Just curious how you keep track of a given lot of brass. I end up working on so many different loads for a rifle , I loose track and couldn't tell you how many times an individual case has been reloaded. Any ideas?

Good question. I am at the same point of trying to devise a system. Right now I just toss out any case that any kind of flaw.

I load for comfortable practice. None of my loads are maximum so the brass isn't nearly as stressed each firing as it might be.

Would like to hear how others manage brass.

Don't have an ideal answer, but here's what I do....
I buy brass in batches of 100, usually. While working up loads, I'll use new cases - never loading one twice. Once I have the load I want, I put the cases in those plastic 50 round boxes, and I make sure the cases always go into the same box.
In other words, I won't reload a partial box- I wait until the whole box of 50 has been fired before I reload it. I record the number of times reloaded on the box label. And in my logbook, of course, but that's another topic....
Probably not an ideal system, but it's what works comfortably for me.

If you use the same brand of brass for one caliber, here's what I do: Get two or three bottles of fingernail polish in different colors. I use black, red and blue. Mark part of the headstamp with a blob of polish and set them aside to dry. I usually use red for the hotter loads, black for practice, and blue for test lots, but it varies on the history of the brass. The beauty of this system is that even after tumbling the brass for days, the polish won't all come off, because it's down into the headstamp itself, below the surface. I have brass I marked ten years ago, that is still marked. It's not easy to see, but with my glasses on, I can tell you what color it is!
Another option is to buy brass from different makers. I try to buy PMC brass for my heavy loads, as I've found it lasts longer than most others.
And once the primer pockets start to loosen on a particular batch, I use them once more, then pitch them. Once the head gets loose, they're past salvaging!
PJ

Divide the brass up into different lots, and along with my loading records, keep track of how many times the lot has been fired, trimmed, etc.

Naturally this means that the different lots have to be kept separate and marked as such.

the more you have of a given caliber, the harder it gets...esp. if you tend to load a lot of ammo to have on hand. Gets real easy then you only have a a few (less than 150) cases for a given caliber (think I should just give each 50/70 case a name?)

Learned my lesson...for serious use, will buy a big batch at once. The miss-matched odd balls, range pick ups, and gifts are put into a big batch marked "mixed" and used for plinking loads or ammo that's going to be abused in semi-autos in a cow pasture (they have this quantum attraction for the nearest cow pie) or other place where the requirements of accuracy are pretty generous and the chance of losing cases is high.

The "good" brass is kept segregated into lots (I just make up a number...usually the date it arrives). Cardboard box, about the size from school candy sales is about right. After shooting, will baggie the empties, write the number of uses on the bag, toss it in the right lot box. Try hard to even out the uses from that lot. Helps to just put the next batch of 2nd fired in the bag with the others marked that way.

So besides my load data, the loaded ammo's container will also have stuff like 2.13.02.3 on it... Feb. 13, 2002 3rd. loading.

But like I said, there is a biggger box of "mixed"...the stuff with the unknown history.

These are some great ideas fellows and I think a combination of several will help me keep track of them. I had even thought about using a number or letter stamp on the brass.

Now I just need to work up the courage to go get the nail polish... do I get bonus points for testing the colors on my nails?

Michael, if I get down there I will show you my load logs. Works pretty well and the only thing you really have to do is put the brass back in the box it came out of.

Just curious how you keep track of a given lot of brass. I end up working on so many different loads for a rifle , I loose track and couldn't tell you how many times an individual case has been reloaded. Any ideas?
Ranch Dog,
GEEZ!,I ust remembered;I have a batch of 300 Savage brass in the vibrator/polisher.
I put them in at 2:00 O'clock;over 6 hours ago.
OK,my brass lots.I waste a lot of time keeping track of my various calibers,and Makes,case lengths,and various loadings.
I use plastic bags,cigar boxes,baby wipe boxes,Tupperware,and plastic storage boxes.
When I made my reloading bench,I built a drawer to accomodate the cigar boxes.They work fine in the drawer,but I've added a lot more cartridges and now,only put "ready to use cartridges"in them.
I'm not a great shooter,and I have no sub MOA rifle,so I really have no reason to do this;but I do,anyway.
The Tupperware boxes are probably the best way to go.They stack pretty well,and are transparent.
Frank

I buy plastic ammo boxes from Midway and keep all my brass in 50 rd. lots like Jack. I also got a couple of sheets of blank address labels and i make custom blank labels on the computer. Then i fill them out as i load. I need to get in the habit of keeping better track of my load book, but i usually load the same loads all the time. since i am so new to reloading, i have so much once fired brass i should be able to shoot well into next year before i really have to worry much about 2nd fired brass.

I use a product that comes in a two gallon plastic "jar" that when empty, I label (44mag, Starline, fired 1, clean) and use for dirty and clean brass of different caliber and make. Unfortunately, it takes up a lot of room, but works very well. I ususally buy 1000 brass at at time, shoot three times with max. loads, and five more times with target/plinking loads and then discard.

Dan

Due to the nature of our business, I end-up having to test large numbers of loads, to QC various batches of bullets on a regular basis. As a consequence, brass can really get mixed up, and segregating by lot, and numbers of times fired can get confusing.

Here's my solution to the "number of times loaded" quandry. Each and every case, before being tossed into the brass tumbler, gets a quick, efficient and permanant notch applied to the rim of the case with a small, fine trianglular-file. It doesn't take much effort to put a small notch in the rim of a case, and as the number of loadings progress, a case will have a series of notches, all lined up on the rim of the case, small unobtrusive, but permanant notches.

It depends on the cartridge how many "notches" before being relegated to low-pressure plinkers, and ultimately to the scrap-brass bucket, but the system has worked well for me. Takes the guesswork out of the "baggie batch" game.

FWIW,

God Bless,

Lots of paper bags with cases in them. All the bags have notes about the brass in side. New, reload once more etc

ribbonstone - cowpie brass - LMAO!! :D

Seems brass does have a way of finding the darndest places to go out of a semi-auto, doesn't it?

Guess I'm the oddball. Don't really make an attempt to keep track by lot #, other than keeping all cases in the original paper box, or if bulk buy, in 50 round plastic boxes.

Each is labeled and marked with number of reloads and reload number when trimmed/neck turned. Since they are most usually annealed and neck sized or partial body sized, the case last a loooooooong time before being discarded due to shiny ring showing up at the web area or neck/shoulder splits.

Disregarding specialty brass (Norma, Sako, Dakota Arms, etc) my preference is Federal, W-W, Remington and then US military for certain loadings (30-06, .223).

Guess when you get old, you get hard-headed... is every indication I got old in my teens.

Full charge loaded brass lasts until the fourth trim...after that, it goes into the "mixed" box. How many reloads before they get to that 4th trim is variable...tapered cases run hard grow faster than short squat sharp-shoulderd rcases.

Now I shoot a lot from that "mixed" box, but usually it's reduced lead loads (which takes up proably 80-90% of my shooting).

Annealing I'll do for (1) complicated brass conversions that are expensive in time or (2) brass that is expensive to buy. For common run of the mill brass cases, seldom anneal.

Got to look at my system...the "mixed" box could grow to garbage can sized batches of brass. So there will be some loads wehre I shoot them on last time; the ones that didn't get sucked in by the quantum force of the nearest cow-pie are tossed into the range's burning barrel.

Thanks again for all the ideas. The notching Marshall mentioned might be the best idea for me. I have bags and boxes all over the place as I like working on so many different loads and it's going to only get worse! My wife is going to buy me the RSI Pressure Trace (http://www.shootingsoftware.com/products.htm) equipment for our anniversary! Now I just have to figure out what to get her :confused: She really likes her Model 99 300 Savage so I don't know why she wouldn't like one in .358 Win. or even the scarcer .375 Win. ;)

50 round ammo boxs, scrap of paper with load info on it stuck in the box.

So far all of my brass is at most fired twice except the 30-30 plinkeing boxs, I was lucky enuf or unlucky depending on how you look at it to have bought and saved tons of factory ammo before I ever got my reloading stuff, so now it's all been reloaded/waiting to be reloaded/or reloaded and fired once waiting to be loaded again.

Also have a good ammount of 30-30 shells that get reloaded with 180 Grain cast and 11 or 12 grains of Unique for plinking, have not tried to keep track of them in any way, they just go into a box when fired, when a box or 2 gets all fired I reload them, some have probably been reloaded 10 times or so, will scrap them as they show defects.

I still need to get or make a load book to keep track of everything in.