifle brass that has shoulders.

[OnceFired]

There are two ways of making pretty darn sure what you're getting is once fired.

1 - Buy once fired brass direct from government surplus auctions that cater only to military. The military doesn't reload, but usually this is a large amount of brass. See if you can't find a small lot of perhaps 20-50 lbs of brass. Downside is that you have to find one local - they don't handle shipping, so that'd cost you more if it's not nearby.

2 - Buy same brass through a reseller who does the above. This has the disadvantage that you are not the ONLY other entity to have owned the brass, so there is a measure of possibility in there, but it is really small.

As long as those factory primers are still crimped, you can be pretty close to 100% certain.

Note this does not apply to brass from any other auction source - law enforcement, gun ranges, etc. They allow other shooters which potentially means reloaders.

OF

[dh2]

I prefer to use brass that is only fired in my rifle for it's entire life. from new to scrap metal. But there is the reality part, you can not always get what you want when you want it. over the years I have bought "once fired brass " from this sight and others and had no problems with it,

[dragon813gt]

I don't buy used rifle brass anymore. Got burnt once w/ a batch that all had case head separation. Now I only buy new or military brass. Pistol brass I buy from Starline or pick up at the range. You will lose it before it cracks. I'm not picky about pistol brass because of this.

[LUBEDUDE]

Welcome to the forum mullthing.

For me it all depends on your needs. If I'm squeezing for accuracy and can afford it, then I go with new. Same goes if I am heading off to a World or National Championship.

But for plinking and general knocking around, once fired is well worth the savings.

[Char-Gar]

I don't have any strict rule or strong feelings on the subject as you can get good and bad brass either way. With 1X fired brass, at least you know it did not fail on the first firing.

[Virginia John]

As above, it all depends on what you are using it for. Plinking and punching paper doesn't really matter what you use. If you are going for the gold, use the best you can afford.

[HATCH]

Once fired or twice fired is fine.
Heck any brass is fine provided you inspect each case.

Some calibers don't really have a "once fired" market out there.
Most cowboy calibers for example (44/40, 32/20, ect) and a lot of rifle (non-military calibers) too.
I have a lot of new starline brass. I would say more then my lifetime's worth and thats if I lived to be 100

Problems with non-verified used brass.
Stretched cases. Basically cases which the OAL is at the limit and need to be trimmed back
Worn out primer pockets - no fix for this
Bulged bases (ie glock bulge)

Unless its NEW brass, I tumble all my fired brass. Then I inspect them. I do mostly pistol so OAL case length doesn't seem to matter much to me.
I have started to find some split necks on my 38 nickle cases but they were multi-fired before they came to me and I have reused them a few time.

[bedbugbilly]

I'm not a "serious" shooter - i.e. don't shoot in competition anymore and am now pretty much a "plinker".

On pistol brass - it all depends. I've purchased new Starline and like it - but, for example, a 38 spell will run around .18 or so depending on where you buy it. I've purchased lots of "range brass" and I've never paid more than .07 or .08 a casing - and get many reloads out of them.

I'm just getting into loading for rifle (8 X 57) - I've purchased "reformed" 30-06 from a reputable member here as well as new commercial from several others. Both work equally as well for me.

I think you'll find that most folks selling range brass are pretty honest about it - i.e. 1 X fired or "don't know". You might get stung once in a while (so far I never have) but the range brass is going to be cheaper than new so it all boils down to $$. For me, buying used works well - for the "serious" shooter, YMMV.

On a site such as this - if someone intentionally stings someone on an item they are selling - it's not going to take long for the other members to find out and avoid them. I have purchased a number of items on this site - brass, molds and reloading items - and have always been happy and I have also sold a number of items and hope the folks who purchased them have been happy. And, a number of members have helped me out when I needed something . . often at no charge and in turn, I try to do the same when I can. Good folks here . . .

Welcome to the forum . . . good people, good information and a place to learn many things!

[DR Owl Creek]

For new handgun brass, at least for straight-walled cases, Starline is always my first choice. For pistol calibers (9mm, 40 S&W, 45 ACP, etc.), I will only buy "once-fired" brass that has no bulges, and hasn't been walked on or otherwise abused.

For precision rifle loads, I always buy new brass from a reputable manufacturer. For 5.56 and 7.62 NATO, I will only buy "once-fired" brass that still has the primers crimped in place, and then only if I can inspect it first to make sure it hasn't been stretched out too badly.

Dave

[mdi]

Some folks will only use new brass for reloading (I wonder if they police their own brass and reload it again?) and some folks will use "once fired" brass (I ferget the term "once fired" and just think "used"). I guess if I were shooting competition for accuracy, I might rely on factory new brass. I've had good luck with the 10-12 thousand cases I've purchased, a bunch of 45 ACP, 9mm, 5.56 and 30-06. I inspect every case I use and I have found a few "Amerc" and a few steel cases, but 99%+ are good useable brass.

[mullthing]

Your valuable insight on this subject is most helpful. Thanks so much.

[EDG]

1. I will use new brass if I get a heck of a deal on it- which is probably not going to happen much anymore with the Obama generated hoarding shortages.
2. I used to shoot up a lot of low priced ammo like Prvi Partisan/PPU to get brass. Not really once fired when I buy it but is is once fired when I reload it. I do not find ammo that cheap any more.
3. The largest source of my brass has been once fired bought from indoor ranges and off of the internet. Most of this brass cost about $.05 to $.10 once fired.
Examples
280 rounds of Cavim 7X57 brass for $14
500 rounds of R-P .375 H&H brass swapped for a set of dies and cash.
nearly 1000 45-70 cases picked up here and there in small batches.
large lots of 25-06 and 6mm rem cases all with factory primers
These cases were far cheaper than buying the equivalent brass new. I could easily afford to toss one or 2 bad cases in a batch. Normally I will wind up with 4 or 5 times the number of cases compared to buying new brass. Bu the time I have hand deprimed and inspected the brass my cases are just as good quality as a new case after it has also been fired one time.

Yes you can get burned if you are not well informed. But if you have reloaded thousands of cases you can tell cases that have been reloaded many times or overloaded. The worst I have been burned was on a lot of about 50 6.5X55 cases that some knot head trimmed about .030 too short. I avoid buying someones polished and deprimed cases since those operations tend to hide the number of times the cases have been used. I try to buy only once fired in the original condition that was fired in indoor ranges.

[376Steyr]

I bought a 40 S&W pistol just so I could use once-fired brass, which is ridiculously cheap in this caliber, in it.

[gwpercle]

If you are paying for it....new is best.

If it's free, once fired will do. Sometimes you can't look gift brass in the mouth.
Gary

[country gent]

It depends on what Im doing. If its brass to be formed into another case (think wildcatts or unavailable obsolete cases) I perfer new unprimed brass cases. For my tight necked rilfes also new brass. For almost all others if available once fired is fine. Hand guns are once fired cases mostly. I clean used brass sort and inspect prep as needed. Once fired rifle brass gets cleaned sorted inspected and preped. I have used alot of Lake city once fired 308 and 223 wih no real issues. Some may size harder the first time due to larger chambers or be fired in machine guns. Its a viable option and a good buy is a good buy.

[joesig]

Which brass is better for reloading once fired or new?
When isn't new better than used?


Also, what are the biggest risks of buying "once fired" brass? Obviously once fired could be fired more than once. I ask because I've always purchased my brass new over the counter ...never used brass or on a site like this. I'm new to this site.

Thanks so much.

Depends on the caliber and chamber. Brass fired in a semiauto and especially the 7.62/5.56 fired in machine guns have been stressed! You'll get a workout resizing them. Check for loose primer pockets. The batch of brass I bought like this is reserved for light CB loads.

Straight wall pistol would be a good deal.

Bottle neck in a properly headspaced chamber would be okay if primer pockets are still tight.

There's a reason it's less expensive than new. For plinking or light CB loads, used brass does offer a cost savings.

[Yodogsandman]

Another source for once-fired brass is a from a gun manufacturers test range. The chances of them being fired more than once is slim. I had this opportunity and stocked up at 6 cents apiece. Mostly 30-06 and 308, they'll cover lots of different calibers. My heirs better shoot a lot!

[Wayne Smith]

Depends on the caliber. I have 45ACP cases and 38 Special cases that are so well used that the head stamp is warn off. For casual plinking and shooting those work fine. Rifle I tend to buy new.

[Mohillbilly]

Mostly new brass , and I avoid once shot 303 brit , and 7.62 Rooshin , because of head space problems with all the surplus rifles out there .

[9mmsubgun-m11]

Once fired here but only loading for handgun/subgun use. Did buy a bag of new 38spl the other day but only cause it was dirt cheap.

[Lloyd Smale]

I buy both but more once fired then new. I just shoot to much to be able to afford to pay twice as much for brass that will only give one more firing

[John Boy]

I am not a handgun bulls eye shooter but for all my rifle cases whether they are new or once fired, I want the best accuracy I can achieve shooting out to 1000yds. One has to remember that all chambers on rifles are not equal and all brass has to be properly sealed to the chamber wall for the best accuracy...
So for each new or once fired acquired brass, each case is annealed when acquired. Then each case is fire formed to the rifle before the cases are reloaded for that rifle. Plus I check the ID of each case for concentric wall thickness difference 0.002 or less

[osteodoc08]

It all depends on what you want to do. Starline brass from new, amortized over lifetime, makes the cost fairly negligible, especially if shooting premium J werds out of it. 45 acp brass will darn near run forever. I buy 1x fired for most of my pistol brass. Rifle brass im picky and always buy new unless it's to be used in a semi auto. I bought some 308 military brass here for my AR-10 pattern gun and after running through a SB size die, they work just fine.

[RogerDat]

Well it is only new the first time I fire it. After that it is once fired the first time I reload. From then on it's just used brass. Which I don't mind using until it wears out.

Straight walled cases are the most forgiving, necked cases seem to be a little more involved especially in bolt action rifles like the 303 British that space off of the rim, the shoulder of the case neck fire forms to the chamber of the rifle it's fired in. There are others but that is the one I'm familiar with. Auto loaders with necked cases probably need to have the brass more "worked" to fit and feed reliably making how many times reloaded more critical.

I won't swear to this as being a certain thing but as far as I have noticed silver reloading primers are not stock in new brass ammo, once fired still have brass primers. Reloaded brass cases have silver. But I don't claim to have systematically paid attention to it or have run through a lot of used brass to confirm.

[ulav8r]

For hunting reloads, I prefer new cases or once/twice fired if I was one that fired them the first time. No serious target shooting so once fired from most sources suits me. Most of my shooting is plinking. Got burned once on once fired brass. Ordered 100 30-30 from an advertiser in Shotgun News, received nickel plated brass that had a dull finish. The head had a transparent red coating. Several had splits and all primers showed signs of very high pressure. I suspect they were proof loads. After close inspection I used most of them for 150 grn lead loads at about 1000 fps.

[Walter Laich]

for my cowboy .45 Colt loads I keep reloading the same lot of 500 over and over again adding replacements as needed (lost and cracked cases).
.
Now you need to remember that my loads are mouse farts as far as the entire reloading spectrum is concerned. All I have to do is make the steel ring, not punch through it.
.
YMMV

[triggerhappy243]

Tip i figured out on bottle necked cases, factory once fired brass case mouth has a knurled texture on the inside of the case mouth where it crushed into the cannelure groove. If it is still there, it is once fired from factory ammo.

[gunwonk]

I don't have any strict rule or strong feelings on the subject as you can get good and bad brass either way. With 1X fired brass, at least you know it did not fail on the first firing.

+1 for at-least-it-survived-first-firing. Here's one that didn't:
129441
This is "PS 75" Korean surplus .30-06, which was on the market in the late 90's or early 2000's. Just a few of them split. If not, they reloaded and worked fine. ('Scuse the horrid photo. I pushed the mPaint sliders around until you could really see the split, no matter what it did to the other pic properties.)

From my Bad Examples pickup collection. (I.e., fired by someone else.)

[bluelund79]

For my casual shooting, 1x fired is fine. I've reloaded some of my low pressure rounds a few times, and the primer pockets are still tight. Those will get shot until I loose them, or the primer falls out. Hunting loads for my rifles and pistols are all from new brass, and get reloaded no more than 2x. After that, they go into the range brass bin for general/casual shooting.