Thread: Smith and wesson 308 brass

Originally Posted by shooternz

That would be a wsie more I was given some 1980's vintage once fire Sako .222 Rem cases some of the necks split on resizing, Old brass is not worth anything it goes brittle with age unless packed and stored properly.

Ok full discloser. I know SFA about reloading but like to think I have a few clues about metals, and nothing supports this statement at all. The brass used in ammo is not a precipitation ageing alloy which is the only way any metal can magically get harder without mechanical work or heat treatment (not necessarily talking about brass here) and others like hydrogen embrittlement or nitriding are not relevant.
Other possibilities like corrosion from not storing clean and dry are fair enough but not age.

So, IMHO if someone has some old brass (80s for example) that you know for a fact has only been once fired and is free from any corrosion then use it. Unless in the last 40 years they have tweaked the brass alloy used (which is possible), it should be no different than one fired last week.