Thread: Re-loading 'found' brass

I always pick up any brass I see when out on a hunt - cleaned up I've made fishing lures and other items from it. They even work.

I'm currently accumulating my own spent .308 brass, and will have them reloaded (local gunsmith) when I have 50 (his minimum quantity). (I use Federal 150gn in my T3)

My question is this:where I pick up tidy-looking .308 brass (varying brands obviously) - is it wise to throw in with my own brass and have this re-loaded for my rifle - ie where it didn't come from my rifle's chamber?.

Or would I be safest to have my own brass only reloaded?

I'm un-likely to start reloading myself - your advice would be appreciated.

many thanks!

Si

Depends on what you're after

Just cheap ammo, pick up and all is good. It will get better once its been shot thru your rifle once, but never really consistent, coz you are mixing all kinds of brass together. Check whatever you pick up carefully for damage or pressure signs. Also learn to identify Berdan primer cases

If you want accurate ammo, rather buy decent brass (lapua or similar quality) once, and provided you look after the brass, don't load too hot, you'll be sweet for a long time.

Only keep the once fired Federal brass (can tell is once fired, as should still have the primer sealant), to match what you already have.
Don't mix up the brands for your bolt action, as they will have varying weight, softness etc.

You can run into problems with sloppy chambers (ie oversized) in other rifles, so in theory you shouldn't, although I never have.

I collect found mixed brass for my semi auto only, as it has typically loose tolerances (made to fire dirty or mixed ammo) and its for plinking, not hunting/targets.

Originally Posted by ebf

If you want accurate ammo, rather buy decent brass (lapua or similar quality) once, and provided you look after the brass, don't load too hot, you'll be sweet for a long time.

You won't know how many times some you pick up has been reloaded.As above,get a box an you'll prolly get 1000 loads

thanks for the advice guys - you've said what I suspected would be the case. I'll stick to accumulating my own brass only for interim reload, and save up for some quality cases as suggested.

Si

Pick up all the brass you can find mate.

At worst brass has a good scrap value. $$$$$ .... my rejects buy a couple of packets of primers every now and then.

At best you'll have some reloadable brass thats only been fired once.

I have 308 brass thats been reloaded more than 20 times and is still going strong.

Carefully inspect each case for any defects like bulging , head separation and splits, if none are found clean them up, anneal the neck and reload to your hearts content.

Cheers
Pete