Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Marking your reloaded cases

About a year ago on a sticky threat titled "Good 7x57 Reloads"; I saw the following post by Long John, "The 160gn Woodleigh thing ended badly, the cartridges "somehow" were dropped and the box flew open. Result all the carefully arranged loads got intermingled."

If your reload than I will assume that we have all encountered similar incidents of this nature. Early on to help "clean up and rearrange" I came up with a method that works for me and I would like to share. I started marking the brass cartridge heads and primers with colored "sharpie" type pens. For example, say you had a range of powder loads from 42.0 to 44.0 in .5 grain increments. I would mark my loaded test cartridges something like this;

42.0 grain load ----- primer marked green
42.5 grain load ----- primer marked black
43.0 grain load ----- primer marked blue
43.5 grain load ----- primer marked green with red slash on the brass part of the head.
44.0 grain load ----- primer marked red

You can develop your own mix of colors and designs for a greater range of loads. I tend to reserve the red color for my hotter load levels.
I then print a gouge sheet showing the case head colors and patterns with the matching load data (including powder type and estimated or anticipated velocity, coal, etc. and put that in the box with the reloaded test rounds. The colors usually come completely off during the next de-priming and brass cleaning. I am sure others have similar procedures, but this has worked well for me!

CJ

I write charge levels directly on the cases.

BINGO! Me too. Not fathoming this color-coded "trick".

Dang, I thought I came up with that idea.

Same here.

Sharpie is one of the most useful tools on the bench.

I write the charge,powder,seating depth and bullet weight on the case with a sharpie.Takes a little time,but never a question what's in the case.

I put sticker inside of cartridge box. It has load info.

Suppose you have four sets of five with a different charge for each set. Now spill the box. What do you do?

Zip Lock Bag, with load history written on a 3 x 5 card...

If you are that worried, 3x5 card with load and velocity expected. Sharpie to number them 1 thru whatever.

Different powders, different numbers corresponding with each load.

Seems like that would be much easier than all info on cases.

I use an Ultra Fine Point black Sharpie to mark the primers. The primers are a circle, so:
the 1st load has no mark,
the 2nd load has a line across the primer,
the 3rd load has and X ,
the 4th load has 1/2 of the primer blackened,
the 5th load has all of the primer blackened,
the 6th load has a dot in the center of the primer.

I also put a strip of masking tape on the side of the shell box that mark with a line between each load, and draw a circle between each line and mark the above code in each circle. I also write the weight of the powder under each circle on the tape. And I mark the code of each load on the corresponding line in my Reloading Log.

When I'm chronographing loads I have a small spiral notebook that I write the date, caliber, bullet, weather, and other load data at the top of each page, then I mark the circle code down the page with a space between each load.

All info doesn't go on the cases. Just something like 39.5, 40, 40.5, 41, 41.5 indicating the charges of 4895 with the info card in the box recording all the info.

I just write"42.0" on the cases, 42.5, 43.0, etc. I thought I was the only idiot that dropped ammo boxes (occasionally). The slip top cases are the worst offenders. I now wrap em up with masking tape as soon as I finish loading.

I write the load data on a little load book to take to the range and each load gets marked on the primer end.

Bare, 1 line, X mark, circle, three lines.

Me too.

For load work-up, I write everything down in the binder, then number each cartridge with a a sharpie. If rounds 1-4 are at one charge, I make sure those go into the rifle for that group. The sharpied numbers come off easily with rubbing alcohol after resizing.

For a box with a given load, I'll put a piece of paper inside with the recipe, lot numbers, number of firings on the brass, E(velocity), etc.

These days, I've even gotten so anal retentive as to use the foam squares from the Barnes bullet boxes to protect the tips of the loaded cartridges when I close the ammo box on them. It's almost as important to accuracy as using green tape on the muzzle.

FC

I find it very easy to mark them with a sharpie...

I'm going to get you a Sharpie with spellcheck for Christmas.

Similar to my system.
ZL Snack bags with load data on bag.

Why not just list loads in your notebook as #1....#2.....#3.....etc. Then mark on every case of that load as #1.....#2.....#3.....etc.