Bad range brass

[joem]

I have always in the past picked up brass at the range. Over the years I have accumulated a buch to reload. Recently I picked up a bunch of .308 empties. Reloaded them and they are real crap. Brass is super soft, rims under size that tear off on extraction, primer pockets so soft the primers fall out after shooting. I'n done picking up range brass, I hope. Now I have to sort through a bunch of reloads to find them, pull down and scrap.

[bruce]

Don't know what the headstamp might be on the problematic brass you found. Once upon a time I had similar problems using Federal Gold Medal Match .308 Winchester brass. Never tore off a rim, but the primer pockets opened up after being fired only two times and that was with relatively mild reloads. Had similar problems with the brass when fired in a very nice tight Remington 700 in .308 Winchester. Ended up having to scrap the brass. Never had a similar problem w/ Remington or Winchester brass. Lake City brass is very excellent for reloading. Sincerely. bruce.

[PhillipM]

Don't know what the headstamp might be on the problematic brass you found. Once upon a time I had similar problems using Federal Gold Medal Match .308 Winchester brass. Never tore off a rim, but the primer pockets opened up after being fired only two times and that was with relatively mild reloads. Had similar problems with the brass when fired in a very nice tight Remington 700 in .308 Winchester. Ended up having to scrap the brass. Never had a similar problem w/ Remington or Winchester brass. Lake City brass is very excellent for reloading. Sincerely. bruce.

I leave Federal or FC laying at the range.

[DaveL]

What's the head stamp on that bad brass? I'm guessing S&B?

[slamfire]

If you find Amerc, I would recommend tossing it. I found the stuff, used it, had a number of primers fall out because the primer pockets expanded. Finally culled that brass, but I have seen AMERC rifle brass, and I tossed it. There were reports of factory new AMERC blowing up guns, this was an example.

[joem]

I always toss Amerc brass. Stuff is crap for reloading.

[psteinmayer]

I'll only pick up range brass in 30-06 if it's LC or HXP. I don't even use civilian 30-06 brass anymore!

[Jim in Salt Lake]

I pick up all the range brass I see. It all goes in the recycling bucket. The last bucket I took in got me almost $150 which paid for a great end of season party for our junior team. I just can't trust something picked up off the ground, who knows how many times fired, what chamber size fired in, etc.? I just like to know that stuff and keep track. So, pick up all the brass you find, fill your bucket and recycle it, and use the money to buy some new brass.

[psteinmayer]

Now that sounds like a great idea Jim! Going to start doing that now...

[mikld]

I'll pick up every piece of brass I find, except rimfire. I inspect every case before I process it and, perhaps luckily, I haven't had any problems. I used to shoot at an organized, well constructed and very well run outdoor range in So.CA. (Angeles Silhouette Club) and only picked up a few cases, from non-reloaders I bet, and almost all brass cases were just newly fired factory stuff. Where I shoot now, a "range" up in the hills outside of town, I pick up all kinds of brass but, I inspect it all very closely. I'm just an average reloader and don't expect 1/4" groups outta my .308, and if I did I'd only use the best, purchased new by me, brass I could find. For my handguns I sometimes shoot mixed brass, but most of the time sort by head stamp (outta a habit I formed in '69-'70.), and rarely have a problem with range pick-ups...