what are some ways to mark my brass each time it is reloaded? I tried doing a search before asking but no good results
method to mark brass for number of times reloaded.
- Thread starter stradibarrius
- Start date
I run brass in lots of 100 and don't clean or process them until the whole batch is ready to go. Once I've processed the whole lot I mark inside the ammo box with a piece of masking tape and a sharpie 1x or 2x or 13x or whatever.
Some will drag a small file across the rim of the case for number of firings. Not bad for a case that won’t get shot a ton. If you plan to get many many firings out of it, probably not that practical.
I do all of my prep work at once, so once all of my casings are fired I clean, resize, trim.chamfer, and prime. That way all I have to do is throw powder and seat bullets. I keep all my prepped brass in one container and then after it's fired I move it to another container. once fired through all of it I repeat. I don't keep track of how many total firings they have necessarily, but I anneal every third firing.
Yup I do the same. After prepped and primed they go back into another ziplock marked with caliber and number of times fired and then into a big rubbermaid storage box. I usually do 500+ at a time so it's easier this way.
Ziploc gallon sized bags. I just write Prime 3X, Alpha 3x, whatever on the bag. I deprime at the range, so as soon as I get home, the brass goes in the appropriate bag. I'll clean in batches, say 200 Alpha at a time. My clean brass sits in those cheap food storage containers you can buy at Walmart until I'm ready to load.
I keep a logbook in excel for all of my calibers (page for each) batches of ammo and gun round counts. I only take one batch of brass to the range (or hunting) and put it in a bucket or bin when I get home. For the precision stuff, I mark the bins. This rack is on wheels and come with the bins, so it is convenient to move in the gun room and work out of for reloading. The container the loaded ammo goes into is then marked. The random cases I end up with here and there go into practice ammo batches only. I found that sharpie comes off too easily and I got a batch or two mixed up. I have been doing this method for about 8 years now and it works for me.
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Thanks, great ideas. I have marked with a sharpie 1,2,3 etc marks but sometimes the marks come off. The plastic bag idea and then marking the ammo box sounds like a method I could stick with. The file idea always worried me.
I'm going to try the bag idea, but if someone else has a different method please let us know.
I'm going to try the bag idea, but if someone else has a different method please let us know.
Devils advocate: does it matter how many times a piece of brass is fired?
After the brass is fully prepped and is fired twice out of the chamber why does it matter if it’s on firing 5 or 35? I keep track the first couple of firings to make sure the brass is well “seasoned” but after that into a large bin it goes.
This is assuming you anneal/trim/chamfer every firing and it originated from the same lot #
After the brass is fully prepped and is fired twice out of the chamber why does it matter if it’s on firing 5 or 35? I keep track the first couple of firings to make sure the brass is well “seasoned” but after that into a large bin it goes.
This is assuming you anneal/trim/chamfer every firing and it originated from the same lot #
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For example: With Win brass on my .308 it matters alot. With Fed Brass on my .308 smae thing. The Win brass starts to exhibit case web expansion signs around the 4th for 5th firing, I know after that I need to be keeping a closer eye on the web to prevent incipient head seperations. And these aren't caused by sizing too much it's just that Win 308 brass for some reason has very uneven thickness and starts out with smaller than other brand brass diameter at the case web (at least in my last two lots of 50. Add that to maybe I've got a generously sized chamber and its very important to keep track of loadings. The necks of Federal brass I have(which I will never load again once they are shot) end up with necks splitting around the 5 or 6th firing. For the most part if you keep track you can stay ontop of safety issues that may arrise.
I bag it and mark it too. This is a good way to do it because I have brass that's almost 20 years old and if I didn't mark it I'd have no idea how much I used it. I like to use same lots and same headstamps, so if I have 1x brass with an odd headstamp I may sit on that brass indefinitely until I have enough to bother with loading.
When there's enough to load a new lot, I'll do 'em all the same time. I usually wait until I have enough to do 1-2k unless it's LC 5.56 or cheaper, in which case I may not bother with until I have 10k or enough to work through 8lbs. of powder or more. I'm using a 650 press though so work goes really fast. When loaded, it goes on stripper clips and in the appropriate cardboards in military ammo cans with a dessicant pack (this is convenient for me). I also include an index card with all the load info, dates, etc. The outside of the cans usually get one of the labels that come with components.
If you load small numbers, the method of using plastic cases and the included labels works. Just stick with whatever method you use, if you get sloppy you'll have no idea how many times it's been used and will doubt the ones you may have correctly labelled.
When there's enough to load a new lot, I'll do 'em all the same time. I usually wait until I have enough to do 1-2k unless it's LC 5.56 or cheaper, in which case I may not bother with until I have 10k or enough to work through 8lbs. of powder or more. I'm using a 650 press though so work goes really fast. When loaded, it goes on stripper clips and in the appropriate cardboards in military ammo cans with a dessicant pack (this is convenient for me). I also include an index card with all the load info, dates, etc. The outside of the cans usually get one of the labels that come with components.
If you load small numbers, the method of using plastic cases and the included labels works. Just stick with whatever method you use, if you get sloppy you'll have no idea how many times it's been used and will doubt the ones you may have correctly labelled.
