Once fired brass????

[abunaitoo]

What's the big deal about once fired brass????
I, almost always, use range pick-up, and reformed brass.
Never really had all that many problems with it.
Even with full power loads and condom's.
When they split, it's time to replace.
I've seen new brass, and factory ammo, split.
I just don't understand why once fired is so important.
And how would you know it's once fired, unless you fired it???

[XDROB]

I'm thinking that new brass is sized and trimmed to the correct length. Once fired could be compromised in some way? I have been using my own brass multiple times no problems. I have enough so don't rely on range pick up anymore.

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[white eagle]

how do you mean?
As far as once fired out of a certain rifle its like gold
correct fit for the chamber it came out of
but once fired in swap and sell
its a almost new claim, of the quality of brass for sale

[JimB..]

I always read “once fired” and “has been fired at least once” unless it has crimped primers in which case I read it as “fired one time.”

[zarrinvz24]

I think we are approaching the days of no more surplus good govt brass. It’s already slim pickings. For me 1x fired means I will have a brass supply for many many years to come.

[B R Shooter]

You take your chance with once fired brass. I bought a couple hundred 308 brass here several years ago. The brass was so oversize, I couldn't get it small enough to chamber even after a small base die. A friend later told me it was likely shot in a machine gun. It's \used stuff, you can't complain.

[GONRA]

Historically, el cheapo GONRA has dealt with "scrap dealer brass" or "range pickup brass".
Trick is to get a BIG ROBUST PRESS (may be PRICY)
to PEPRODUCIBALLY resize these beatjp / swollen fired cases!
>>> You CANNOT cheep out on this! <<<
(.223 - 14.5mm Soviet HMG LSC - "Lacqured Steel Cases".)
Use STP Oil Treatment or Tri-Flo Synthetic Lube (Bike Shops)
for a case lube.

[zarrinvz24]

Redding Big Boss 2, and imperial sizing wax make short work of M240 1x fired Govvie brass. Even some that I happened upon that had been laying out in the desert of Az for 20+ years.

[Walks]

I've always used once(my own gun) fired brass for hunting loads. The way I look at it; tested in my gun. It survived so it's good to depend on.

Once fired is just how old the brass is, how many times it been shot. So you have an idea to start with how many times it been used.
With range pick up, it's a crap shoot.
Pun intended.

[725]

Brass work hardens and multiple firings will harden the brass towards a future split. Also, some of the mongomegawhooper calibers stretch the brass ahead of the web and before long it becomes worthless. Truly once fired is in it's youth and implies many more loadings are good to go.

[Shawlerbrook]

Since brass has a useable life of a certain number of firings then 1x would have the longest useable life( except for new). Yes there are many factors that determine brass life, but 1x will probably outlast 2x, 3x, 4x, etc.

[Idaho45guy]

When I used to shoot in GSSF matches at an indoor range, I would pick up my brass until I had reloaded it around 8 or 9 times. Then I just swept it out of the way. It was picked up and sold by the range. That's sketchy.

But, the same range also sponsored the local police department qualifications, and they had a teen that would collect all the Winchester brass and wet tumble it. It was verified once-fired and he sold 600 of them for $33. I should have bought all he had, but back then, I thought 600 cases was a lifetime supply, lol.

[marlin1895]

once fired brass is misnomer.most of the time it is 3 or 4 or more fired

[farmbif]

if its once fired most brass will reload several times no problem, with annealing even more and lighter loads do not expand brass to extremes. the more the brass is worked or stretched the less times it will reload before developing cracks and splits and the less work hardened the brass will last longer.
as far as good govt surplus brass, you have to know where to look it all gets sold by auction. if I'm not mistaken federal entities or at least the military is required to sell all brass though public auction by federal law or mandate. they also sell off steel ammo boxes to be picked up on military bases, there are several web sites to look though including allsurplus, govdeals and gsaauctions.gov., govliquidation.com

one indication of reloaded brass is marks on outside of case from sizing die, this is not once fired. just something to look for.

[ryanmattes]

With pistol brass, I mostly don't worry about it. Shoot it until it shows signs of wear.

For rifle ammo, where I expect some consistency, I tend to buy new and try to buy multiple boxes of the same lot, keep it together as a set, and mark the box. I put a big x on the box once it's fired the first time, then in the spaces I mark the number of times I've reloaded it, along with ns (neck sized) or fs (full resize). So I have a big box full of 20 round boxes I've kept over the years, like this:



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[376Steyr]

Buying used brass is always an adventure. Military brass with the crimped-in primers is undoubtedly once-fired, after that it gets iffy. I once got a batch of "once-fired" .38 Special from one of the bigger wholesalers. It had some loaded wadcutters, a few cases with the nickle plating almost completely worn off from multiple reloadings, and a couple of primed, belled cases. Range pickups are even more fun. This is why I always wear my safety glasses when handling brass, whatever the stage in the loading process.

[1hole]

I get a bit amused when I read some folk say they have difficulty ranging to impossible when trying to FL size that horrible "machine gun" brass; IF that were true there would have never been any wildcats or reformed cases.

I managed to get a good batch of surplus DM '42 brass when I started. I have no clue if it was ever fired in a machine gun but running it into my conventional Lyman .30-06 sizer worked fine. But the real test was later, when I formed some excellent .308 and then .243 and then .22-250 out of the same cases. You don't have to know much 'bout cases to know that was MUCH MORE demanding than simply sizing them back to original specifications.

G.I. 5.56mm cases are much easier to work with than .30-06 so don't sweat about getting machine gun fired cases. After all, they're simply empty brass cases, not solid cast iron, and they WILL restore to specs quite nicely

The "value" of obtaining once fired cases is, if they all are handled the same, we can expect one more firing before it splits. Knowing how to best resize fired cases AND how to rightly anneal them can get much more case life out of anything.

[Dusty Bannister]

Most of the brass that I handle is from an LEO range, shared by several agencies. While none of them reload their ammo, individual officers might introduce some of their personal supply into the mix. If there is visible damage or defect, it goes to the recycler. And on those occasions I offer this brass for sale, I present it as lightly cleaned from an LEO range. That is about as clear as it can be described.

[GhostHawk]

Brass used to be easy, heck people fired it once and left it on the range!

Now when you do find it, it tends to be almost as expensive as new.
In that respect I would rather pay for a new bag of Starline or other good quality brass as buy used of who knows how many firings, condition, etc.

But, in the current situation, brass is where you find it. And if you need it you pay for it. And if you don't you count your blessings for buying as much as you did when it was dirt cheap and available.

[popper]

I got the MG fired 308W LC, just use lots of lube and a strong press - and run the case several times - it springs back.