Thoughts on using once fired brass?

Braces Airgun Masters
also another issue you may come across is where someone has made a "hot" load and expanded the case so much that you can hardly get the primer to stick in without falling out of its pocket beacuse it has been expanded so much. They are for the bin.
 
Sinistral said:
PPU cases can be a problem no matter the rifle.
Click to expand...

This has been my experience with virgin newly purchased .308 PPU brass that I’ve then FL sized as part of the loading process.

Okay, it was for a Merkel Helix which apparently has a reputation for being fussy about the brass it’s fed due to the initial short linear to rotational action of the bolt on extraction, but having said that, other brass from Norma and Lapua have never presented similar FTE issues.
 
paultap said:
Just to clarify, I am a pretty competent reloader, though I have only used once fired brass from another rifle once to date, it was Norma brass that came cleaned, full length resized, trimmed and annealed. It also came In the factory ammo boxes , the seller looked to have done a good job."]

I reloaded 50 rounds, skipping the full length resizing process as this had already been done, that was a mistake as I struggled to close the bolt on the loaded ammunition, My Sako 85 in 243 must have a very tight chamber as I have had this problem with New Privi factory ammo also. I also have two new A zoom .243 dummy rounds and I can't close the bolt on one of them! I always do a thorough job on barrel cleaning so I know it's not carbon or debris build up in the chamber.

The rifle is very accurate and shoots very well with most factory rounds and what little reloads I have put through it. This experience and Watching that YouTube advice got me thinking. I pulled the bullets and haven't used the cases since. I will try full length resizing and making up some dummy rounds with these cases to check they load and cycle ok before making up any more ammo with them.

It could be that the seller who I had bought the cases from hadn't adjusted his full length sizing die properly and that the mistake I made was to assume that all would be ok, without checking to see if the cases would chamber and cycle first!

Many thanks for your replies guys!

Once fired brass is fine. Norma is very good brass too. The only real difference between once fired norma brass and new norma brass is around £60.
Full length size all brass every time is key.
As for resized brass some else has done, resize it again for your own peace of mind. I wouldn't trust anyone elses work.
Use a head space comparator brushing to measure your once fired brass and set your dies to bump the shoulder back 2thou. The previous owner may well have sized the brass perfectly well but to their own chamber specifications not yours. I hate it when people advertise once fired brass for sale then go on to say they tumbled, resized and de primed it. They need to leave it alone and stop messing with it.
Click to expand...
 
paultap said:
Just to clarify, I am a pretty competent reloader, though I have only used once fired brass from another rifle once to date, it was Norma brass that came cleaned, full length resized, trimmed and annealed. It also came In the factory ammo boxes , the seller looked to have done a good job.

I reloaded 50 rounds, skipping the full length resizing process as this had already been done, that was a mistake as I struggled to close the bolt on the loaded ammunition, My Sako 85 in 243 must have a very tight chamber as I have had this problem with New Privi factory ammo also. I also have two new A zoom .243 dummy rounds and I can't close the bolt on one of them! I always do a thorough job on barrel cleaning so I know it's not carbon or debris build up in the chamber.

The rifle is very accurate and shoots very well with most factory rounds and what little reloads I have put through it. This experience and Watching that YouTube advice got me thinking. I pulled the bullets and haven't used the cases since. I will try full length resizing and making up some dummy rounds with these cases to check they load and cycle ok before making up any more ammo with them.

It could be that the seller who I had bought the cases from hadn't adjusted his full length sizing die properly and that the mistake I made was to assume that all would be ok, without checking to see if the cases would chamber and cycle first!

Many thanks for your replies guys!
paultap said:
Just to clarify, I am a pretty competent reloader, though I have only used once fired brass from another rifle once to date, it was Norma brass that came cleaned, full length resized, trimmed and annealed. It also came In the factory ammo boxes , the seller looked to have done a good job.

I reloaded 50 rounds, skipping the full length resizing process as this had already been done, that was a mistake as I struggled to close the bolt on the loaded ammunition, My Sako 85 in 243 must have a very tight chamber as I have had this problem with New Privi factory ammo also. I also have two new A zoom .243 dummy rounds and I can't close the bolt on one of them! I always do a thorough job on barrel cleaning so I know it's not carbon or debris build up in the chamber.

The rifle is very accurate and shoots very well with most factory rounds and what little reloads I have put through it. This experience and Watching that YouTube advice got me thinking. I pulled the bullets and haven't used the cases since. I will try full length resizing and making up some dummy rounds with these cases to check they load and cycle ok before making up any more ammo with them.

It could be that the seller who I had bought the cases from hadn't adjusted his full length sizing die properly and that the mistake I made was to assume that all would be ok, without checking to see if the cases would chamber and cycle first!

Many thanks for your replies guys!
Click to expand...
Once fired brass is fine. Norma is very good brass too. The only real difference between once fired norma brass and new norma brass is around £60.
Full length size all brass every time is key.
As for resized brass some else has done, resize it again for your own peace of mind. I wouldn't trust anyone elses work.
Use a head space comparator brushing to measure your once fired brass and set your dies to bump the shoulder back 2thou. The previous owner may well have sized the brass perfectly well but to their own chamber specifications not yours. I hate it when people advertise once fired brass for sale then go on to say they tumbled, resized and de primed it. They need to leave it alone and stop messing with it.
Click to expand...
Apologies for some how managing to cock up my reply. Hopefully you will make a better job of your brass prep than I am currently doing with my posting o this forum.
 
I have loaded Brass from all points of the universe, some once fired and then gone on to reload for many more times than mentioned/recommended by some on here. If it is new to me then I fully resize but once used by me I kneck size only.
I had a Norma case separate on one occasion but I always inspect them before use and look for anything 'different' and on this occasion the bright ring just forward of the case head looked a bit brighter than usual so I gave it a tug and squeeze and managed to pull it apart.
I also periodically case length them and if any show plenty of swarf coming off the mouth then it's time to use just once more then bin.
 
Only point I would add is to make sure that once fired is really once fired, especially if you are paying good money for such brass. I would irritated to buy "once fired" brass only to find it starts splitting necks etc like brass that has been reloaded ten times.
 
Another one for full length resize and crack on. I imagine that the chap is correct in his theory but it will be a barely measurable difference that would not make any difference to most reloaders. If you are chasing 100% perfection then follow his advice.
 
The first time you fire that once shot brass in your rifle, it'll be indistinguishable from virgin brass shot in the same rifle.
THEN you have to decide what you want to do: neck size, bump back the shoulder a couple of thou with a minimal full length resize or just a plain full length resize every time.
Me?
The middle option, which means I'm still shooting some brass that's well into double figures regarding reloads (though I'm annealing every 3rd or 4th load).
If you don't want brass to ever get stuck in the die, then Imperial Sizing Wax is THE way to go & only needs a teeny amount.
 
paultap said:
Just to clarify, I am a pretty competent reloader, though I have only used once fired brass from another rifle once to date, it was Norma brass that came cleaned, full length resized, trimmed and annealed. It also came In the factory ammo boxes , the seller looked to have done a good job.

I reloaded 50 rounds, skipping the full length resizing process as this had already been done, that was a mistake as I struggled to close the bolt on the loaded ammunition, My Sako 85 in 243 must have a very tight chamber as I have had this problem with New Privi factory ammo also. I also have two new A zoom .243 dummy rounds and I can't close the bolt on one of them! I always do a thorough job on barrel cleaning so I know it's not carbon or debris build up in the chamber.

The rifle is very accurate and shoots very well with most factory rounds and what little reloads I have put through it. This experience and Watching that YouTube advice got me thinking. I pulled the bullets and haven't used the cases since. I will try full length resizing and making up some dummy rounds with these cases to check they load and cycle ok before making up any more ammo with them.

It could be that the seller who I had bought the cases from hadn't adjusted his full length sizing die properly and that the mistake I made was to assume that all would be ok, without checking to see if the cases would chamber and cycle first!

Many thanks for your replies guys!
Click to expand...

It's quite possible he's full length sized the brass to fit his rifle. This is what I do, so there's a mere 0.002" set back on the shoulder, thus vastly reducing the stretching & work hardening on the cases.
 
I reload for a dozen or more cartridges, and I'm a brass scrounger.
I pick up pretty much anything and everything I find on the ground at the range if it looks to be in reasonable shape. It all gets deprimed, a good cleaning, polishing, full length resizing, a trim for length, and a chamfer in and out. All the handling allows plenty of opportunity to check for imperfections including signs of head separation. Once sorted according to cartridge and manufacturer it's ready to go. After the first firing in your own rifle, you can set your sizing die to do a neck size without pushing the shoulder back for the next several loadings (lever action rifles excepted).

Range brass is a great freebie for reloaders. My only new brass purchases are for "new to me" cartridges which I don't already have a supply of, and/or am unlikely to find laying around at the range.
 
AS everybody above said basically... crack on!

To put it another way...
If you were 16 and I said "NEVER sleep with a woman who gives you the OK & thumbs up",

you'd still be a virgin!
think of all that fun you missed!
 
Heym SR20 said:
Only point I would add is to make sure that once fired is really once fired, especially if you are paying good money for such brass. I would irritated to buy "once fired" brass only to find it starts splitting necks etc like brass that has been reloaded ten times.
Click to expand...

As said try and make sure it is once fired which is hard, I bought some once fired Hornady brass off this forum and when they arrived some of them still had the spent primers in the cases which were not original primers which obviously meant it had been fired more than once. Never had a problem with them but I bought them as once fired and they weren't, they had obviously been fired more than once.
 
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