9mm Range Brass is it worth the effort?

[Daddymac]

What say you, is it worth the effort to pick up and recondition range brass?

I ask this as I am in the process of cleaning and removing crimps from a little over 5000 rounds of 9mm brass and beginning to doubt the benefit. I salvaged the brass a while back when brass was hard if not impossible to find. I have spent days de-priming and cleaning and I am not looking forward to removing the crimps on that much brass, yes, a ton of it is crimped.

I did a quick search and found that I can purchase 5000 rounds of once-fired fully processed ready-to-load 9mm brass for a little under $600 I'm going to have to say that's not too bad. My actual cost is not that bad, but my time is worth something. If brass was unavailable then yes the effort is worth it, but when it's available and reasonably priced I would rather buy it for the time savings alone.

As far as this 5000 I'm working on, I will get it de-primed and cleaned then I think I will save it until we go crazy and elect another Democrat and the shortages return.

 

[mmcu]

Removing military crimps on 9mm brass is NOT worth the time and effort.

Toss it is the recycle bucket and get your $2.00 a pound.

Legitimate once-fired commercial headstamp brass is definitely worth processing and using.

 

[ShtrRdy]

What say you, is it worth the effort to pick up and recondition range brass?

I ask this as I am in the process of cleaning and removing crimps from a little over 5000 rounds of 9mm brass and beginning to doubt the benefit. I salvaged the brass a while back when brass was hard if not impossible to find. I have spent days de-priming and cleaning and I am not looking forward to removing the crimps on that much brass, yes, a ton of it is crimped.

I did a quick search and found that I can purchase 5000 rounds of once-fired fully processed ready-to-load 9mm brass for a little under $600 I'm going to have to say that's not too bad. My actual cost is not that bad, but my time is worth something. If brass was unavailable then yes the effort is worth it, but when it's available and reasonably priced I would rather buy it for the time savings alone.

As far as this 5000 I'm working on, I will get it de-primed and cleaned then I think I will save it until we go crazy and elect another Democrat and the shortages return.

I'd say if you're relatively young do the work and then wait until there is the next shortage.

 

[Longtrain]

I may shoot 50-100 rounds in a session and right there in front of me are usually 300 cases. I throw them in my range bucket. At some point usually during the Winter, I’ll deprime and tumble a few thousand at a time and move them to the next bucket and so on. It’s a slow process, but eventually they end up being loaded. If I get discouraged with the process, I just remember when the other party made things scarce. I don’t like scarce components.

 

[jds holler]

The crimp thing would be a deal breaker for me, but I don't find much of that. I keep a few thousand of them around, and I don't have to worry about looking too hard for my empties when I'm shooting. jd

 

[Oso]

Most 9mm brass isn’t crimped. A quick headstamp sorting will solve majority of your problems. Toss any brass that includes the that military stamp (small cross inside a circle) as well as any with lacquered or sealed primers. Do a search to see if there is a list of other headstamps worth tossing, such as WCC.

Or… buy processed / refurbed brass.

 

[Daddymac]

Most 9mm brass isn’t crimped. A quick headstamp sorting will solve majority of your problems. Toss any brass that includes the that military stamp (small cross inside a circle) as well as any with lacquered or sealed primers. Do a search to see if there is a list of other headstamps worth tossing, such as WCC.

Or… buy processed / refurbed brass.

Good advice. After reviewing approximately 100 cases with my trusty Harbor Freight super-duper magnifying headset, I found only three crimped cases, which were WMA headstamped but did not have the NATO circle and cross.. The headstamps that I thought were crimped upon closer inspection are not crimped.

Thanks.

 

[nettle]

I buy once fired from the local indoor range. When I bring it home I reload it on my Dillon 550. It's that easy for me.

 

[Daddymac]

Removing military crimps on 9mm brass is NOT worth the time and effort.

Toss it is the recycle bucket and get your $2.00 a pound.

Legitimate once-fired commercial headstamp brass is definitely worth processing and using.

I am finding after closer inspection most of the brass does not have a crimp like I originally thought. What a relief.

 

[dantiff2]

This is a matter of perspective. If you find range brass valuable then of course it is worth it! If you'd rather pay the cost to have it all cleaned and ready to load with no work on your part, then hell no! So, Which are you? My boys and I go through a bunch of ammo. I'll take everything as free as I can get it!! HAHAHA

I do not like to use this tool on rifle brass because I believe it removes way too much material in my opinion but the Hornady Primer pocket crimp cutter tool works wonders for low pressure pistol brass. I chuck the cutter up into my drill, mounted on the bench and go through 1000 pcs as fast as you can touch the brass to the tool and drop. It's that simple.
Dan

 

[Walt Krafft]

I am not a volume pistol shooter so I dont even bother loading 9mm.

 

[Kracken McGraw]

I think I will save it until we go crazy and elect another Democrat and the shortages return.

Hopefully I’ll go on over the Great Divide before this happens!

 

[74_stingray]

It's worth it to me to put in the work, removing the crimp is simple, I cut the crimp out with an RCBS crimp cutter running on the Lyman case prep, no big deal, sort the brass by head stamp, very easy to distinguish the crimped cases, then lube and into the Dillon.

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[Hoser]

For me it is. When I get random range pick ups, I tumble it clean, roll size it and then run it through my Dillon 1100 Mark7 while I do something else in the reloading room. It just purrs along depriming, removing primer crimp and also FL resizing.

 

[Oso]

Hoser - no one likes an understated show-off…. You need to go “BIG”!!! We’ll be expecting your next post to be a short video of you sitting back enjoying a whiskey while you ammo plant purrs along in background sounding like a Singer sewing machine!

When I grew up shooting as a child we picked up all spent cases. It was just range etiquette, and good way for dads to manage the kids (good knees and lots of energy). I have stockpiled enough that I have started giving it away whenever I get the urge to “duck walk” a shooting bay. I consider this exercise a critical workout for my hips. Admittedly, it has gotten less fun with summer heat.

 

[r bose]

What say you, is it worth the effort to pick up and recondition range brass?

I ask this as I am in the process of cleaning and removing crimps from a little over 5000 rounds of 9mm brass and beginning to doubt the benefit. I salvaged the brass a while back when brass was hard if not impossible to find. I have spent days de-priming and cleaning and I am not looking forward to removing the crimps on that much brass, yes, a ton of it is crimped.

I did a quick search and found that I can purchase 5000 rounds of once-fired fully processed ready-to-load 9mm brass for a little under $600 I'm going to have to say that's not too bad. My actual cost is not that bad, but my time is worth something. If brass was unavailable then yes the effort is worth it, but when it's available and reasonably priced I would rather buy it for the time savings alone.

As far as this 5000 I'm working on, I will get it de-primed and cleaned then I think I will save it until we go crazy and elect another Democrat and the shortages return.

I gave up on reloading 9mm. These days you can find 1000 loaded rounds for $199 to $229 on sale. By the time you buy primers, powder and projectiles (70+50+75 approx per thousand) it isn't my time reloading

 

[r bose]

I gave up on reloading 9mm. These days you can find 1000 loaded rounds for $199 to $229 on sale. By the time you buy primers, powder and projectiles (70+50+75 approx per thousand) it isn't my time reloading

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Head to Widener's for great deals on defensive and bulk 9mm ammo. Cheap prices on a ton of in-stock rounds today.

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[markm87]

My dies/process absolutely do not tolerate the odd/import/weird varieties of range brass. 9mm is bar far the worst caliber for me to run mixed brass. I've settled on PMC brass only. Almost everything else gets tossed for scrap money.

 

[Idaho-Lefty]

Removing military crimps on 9mm brass is NOT worth the time and effort.

Toss it is the recycle bucket and get your $2.00 a pound.

Legitimate once-fired commercial headstamp brass is definitely worth processing and using.

Yup,.. This ^^^,.. Win., Fed, Rem, PMC and CCI are, the ONLY Brass cases that, I "Mess With", as
So much of THIS, "Good Brass",.. is, available and EASY to Find, in rural,.. "Shooting Locations",..
NOT that, many People, bother to, pick up their 9mm Brass to,.. Reload.

 

[243winxb]

I do not pick up unknown 9mm range brass, as i have seen this happen to others.

If i warch the person open a box of new ammo, that is the brass i will pick up.