buying once fired brass

[nilebartram]

I would like some feed back on buying once fired brass. Bought some Lake city 308 once fired, and what a hassel to get back into shape. Found out it was fired in a M240. Anyway, some brass is hard work, some is easy. nilebartram

 

[Ledd Slinger]

Depends on what it is. 308 and 223 once fired brass will need to be full sized, trimmed, and most likely need the primer pockets swaged as well. Just how it is.

Any other once fired brass will at least need to be trimmed and full sized because it wasn't fired in your chamber.

I full size all of my brand new brass, regardless of brand, and touch it up with a trimmer to ensure uniformity. So buying once fired brass isn't a big deal to me.

Belted magnum once fired brass can give you fits if it has been fired in a grossly oversized chamber. Nearly impossible to get the area above the belt back to size without using the Innovative Technologies belted magnum collet die

 

[Delfuego]

Stay away from machine gun fired brass. Unless you can roll size it, it's never gonna be good, at least not BR/F-CLass good. Bolt gun fired should be good to go after FL sizing and firing once in your chamber.

 

[ragsflh]

cheaper,use it

 

[Shaggy357]

I have several thousand military brass that have been formed into brass for wildcats or cleaned for as caliber rounds. I have many thousand range brass or brass from test ranges that I have used. With the exception of my competition ammunition, most of my other ammunition is reloaded into used brass. It is considerably cheaper and I don't get lazy prepping it the very first time. After prepped, they are more often than not, more concentric and similar than a lot of new brass I have purchased.

 

[Shynloco]

I would like some feed back on buying once fired brass. Bought some Lake city 308 once fired, and what a hassel to get back into shape. Found out it was fired in a M240. Anyway, some brass is hard work, some is easy. nilebartram

Whenever I've bought "Once Fired" military brass, I've learned to anneal it first; use a generous coat of RCBS Lube 2 (great for this purpose and better than Imperial Resizing Wax and easier on your dies) and then run them through a .308 Small Based die. Works great and not a problem thereafter using a regular .308 FL die for resizing. I've done it several hundred times and the brass lasts and last so much that I quit buying the Once Fired .308 brass. Now mind you, this isn't competition quality brass, but it sure saves on the $$ when testing various bullets, loads or just plain fun shooting.

Alex

 

[DRNewcomb]

It depends. There's .308 that's been shot in a bolt gun or M14 and there's .308 that's been run through a pig. They're all-together different beings.

 

[GrocMax]

It depends. There's .308 that's been shot in a bolt gun or M14 and there's .308 that's been run through a pig. They're all-together different beings.

Same with 223, the stuff that's been thru a SAW isn't worth trying to save.

 

[carlsbad]

anneal it when you get it. One reason I like my AMP. So easy to anneal every firing. --jerry