Brass from shooters to reloaders

[nickf829]

Thanks MindFlayer

From what I've heard/read, steel cases are not supposed to be reloaded. Why? I don't know. Maybe steel weakens quicker than brass, maybe it's just a pain to resize, maybe its to strong, maybe the people i've heard from are just steel'ists or brasshuggers. Who knows. I find my guns to be much pickier when I'm shooting factory steel, so I would assume, if it's even possible, reloaded steel would be worse. Just my .02 though.

[CowboyT]

Depends. The biggest issue is whether it's Berdan primed or Boxer primed. If it's Berdan primed, then it's a PITA whether it's brass or steel. If it's Boxer primed, it's easily reloadable like any other case. You won't get as many reloads (brass cases often get 8-10), but you can get 3 or 4, which still helps.

The steel used for ammo cases has been treated (I'm guessing seriously annealed) to be able to expand and seal the chamber like a brass case normally does. Therefore, it's not going to destroy your resizing dies if you just clean your cases (e. g. tumbling). And if you're using carbide dies, you don't have anything to worry about anyway.

Some of the newer Russian ammo (e. g. some Tula .223 sold at CTD) uses Boxer primed steel cases. Given that it's $3.59 per box of 20 anyway, who cares if you only get 3 reloads out of it?

BTW: DO NOT ATTEMPT TO RELOAD ALUMINUM CASES UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES! The aluminum simply is not strong enough to withstand repeated reloadings and will separate at the case head (very bad) or split like a banana.

[zephyp]

Steel is not very malleable, hence any working of the metal and it becomes brittle. I would not recommend it. Brass is far too plentiful to screw around with it...

[Mindflayer]

I've been avoiding picking up steel since everything I've read and been told has said it's not worth the effort. If desired, I'll start picking up my steel as well.

[jdonovan]

Can the russian steel cases be reloaded? What about Poly Coat?

Can, and is it a good idea are two very separate questions.

Can - yes
Good idea - All the component makers (bullet/powder) say bad idea. I think they've got more engineers on the problem than I do, so I'll defer to them.

Plus I'd like not to have too much excitement when I've got a 60,000 PSI explosion occurring 3" from my face.

[CowboyT]

Well, I seriously doubt Mindflayer's going to be collecting steel cases anyway, so it's sort of a moot point.

[meadmkr]

I wish I had the property to host a shoot & greet but the nearest substitute is Silver Eagle in Ashburn.
If there is enough interest I'm considering hosting a casting & greet with a possible side-trip to SEG if folks want to get some range time in.
It would probably be the Saturday after Thanksgiving (11/27) if there is enough interest (and I can get my garage cleared out enough ).

[Jim]

.....Plus I'd like not to have too much excitement when I've got a 60,000 PSI explosion occurring 3" from my face.

That wording got me tickled!

[jdonovan]

I wish I had the property to host a shoot & greet but the nearest substitute is Silver Eagle in Ashburn.
If there is enough interest I'm considering hosting a casting & greet with a possible side-trip to SEG if folks want to get some range time in.
It would probably be the Saturday after Thanksgiving (11/27) if there is enough interest (and I can get my garage cleared out enough ).

There is a shoot-and-greet scheduled for Hite hollow on Sunday the 28th. Its a bit of a trip from NoVa. But it is a nice range and we can air-out the full-auto stuff there.

Take a look at https://sites.google.com/site/cyansamurai/firearms/ssng for details on the shoot

I'm definately in for a cast-and-greet, but don't know that I can get back-to back kitchen passes.

[CowboyT]

I'd be up for a cast-and-greet, especially if it's in NoVA.

[Mindflayer]

We may just need to coordinate one, CowboyT.

[CowboyT]

I'm up for that. Let's see what we can do. It'd probably have to be on a weekend due to everyone's busy schedules. We could also show some folks how to do it if they've never done it before. Let's talk more about this. Will PM you.

[Jim]

Hey, guys, I've got about 70 gazillion .223 brass. Some commercial, some LC. I'll be glad to trade several to one for any of the following calibers:
6.5 X 55 Swedish
.30-06
.303
.45-70
.38 Spl.

I also have way more .45 ACP than I need. I'll trade a few to one for any of the above, especially .38 Spl.

Any interested parties can PM or email. I check both several times daily.

[CowboyT]

We may just need to coordinate one, CowboyT.

I'm going to start be a bit more proactive on this, because we really should do it, and life always has a way of getting in the way. Now that we're past Thanksgiving, we really ought to do this.

My guess is that a weekend is going to be best. Four of us are in NoVA (Mindflayer, Meadmkr, jdonovan, and myself). I wish we weren't so far away from Jim, given his experience.

I suggest that we list which moulds we can bring. I'll start first. All of my moulds are Lee aluminum ones, and all but one are 6-cavity models.

1.) TL356-124-2R (this is the 2-cavity mould)
2.) 358-105-SWC (works well for 9mm, too)
3.) 358-158-RF
4.) 430-200-RF
5.) TL430-240-SWC
6.) 452-200-RF
7.) 452-255-RF

For those who don't have moulds, you're not out of luck. Lead will certainly be needed to actually cast the boolits. I can bring a few pounds.

[Palladin]

How about 12ga shotgun hulls? I've got a trash bag full of once fired 2-3/4" but the kicker is they're 20 years old. Anybody want them, or should I just toss 'em?

My reloading interests are in rifle and pistol for the foreseeable future...

[meadmkr]

If anybody is coming down to SgtBills Shoot&Greet this spring I'm planning on bringing any surplus brass I have. Mostly 9/40/5.56/38/7.62x39 at this point and am looking for .308 and 45lc....

Cheers
Chris