Newbie question: Why are there so few 30-06 brass casings available for sale?

[jcedens]

I'm just curious why there are so few 30-06 brass casing for sale since the 30-06 is such a common gun? I do see a few for sale occasionally but not very often and when I do see them I'm always too late as they are already gone.

[Char-Gar]

Go to gibrass.com they often has good military 30-06 brass for sale. The Lake City Match brass is good quality and has about the same weight and thickness of commercial. The Lack City regular brass is a little heavier and thicker. All are excellent cases.

[littlejack]

j:
Welcome to the CastBoolits.
You may have answered your own question.
A bunch of folks own, shoot and reload the old war horse cartridge, me included and my brother and nefiew and so on.
I make my 8mm-06 AI my cartridges out of the 06 brass.
Folks make all sorts of different cartridges out of 06 brass; 6mm-06, 25-06, 6.5-06, 270,280,
30, 8mm-06, 338-06, 35 Whelan, 411 Hawk, and an assortment of Gibbs cartridges.
I may have missed a couple, but I think you get the picture.
Jack

[Char-Gar]

I just checked GIbrass and they have unfired pull down LC 68 Match cases for $30 per hundred or $250 per thousand. That price is $10 to $25 dollar per hundred cheaper than commercial brass at places like Midway.

YOu will need to run the brass through a FL sizer before you load it, but I do that will all new cases no mater where they come from. There will always be a few with out of round necks or dents.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

PM sent to jcedens

[462]

Many years ago, I bought a few hundred pieces of Jeff's '68 Lake City Match .30-'06 brass...good stuff. The match brass does not have crimped primers, whereas regular Lake City brass does.

[bumpo628]

The .308 is much more common nowadays. You can sometimes get 100 pcs of 30-06 brass for under $20 shipped in the S&S section. Just keep watching.
I got lucky this weekend and picked up 40 pcs of HXP and 15 pcs of Winchester at the range this weekend.

[44fanatic]

I have once fired brass that is 30 years old and has never been reloaded. Growing up, when Dad and I went shooting or hunting we always picked up the brass. I picked up the guns and brass a few years ago and am reloading now.

Guess it is just one of the calibers that everyone either holds onto their own brass to reload or picks it up to give it to someone who reloads.

[Blammer]

because most people give them away

[MBTcustom]

Ever heard of midwayusa? $50 buys you 100 pieces of new remington brass. Even I'm not that cheap and I'm one cheap sucker. You figure 10 reloads per piece and you have 1000 shots for $50. That aint just dirt cheap, but Its not like they can't be had.

[bumpo628]

Ever heard of midwayusa? $50 buys you 100 pieces of new remington brass. Even I'm not that cheap and I'm one cheap sucker. You figure 10 reloads per piece and you have 1000 shots for $50. That aint just dirt cheap, but Its not like they can't be had.

That's $50 plus $10 shipping + $0.20 ea bullet + powder & primer.

For that price, I would just go buy some ammo at Wal-Mart or Bass Pro for under $20 a box and save my brass. At least you get to empty it yourself and compare factory ammo to your future reloads.

Or you could also join the CMP and get the HXP Greek stuff for $107 / 200 rounds.
https://estore.odcmp.com/store/catal...4=&note5=&max=

[MBTcustom]

Well, thats very true, but around my neck of the woods, 30-06 from walmart costs $30 for 20 shots. I limp all the way to the range.
Not to be argumentative, but where do you get $.20 per shot?
100 brass, 10 shots each, @ $50 = .05
180gr lead boolit @ $1.00 per lb = .02
.30 caliber GC $30 per 1000 = .03
1lb of powder @ $32per lb, with an average charge of 45gr =.20
1000 primers @ $32 =.032
Grand total for reloads = .0332 each
That's 3 shots for a dollar, or $6.64 per 20.
Unless you can buy reloadable ammo for something like $3.00 per box of twenty, I dont see how you can possibly come out ahead buying ammo from the store.
Even if you do the same math with a store bought bullet,
Average cost of $30 per 100, =$.3 each
total $.582 each, That's $11.64 for a box of 20
That crappy Greek stuff will never find its way into the action of my rifle, and besides, I dont mind spending an extra $.94 per box for premium ammo that is matched to my rifle. I'll admit that it's awfully convenient for some people, not to have to go through the reloading process, but I enjoy shooting ammo that I made myself. I also have a deep appreciation for accuracy, and while that cheap ammo might be accurate in one of my rifles, and might have a good hunting boolit, and might not etch the rifling out of my rifle, I know that my loads will deliver all of those. Kinda like this 300 winmag of mine. It was a touch more expensive on powder than the '06 but I'm still only at $15 per twenty.

[Char-Gar]

Back in the early 60's the National Guard used our club's range to do their qualifying. I was the one elected to open the gate for them and lock it after they had left. They always policed up their brass and put it in a 5 gallon bucked and gave it to me. Often they dropped a couple of bandoleers of ammo on top.

IIRC it was all LC 54 ammo. At one time I had close to 20 gallons of it. I gave it away, used it and it lasted me many, many years.

[beagle]

Just hit the local sighting in place right before deer season. Ground's littered with .30/06, .270, .308 and .30/30 and it's good commercial stuff too.

The NM brass is good stuff if you can get it and lasts forever.

The GI brass is okay but getting to be like horse apples in a garage unless you buy the pulled down stuff. Besides, it's a PITA with that GI crimp.

Guess I'm a brass snob as I've sure shot loads of the GI stuff but with a little scrounging, you can come up with loads of 06./beagle

[HodakaGA]

Check the for sale section of the CMP website. Usually someones selling brass. Both LC and the Greek brass are good.

http://forums.thecmp.org/

[knifemaker]

The 30-06 has been the #1 seller for reloading dies for many years. Far more people reload for that caliber and everyone of them is always on the lookout for 30-06 brass.

[HangFireW8]

I still see plenty of 30 06 in the public shooting range's brass bins, but not as much as .223 and .308. But lots more than .270, 7mm Mag, 300 Mag, or any of the Short Magnums.

[mroliver77]

goodsteel calls HXP "crappy Greek stuff". I wonder how you feel about L.C.
The HXP is as good or better than my L.C. "overhead fire" ammo and it is pretty decent ammo. Granted it is not "premium" ammunition but it shoots very well for milsurp and the brass is nice. Lot's of guys prefer it for Garand matches.
J

[bumpo628]

Well, thats very true, but around my neck of the woods, 30-06 from walmart costs $30 for 20 shots. I limp all the way to the range.
Not to be argumentative, but where do you get $.20 per shot?

I was giving the cost of the FMJ that is in the round when you buy it.
Cast lead boolits would cost less than a FMJ, of course.

My point was that it would be cheaper to buy a ready-to-shoot round than to buy the parts and assemble them. In either situation, you can reload it ten times for the costs you listed.

Using your numbers, the first shot would be:
$0.50 (100 pcs of brass @ $50)
$0.02 (180gr lead boolit @ $1.00 per lb)
$0.03 (.30 caliber GC @ $30 per 1000)
$0.20 (1lb of powder @ $32per lb, with an average charge of 45gr)
$0.03 (1000 primers @ $32)
= $0.78 ea

The HXP costs $107 / 200 rounds including shipping.
= $0.54 ea

That's only $0.04 more for a finished round.
Next time you load it in either situation, the cost is $0.28 ea.

I've tried the HXP and it shoots fine out of my rifle. I'm sure the cast would be better, though.

[MBTcustom]

I spoke amiss!! I had the Greek stuff mixed up with another type that I had a bad experience with. It was cheap and I bought it for the brass, and It sucked. Sorry.