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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Aug 2010
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Am I wrong to expect the brass to be very usable? I recently bought 142 pieces of 30-06 "once fired" brass and it was chit. I had to throw away 40 pcs because of case head seperation and some were trimmed way down: One being 2.435" which is about .050" shorter than suggested case trim length. Here are some pics: This was the shortest one. The others ranged from 2.465"-2.471" (still too short). Should I be pissed? I'm going to let it slide this time, but feel like if people say it is once fired it should be very servicable. Hell, I just threw away 100 pieces last month that this chit was susposed to replace. Just for the record, I have bought some damn good brass from some good guys here in the past. This time, not so much. What do you guys think????
I try to stick with the basics, they do so well. Nothing fancy mind you, just plain jane will get it done with style. You want to see an animal drop right now? Shoot him in the ear hole. BSA MAGA
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It looks like some (all) of the brass has been run thru a F/L die. I would be kinda leery of brass that had been resized and had the primer punched out. The primer is one of the ways you can tell if it is indeed 1X. If the seller bought the brass as a component, I doubt that he would prep it up, shoot it once, and then sell it.
Aim for the exit hole.
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In my experience, buying second hand rifle brass is a waste of money.
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In my experience, buying second hand rifle brass is a waste of money. Agreed. You have no idea if it is truly "once fired" or not. I pick up all the brass I find at the range and recycle. My guns cost too much to chance shooting brass of unknown heritage.
molɔ̀ːn labé skýla
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I doubt very much the brass was once fired. Unless there was a very significant headspace problem in the rifle, you will NEVER get incipient headspace separation on once fired brass. In addition, as noted above, it's highly unlikely one would size and trim once fired brass they were intending to sell.
You should be pissed.
I have bought LOTS of once fired brass but only from trusted sources. Thus far it has worked well for me. There has been a trend, since the Obama reloading scare, for every Tom, Dick and Harry to sell small lots of range brass and, surprisingly, people buy them. I generally only buy large lots (say 500 to 1,000 pieces) unless it's more unusual brass in which case I might spring for as few as 100.
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What do you guys expect when buying "once fired" brass I would expect it to be once fired. Not trimmed, not resized. Then again, the only used brass that I would use is from a buddy or brass that I cannot find new and I was desperate for (rare or not made often). .30-06 would not be on the radar.
Faith and love of others knows no mileage nor bounds. That's simply the way it is. dogzapper
After the game is over, the king and the pawn go into the same box. Italian Proverb
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Trimmed indicates something other than once fired. 99.9% probability you got ripped on this particular deal. I avoid resized as I want to see the fired primers. They can sometimes revealmany sins.
Imagine your grave on a windy winter night. You've been dead for 70 years. It's been 50 since a visitor last paused at your tombstone..... Now explain why you're in a pissy mood today.
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I have no idea why anyone would want to use once fired brass, unless they plan to shoot it once and not recover the cases - so just for garbage disposable loads.
Treated well, brass is the cheapest of all the reloading components, so it just makes no sense to me to start the reloading cycle with brass that is already messed up (not fired in the gun you are going to use it in). Even Lapua brass is very affordable when you consider it will last 20-40 or more reloads.
Sorry, but you asked what I thought...
Last edited by Ron_AKA; 03/16/11.
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Personally, I wouldn't buy it.
Dober
"True respect starts with the way you treat others, and it is earned over a lifetime of demonstrating kindness, honor and dignity"....Tony Dungy
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BSA, I'm with the others regarding the trimming indicating that it's likely more than once fired. The expansion rings at the case heads in your pics appear fairly substantial. Possibly stiff reloads in a generous chamber. Are you running a L-shaped pick with a sharpened point inside your cases to check for incipient separations that aren't visible from the exterior?
Men ocassionaly stumble over the truth from time to time but, most pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing happened. - Winston Churchill-
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Question- "What do you expect when buying "once fired brass?"
Answer That the one time it was fired it was loaded with an oversize bullet and a powder charge 15% over a proof testing load and fired in an m-60 machine gun with excessive headspace and the wrong bolt.
That would be for 243 brass, of course. Brass for an 06 would have been fired in a 7 magnum chamber. I would expect this because I bought once fired brass from the Campfire once. Just once...
Fred
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I don't buy "once fired" brass personally, nor do I pick up "range brass".
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I've bought and sold once fired brass several times on the Campfire and I've been happy with the deal every time. Never had any complaints from those I sold brass to either.
The vast majority of people at the Campfire are honest, upstanding folks who wouldn't lie to sell $30 worth of brass.
It appears the guy who sold BSA this brass isn't included in that group however.
The Chosin Few November to December 1950, Korea. I'm not one of the Chosin Few but no more remarkable group of Americans ever existed.
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Once fired brass has ben fired once, generally from commercial or military original loadings. Anything different is not once fired.
I have had good luck with a couple of sellers here on the Fire. Many cases I have were purchased as powder mules, so the actual specs are not real important. However, when they're sold as once-fired, that's what they should be. Period.
Sometimes, the air you 'let in'matters less than the air you 'let out'.
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What do you guys expect when buying "once fired" brass I would expect it to be once fired. Not trimmed, not resized. I agree. Why would someone bother resizing it, let alone trim just to sell it, they don't get any more for their time. I've bought once fired and never had a problem. I've generally only bought it unsized and/or in the original factory ammo box.
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Consider yourself lucky it was a small lot. I once ordered 1000 pcs of 45 ACP brass. I ended up tumbling it, putting it in a bucket, and used it as ballast so my truck would get better traction in the winter! whelennut
I like to do my hunting BEFORE I pull the trigger! There is only one kind of dead, but there are many different kinds of wounded.
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Campfire 'Bwana
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OP
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Aug 2010
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Thanks guys. I had no idea it was trimmed or resized when I bought it. I guess I learned my lesson. I've bought once fired brass here on the fire for my new 300 wsm and was very pleased with the brass I got from 4 different individuals here. This time I think I took it in the shorts. Live and learn. Another guy bought from the same guy and he lives about 120 miles from me and I dont' think he'll be a happy camper either. Here's the original post listing the brass for sale. I don't see where it says trimmed or full length sized, but it does say the primer pockets were cleaned and the brass is "polished like new": 1. 375 H&H Mag. 100 pieces new Winchester. Shipped $80 No. 1 -- SOLD PENDING FUNDS
2. 375 H&H Mag. once fired. 16 pieces Winchester, 25 pieces of Federal nickel. Shipped $22 No. 2-- SOLD PENDING FUNDS 3. 300 H&H Mag. 80 pieces once fired. Shipped $55
4. 300 Win. Mag. 100 pieces once fired, mixed headstamps. Shipped $30
5. 30-06 Rem. 140 pieces of Rem. once fired. Shipped $25
6. 358 Winchester. 125 pieces new. Shipped $80 No. 6 SOLD PENDING FUNDS 7. 308 Winchester. 47 new Win., 32 once fired. Shipped $30
8. 7MM Rem. Mag. 24 new Rem. 32 pieces once fired Winchester. Shipped $25
All this once fired brass is polished like new, primer pockets cleaned. Ready to full length size and load. Prefer a Postal Money Order. Upon receipt of your funds, the brass will go out the same day by Priority Mail.
I try to stick with the basics, they do so well. Nothing fancy mind you, just plain jane will get it done with style. You want to see an animal drop right now? Shoot him in the ear hole. BSA MAGA
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I won't buy used brass any longer
Maker of the Frankenstud Sling Keeper
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The only place that I would buy used brass from is one of the companies that is in the business, like GIBrass for example. Sometimes though, it's hard to resist a deal.
It's too bad that your experience wasn't better.
Safe Shooting! Steve Redgwell www.303british.comGet your facts first, then you can distort them as you please. - Mark Twain Member - Professional Outdoor Media Association of Canada
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I expect it to be fairly clean, not corroded. and not re sized, if indeed truly once fired
Clos
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