Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles Range brass sorting

My friend gave me 1000 223 casings he picked at the range. Any tips on making the job of sorting easier ? Do you use some sort of head band magnifier to identify the makers ?

I do a lot of that... I use a stronger pair of reading glasses, and I sort them into containers I keep from my wife's purchases of butter or sour cream etc. I sort by head stamp. I've picked up 600 empty 223 cases in the last 10 days.

Run them through the tumbler first

It helps a lot

I see brass at the range all the time. One reason I always say brass for a .223 remington is free. It was that way in Oregon and Washington too. One time I picked up 1,200 pcs of good FC with the scamp markings, and the majority of them didn't have crimped primers. I'm still using a bunch of those. I also found 1,200 pcs of PMC, one day at a rock quarry in the national forest, which all looked like new. If I were going to pick up .223 rem brass, I'd make sure it was a good brand, and in new looking condition. There's generally a lot of that at the range I go to now. I hate dealing with crimped primers, so the LC just lays there.

bought a Dillion Pocket Swager from Hanco for $50.

Probably the most useful thing on my reload bench, after the press....
and best $50 I've spent on anything I have on my reload bench.

I don't have to pass up on Lake City brass.... and I have thousands of cases of those...
and they last a long time.

some lucky person will strike the jackpot when Its my time to go....

i do it the opposite of you, trash the rest and keep LC, now if i picked up, Nosler or lapau ill keep them

I'll take all the LC 223 brass people wanna give me.

I have enough already, and would rather spend my time loading that than cleaning and sorting to save a couple of bucks.

Not long ago I bought some primed Norma .223 at a good price which is saving me time and primers.

I do pick up “specimen” cases from cartridges I don’t have.

Range brass for me, I don't bother with the head stamp, different lots can have different capacities. Clean and sort for damage then size and trim so they are all the same. Then I weigh them, what your doing is weighing the amount of brass they are made of, the heavier they are the more brass there for less room for powder(less capacity). I take the highest and lowest and divide the difference into three groups.

My normal .223 range brass procedure:

1. De-cap it all
2. Wet tumble with SS Pins
3. Check PPS with a gauge, for 2 reasons.. crimps and I don't want to waste any time with loose PPs. the crimps I then swage on a Dillon.
4. Anneal
5. Segregate by headstamp into major "lots" like RP, FC, PMC, WIN, LC "Misc Civ", Misc-Mil". Misc CIV and Misc Mil get turned into match ammo (3Gun) cause I probably won't be seeing it again.

It takes a little time, but I normally due this JAN-MAR when the weather sucks and it's dark early. Once it's segregated it's preps IAW end use.

A few years ago I attended a 3 day carbine class sponsored by a county sheriff's dept. I went through about 1200 rds during the class and there were about 20 students. They didn't want the brass, so I left with 4 kitty litter containers full of once fired. It seemed like a good idea at the time..

Me too. Years ago I scarfed up all the .223 stuff I found at the ranges. Now I smile and ignore it. Since I divested myself of AR's my needs for .223 brass have simplified. Now I'm only feeding a Browning Low Wall single shot and it doesn't eat ammo nearly as badly! I strictly use Lapua brass in it (I fortunately stocked up like crazy on it when it was still commonly available), but I kept all the LC and Federal brass when I sold my last AR - why, I don't know - not to mention the 1000+ rounds of 55 grain Hornady-bulleted ammo I had loaded for it with that stuff. (Those cartridges shot wonderfully in the AR, sub-MOA, and shoot equally well in the Browning, but the Lapua brass + Berger bullets are oh-so-much better.)

P/dogs don't know any difference...

Not even with Lapua or Norma

They die just the same

Clean 'em/load 'em/shoot 'em

+1, got a 55 gallon barrel of it that needs prepped but ill keep adding to it

Scrap still $3/pound ?

why would i scrap it? i clean it, proccess it, prime it, and sell it, $235 per 1000

$2.00 in Golden area

Where would you get $235. per thousand ? I just advertized $160. per thousand shipped and didn't get one bite.

sorry man--------edit------

$117/1000 pcs here shipped.....

Cleanest 1X'd brass you'll ever see..unprimed of course

https://precisionbrass.net/product/5-56mm-223-once-fired-brass-precision-brass/

Yep

Utah...$1.90/lb

https://umw.com/pricing/

$45/1000 for 9mm shipped

https://precisionbrass.net/product/9mm-once-fired-brass/

good price then you got to size, trim, debur primer pocket, uniform primer pockets, beburr flash hole, camfer case mouth then reclean and prime and you still dont have 1000 of the same cases

Again

P/dogs/squirrels don't care

nope either do i

I guess I am not alone on this subject . A good share of this brass will be used for things that do not need ultra precision . I will muddle along with prepping and using it ! Thanks to all

I have one favorite load for one particular rifle; 40gr Nosler. 27 gr Tac, and a lake city case. I fired fifty of those loads at several targets and then put the same load in a handful of mixed brass. Fired at the same target array

The results from the mixed brass were just as good as the pet load with Lake City.

I forgot you bought it, glad your getting use out of it. I use a Wilson tool and adapter in a drill. I clamp drill in my bench vice, use tie strap it keep drill turning slow. I wear a pair of thick rubber gloves to hold brass. I can ream crimp out as fast as I can pick them up and throw in a box.

I rarely reload range brass. Two exceptions: 40 pieces Hornady 308 neatly put back in factory box and thrown away and 20 pieces 300 WinMag same thing. I just sold 20 lbs I scrounged at a hunting lodge in Texas. I do not understand people who do not reload.

Did it have crimped primer pockets? I've come across a bunch of Hornady 308 range brass that does.

its getting to the point that with the price and shortage of components it dosent pay to reload anymore unless your shooting precision, 9mm comes to mind where its cheaper to use factory and not reload

There is no way you can buy ammo cheaper than you can reload i dont care what cartridge it is.
You keep believing that one day you will go to the store and there won't be any to buy.

i think i said its getting to that point, dont get your piss in a bubble, paid 19 cents a piece for Sellier & Bellot 9mm so thats getting right about there, Sellier & Bellot is cheap right now

I think this is true for plinking ammo. However, if you load anything other than FMJ, it's cheaper to load (and can be more accurate).

that i agree with 100%

9mm

Still using powder/primers for good ole days

Actually just bought more SP primers from Norma USA

$50/1K shipped....sold out now

https://normausa.com/product/blowout/primers-b/small-pistol-primers-made-in-argentina/

Seems your piss is in a bubble, im just stating facts.
Heard the same argument out of rifle shooters how did that work out for them these last few years.
Its only been recently pistol ammo has come down and more available.

I usually pick up 223, 45acp, and 9mm. I will pick up others if they’re nice and desirable like 308 and magnum pistol cases. They have to be top quality. I shoot a lot of 223 between five rifles and probably have well over 15,000 once fired cases because I sort through what I pick up and toss the junk if there are too few and or they’re of a brand I don’t care to keep. Although I have tons of the 223, it still is wise to keep when the shortage happens again or to sell them when I retire and they are worth $2 a piece by that time.

Interesting, I wont say how many but i bought the crap out of Federal 62 grain 556 @27 cents and 55 grain @23 cents per and might have given the UPS a hernia a couple times. Also bought the hell out of some Norma 62 grain when they had a fire sale @ 36 cents per. 9mm for 6.99 a 50 when Walmart quit selling handgun ammo, Federal HST 124 grain self defense ammo for 10.99. Yes it can be cheaper to buy factory at times because you know what even though i bought the components cheap I still couldnt reload for that.

Anybody who shoots very much and rely on going to the store assuming they can just by ammo wherever they need it is a fool. It wasn't but about a year ago maybe 2 that I would walk in a store and there wasn't any ammo on the shelf period.

Here bud you completely missed the point. I dont depend on buying at a store, but I dont believe in sitting at a bench for 2-3 hours loading rounds that total cost is 2-3 cents cheaper than what I can buy and those prices were for shipped. Even with a good stash of components sooner or later you have to replace at significantly higher cost.
Now when you look at rounds like 357 Mag, 41 Mag, 25.06, 243, 220 Swift the prices of loaded ammo is shocking to say the least. Those I load for due to being able to load for 50-60% less depending on bullet compared to 1-2 bucks per. 45 ACP I shoot a bunch out of 3 pistols as its my standard carry caliber. 9mm and 556 meh, don’t really trip my trigger.

You missed the point Bud, my reloading room is sitting full of stuff for pistol and rifle that I bought 99% 5-10 years ago, more than I will ever shoot and alot will be left for my grandson. I will never depend on a store for ammo and alot of brass for most of my 17 and 20 cal stuff.
I shoot probably shoot minimum of 3,000 rounds a year in my rifles and friends- family's rifles alone i load for.
Did I say not to shoot cheap ammo? NO.
jDont expect to buy ammo all time this [bleep] is better now but it will get worse and mostly likely more expensive the presedent has been set.

your the Sherminator

Like most of you I do pick up .223 range brass. I sort it by length then by head stamp. Anything shorter than 1.750, I give to my friends or if it's really short I drop it in the recycle bucket. Then I sort by once or twice fired. I like to keep them separate. When I have time I sort by crimped brass and uncrimped. The uncrimped brass is easier to process. When it's cold outside and I have the heater on in the basement, I process the crimped brass. Deprime, swage, uniform the primer pockets and sort by length and headstamp. It makes the winter nights go fast then I shoot all spring and summer.

kwg

What's the point of ditching the shorter brass?

I wonder that my self there grow in time, wont need trimmed as much

You a funny guy.
How dies the saying go " Fool me once shame on you fool me twice shame on me" well I never went for 2 some just learn easier than others.
After the early 2,000's primer " scare" i decided then im not gonna rely on anybody for my ammo.
History repeats itself, we haven't even got out of round 3 yet may never will.

You guys must shoot a hell of a lot!!!! For fuggs sake. I picked up a few thousand pieces of range brass, in a couple days, and that pretty much gives me a lifetime supply. I bow down to you guys...

Remember too.....223 Ack Improved easily formed from LC brass

Or 20 Practical as well

For the more ambitious...300 Black Out

Although very labor intensive

Much easier to buy new Starline 300 BLK

I tumble it first, then stand it up in loading blocks. I look at it with a lighted magnifier and toss like headstamps into tubs.

I'm just trying to get more consistent neck tension. Especially on bullets that are not crimped.


kwg

I hear ya, but the average match (3GUN) is about 100-150 rds of .223 and that brass isn't coming back.

That's about 1000 pieces per match season that need to be prepped and loaded just to keep up. Then there's practice etc.

lighthman ,that is a good idea .thank you

My son was planning a trip to the range last week to shoot his 45-70 and was low on ammo so he went to the store to buy some factory ammo. I still laugh at the frantic call I got when he saw what they were wanting for a box of 20. Needless to say he made the time to drive to my shop and pick up a box of 50 reloads.

I like this idea, I'm going to try it out. Thanks!

There is a easy way to convert to 300 BO. It's not cheap to setup but buy once /cry once comes to mind, LOL. I bought the Dillon 1500 Trimmer, Tool Head, Trim Die and Lee M Die.
One pull for a complete case. I lightly chamfer the neck, inside and outside and I'm done. I tried using the chop saw, size and trim to length method. After doing 500 cases I was searching for a place to buy them.

I might have some factory 223 brass, but probably less than a dozen. I have thousands of 5.62 brass. During the Vietnam war, brass was available by the bucket load. The only problem I had with that brass was the firing pin hole was often off center and it destroyed a few de-capping pins.
Now I recapped originally with a universal decapping device that looked a lot like a punch and a raised washer.
I had a friend machine a device that identified off center firing pin holes. The off center case were scrapped. I still had maybe in the neighborhood of 10,000 cases.
I swaged the primer pockets. I’ve not had to buy brass for the 223, even though I’ll load a thousand for a PD shoot.
You can buy your factory brass. I don’t want to pay for that much brass from a factory.

Suggestion for that neck tension consistency : Get a Hornady Universal Neck sizing die which is caliber specific.
Adjust it right you won't have to worry about neck tension Consistency.

For those of you who segregate 223/5.56 range brass in particular, what criteria do you have when you sort by weight? I’m thinking it should be no more than +/- .5 grains of each other. What have you guys found to be the best?
On little .22 cases like the .222, 223, etc. I see a lot of variance in velocity between cases that weigh 2-3 grains more than others…….

That wasnt the results I got. 4 fps difference between exact case weights and random weights. The random weights ~9 grains actually out shot the exact weights. Weight sorting is a waste of time.

That’s interesting!
Anybody else get the same results?
I don’t know, maybe my chronograph is the variable or the TAC/H-335 powders?? Each powder was used during the same session so I don’t think it was a temp factor.

There may have been weight variations to extreme but all the brass only varied <1 grain case capacity with bullet to seating depth. The average CC was 28.5 grains between Norma and LC 556.

I find reloading about as entertaining as watching paint dry. I lubed, resized, cleaned, trimmed, chamfered, deburred, cleaned primer pockets and reprimed 50 pieces of .243 brass yesterday. It's more than tedious enough without screwing around with range brass. I'd rather shut my thumb in a car door than be forced to load 3000 rds. a year.

Range brass? I don't touch the stuff. The crap tends to stretch too much fired in a auto and you don't know how many times it was fired before they tossed it. Also feel free to following me around at the range I tend to toss alot of 22-250 brass. If you pick it up make sure you invest in a nice tight chamber brush so you can pull other half of the case out of the chamber. I tossed them for a reason.

Hello Seafire
I'm seeing several Hornaday neck sizers. Which one are you talking about ?? Can you link it ??

kwg

Hello Seafire
I see where this one deprimes but it appears it does nothing with the neck ?? Am I missing something ??

kwg

All the ones I have ( about 6 or 7 )can be adjusted to sized the neck on just about any caliber in that caliber range.

Such as a 243. You can set it up to size the neck for a 243. or a 6mm Rem, or a 240 Weatherby.

I is not just a universal deprimer. Each of them are like that...

I have one that I've neck sized for others in 7mm. you can set it up for a 7/08, or a 7 x 57, 280 Remington, 280 AI or 7 mm Rem Mag, or a 7mm Weatherby etc.

Call Midway and ask them for the ones that do that, versus just a Universal deprimer.

All the ones I've both have been a neck sizer, and I've even taken the decapping pin out of the spindle. Ive got them in 20 caliber to 30 Caliber.

Hornady makes them still NOT long ago, I bought one in 6.5 mm Short, that I set up to do my 6.5 Grendal with...but set it up last week to neck size the 6.5 NeedMore.

I know that last sentence was directed at me but thats why some if us can shoot LR Hunting and some cant.

Long range is not an option where I do my hunting. Like I said, I practice offhand because that's how I shoot 98% of my deer. Most of that practice is done with rimfire rifles and more than 3000 rds. a year are expended. That's why some of us can shoot offhand and some can't.

Here's Hornady,s take on weighing brass, whole podcast is good but specifically listen from 5-8 min section. Episode #121

My method:

Anneal
Bushing Die, with a bushing matched to brass thickness with bullet seated. I use FL Bushing dies, set to achieve desired "bump".
Expander mandrel

Theres trolls and people who just like to stir [bleep] up and you fit in both categories.
You assume alot and I suppose your gonna tell us you shoot 300, 400, 500 etc off hand 98% of the time

I headstamp sort and trim. Anything that is visibly shorter than spec gets tossed, but I’m mostly shooting bolt guns so I’m asking for a touch more accuracy

Then there's retards like you who score zero in reading comprehension.