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How do you know when brass is no longer good?
I've thrown out a few that were split, but what are some other indicators?

SOMEONE in this group should have a BEGINNER'S, Mentally Challenged, SLOW, etc. . . class for those of us who would like to reload, but have no clue where to begin. . . . HINT; HINT

VP

I toss a 45 acp case if 1. any crack (generally near mouth) 2. any ding/dent that the resize/decap die doesn't iron out 3. it is Win NT or some Speers (id by area between speer headstamp and primer edge) that use small pistol primers instead of large 4. deep nicks in rim.

In almost a year of loading (about 5000 rounds) i've probably thrown away approx 50 damaged cases and I don't know how many win nt/speer cases.

carlson1

Hhhmmm Reloading for Dummies wonder how much of a market?

It might be a good seminar to include at CHLForum day.

9mm with a "WCC" headstamp gets thrown in the trash quickly. I have wasted more than a few primers on them.

I have also found a few with the primer pocket drilled out quite a bit.....I throw them away.

I also try to throw away anything that appers to have housed more than three generations of spiders

The closest thing to Reloading for Dummies that I am aware of are the Lyman Reloading Handbooks. The 48th Edition is the most recent I know of. With one of these books and a little time one can teach themselves all the basics of reloading. I have been involved in reloading for 50 years 40 of them loading by my self and I have always had a Lyman Handbook handy. Lots of good info at a reasonable price,

carlson1 wrote:SOMEONE in this group should have a BEGINNER'S, Mentally Challenged, SLOW, etc. . . class for those of us who would like to reload, but have no clue where to begin. . . . HINT; HINT

It's funny you said that, Carlson. When Charles & Marc were talking about a reloading class at PSC, I told them they should have a special ed version for some of us.

I had a lot of concerns regarding my ability to learn how to do this. I was initially referring to the primer as "that dot in the middle." (I have since been educated, and have picked up some of the various terminology.)

I read the ABC's of Reloading. If you want to get into reloading, but don't know a primer from a "dot in the middle," I highly recommend it. I went to Dad's, and got clarification from him, as well as application-based instruction.

He also had to come over and help me with that awful Lee Safety Scale. That particular item would make a preacher cuss.

I still know very little compared to people here, but know just enough to load the .45s on my Lee set-up.
(I would like to replace that Lee Safety Scale with something a bit easier to use, like an RCBS 1010. This scale, however, costs more than my entire Lee set-up. )

MoJo, it seems I've heard others singing the praises of the Lyman handbook. I may pick one up and read through it, especially since I'm home until August. It certainly couldn't hurt.

I have always wanted to reload. Then I hear the "war" stories of the mistakes. Now that ammo has gone up so much I am about ready to take my chances

Jeremae wrote: ....1. any crack (generally near mouth) 2. any ding/dent that the resize/decap die doesn't iron out 3. it is Win NT or some Speers (id by area between speer headstamp and primer edge) that use small pistol primers instead of large 4. deep nicks in rim.

Affirmative to the above. Also, re: the brass labeled "WCC": it is government contract brass which usually has crimped primer pockets (this crimp is what destroys primers as they're forced-into the pocket). There are a couple of firms (Dillon & RCBS) which market primer pocket swaging tools. This is nothing you should be wrorrying about at this stage of your game. It's far simpler to just throw the "WCC" brass away (or give it to me).

Also, Affirmative on the Lyman Manual. It's good. I've been loading for many years (picked up the habit at Wpns Trng Bn in Quantico) and have never seen clearer descriptions than Lyman writes.

I believe that an entry level class (forget the "Dummies" part) would be a big hit at the PSC event for this Forum.

If Charles and Marc will do a seminar for the southern folks, I will volunteer Marty to do one in DFW. (yeah, I'll tell him later)

Let's find out how many are interested, then we can schedule a day that works for the majority.

Yea & that is like forcing a teen ager to eat a hamburger & ice cream.

llwatson wrote:If Charles and Marc will do a seminar for the southern folks, I will volunteer Marty to do one in DFW. (yeah, I'll tell him later)

Let's find out how many are interested, then we can schedule a day that works for the majority.

I am interested if it's a weeknight.

longtooth wrote:Yea & that is like forcing a teen ager to eat a hamburger & ice cream.

Hmm...I've got several WCC, TZZ, and others that don't appear to be crimped. (primers seated with no more force than other 45ACP) Did they make some uncrimped, or are these just more-than-once fired?

KD5NRH wrote:Hmm...I've got several WCC, TZZ, and others that don't appear to be crimped. (primers seated with no more force than other 45ACP) Did they make some uncrimped, or are these just more-than-once fired?

I've seen some later-manufactured WCC with no crimp. You're correct, the crimp can also be "worked" out of it the WCC brass by multiple reloadings with forcing the primer into the primer pocket. The other possibility is that its previous owner has used a swaging tool on it. TZZ (Israeli stuff) is something I've never seen with a crimp ... although I've heard that exists.

There's also a military headstamp with just numbers. My experience is that this brass usually has crimped primer pockets .... except if someone has used a swaging tool on it.

If you have more time than sense, you can cut the crimp out with a chamfering tool or a countersink, by hand. Takes a while but only has to be done once on each case.