Members beware!! Buying once fired cases

[RW]

I recently bought a lot of brass that was supposed to be once fire and when I got them they had flattened primers and when I went to deprime and clean them, most of the primer just about fell out!!! How could this be? I have never had that loose of primers on once fired brass Is there some thing that I am not aware of? They are winchester brass

 

[joshb]

Call the seller. It must have been one HOT load! The only brass I buy used anymore is pistol brass from a kid up north. His Dad gets him into a Police range .

 

[olddav]

Shoot them hot enough and once is enough. I hate to admit it but I know this from personal experience.

 

[V509]

Many guys pick up brass at the range and assume it is once fired
If I go to a public range I will take brass that has been reloaded several times
Fortunately I usually shoot on my own land

 

[RW]

maybe thats why he sold them!! Ron

 

[C.E.Smith043]

I recently bought a lot of brass that was supposed to be once fire and when I got them they had flattened primers and when I went to deprime and clean them, most of the primer just about fell out!!! How could this be? I have never had that loose of primers on once fired brass Is there some thing that I am not aware of? They are winchester brass

If it was this stuff, im not surprised. I shot this stuff in a factory savage and the primers were beyond flattened.

 

[T-shooter]

I recently bought a lot of brass that was supposed to be once fire and when I got them they had flattened primers and when I went to deprime and clean them, most of the primer just about fell out!!! How could this be? I have never had that loose of primers on once fired brass Is there some thing that I am not aware of? They are winchester brass

Had the same thing happen. Primers loose and large ejector marks on some the cases. These were .308 Hornady cases. Definitely weren't fired once if they were factory ammo, not with that kind of pressure. From then on I never use fired brass except for pistol ammo.

 

[dogdude]

Never buy ''once fired brass'' it never IS, but its a good selling point. I've been burned the same as you..primers just fall out. No more ''once fired'' for me.

 

[RW]

I am with you on on getting scamed!! They were 270 wichester That I had planned on resizing down to 6.5 Ackley Imp and sure don't want to start with brass that is already trashed!! They all look the same with the same primers. But they sure deprimed way to easy! Well learned a lesson on that one I would have rather had a small amount of good ones as apposed to a lot of bad ones!! Ron

 

[ragsflh]

call the guy you got them from.if it was me i would replace bad ones,he should do same i hope

 

[ragsflh]

now there is some makes of brass i shot and primers fell out.thats why i buy lapua brass.my 2 cents

 

[RW]

now there is some makes of brass i shot and primers fell out.thats why i buy lapua brass.my 2 cents

well I am sorting them and atleast I will have a supply for setting up and checking my annealer, I will buy Lapua from now on I think, That way you only cry once, Ron

 

[V509]

call the guy you got them from.if it was me i would replace bad ones,he should do same i hope

I would assume all were loaded the same and not use ANY OF THEM

 

[Big Mc]

I recently bought a lot of brass that was supposed to be once fire and when I got them they had flattened primers and when I went to deprime and clean them, most of the primer just about fell out!!! How could this be? I have never had that loose of primers on once fired brass Is there some thing that I am not aware of? They are winchester brass

The only way I would buy used brass is from a friend. That way I know it,s history.. Tommy Mc..

 

[KevinThomas]

I'll throw something else out as an added caveat, something I ran across with a customer a few months back. A fellow contacted me complaining that his new, unfired cases seemed to have loose primer pockets and were failing to hold primers on the second loading. In speaking with him, he stated he'd bought these as bulk, from a seller over the internet; new, unfired Lapua 223 Match cases. He still had a bunch that he hadn't loaded, and I asked him to send them in for me to examine. He did, and upon opening the package, I saw that the cases didn't have they typical annealing marks on the neck/shoulder area. Otherwise, the cases did indeed appear to be new, unfired brass. I seated primers in a few, and they were most definitely loose. Especially considering how tight our primer pockets in new cases normally run. In looking at the heads and primer pockets of a few of these, I noted a very slight, but discernible marking within the primer pocket; the discoloration of where the anvil legs had been. On the case head, again under magnification, I could make out the outline of an ejector mark. These were fired cases, obviously used in a fairly hot load, cleaned and sold as "new, unfired" brass.

With the advent of stainless steel pin tumbling, you can easily turn fired cases into what appears to be new, unfired brass. Obviously, there's going to be a few out there who will try to take advantage of this, and have already done so. The customer was very understanding, and agreed with what I'd found, but the moral of the story is clear; if it seems too good to be true . . ..

Just watch who you buy from, and if you get hosed by one of these idiots, let your fellow forum members know the details.

 

[Dgd6mm]

I bought some supposedly once fired .300 WM brass recently from a shop I go to. It will not happen again.

Don Dunlap

 

[Milo 2.0]

I usually give guys the "Red Foreman Dumbass" speech for buying used brass, but guess who just bought 300pcs of twice fired 6 comp match brass last night. Me

 

[brassman]

Been selling once fired brass for almost 20 years. We get brass from major firearm's makers or law enforcement agencies- it is all factory- I can tell you where the brass came from and what type of weapon it was fired out of. I stay away from people calling me to sell me their "once fired brass". Been burned too many times. Doesn't mean I haven't seen factory brass with flattened primers that goes in the scrap bucket. A good reputation is hard won and easily lost.

 

[M-61]

I've never been able to justify the savings vs the unknown.

 

[joshb]

Same thing goes for used barrels, by the way. I just found out I got burned on a used 30br barrel. Lightly used? I'm seating a Sierra 125 touching the lands with only .15 in the case. This throat is waaay to long. I thought I was safe, given the life of the 30brs. Could be the reamer used. Either way, I can't use it like it is.