It is amazing to see how many shooters don’t care about the environment. I am often surprised at how many shooters walk off the range without a second thought, leaving behind the gun cases and other litter. It is my civic duty to clean up or at least pick up the cases for the calibers that I reload. I try to be a positive example by recycling brass shell casings, at least in a gun-guy sort of way, in the spirit of “going green”.
Since years, I have been recycling brass shell cases. When the shooting is done, most people are in the parking lot having a cool drink. I am down on my knees picking out brass. I believe that a shooter cannot have enough brass shell casings. The supply is constantly being consumed by natural attrition. The neck can split or hide in the tallgrass and is often lost. We offer our good fortune to those who sacrifice their necks to the “Range Gods” for good luck.
It is important to remember that handgun shooting can result in a lot of ammunition being used at the public range. Regular shooters need to be constantly replenishing their brass supply. I begin to feel withdrawal symptoms if I don’t have several hundred cases for each pistol cartridge I need to load during the cold New England winters. I ignore my protesting knees, ignore my aching back, and grab all the brass I can find on the range.
Before you can load your treasure, you must treat it properly. You will learn a lot about the cost of cutting corners if you just pick up range brass and dump it into your progressive loading press’s case feeder. It takes patience to recycle brass shell casings.
Step 1: Clean the Shell Casings of Dirt and Debris
Range brass is often full of dirt and sand. It’s often been walked on and ground into dirt. The inside of a vehicle that has been left outside for a while will be covered in dirt or sand. A little bit of sand can cause damage to expensive sizing tools. It won’t take much to jam the loading machine. If dirt is packed into the case and you load it, you might get a high-pressure surprise. This can make your day very miserable.
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First, remove as much dirt and debris as possible from the brass. I prefer to place the brass in a mesh bag, or a plastic bucket with holes in the bottom. Then, shake it vigorously. It is best to do it in small batches of around 100 cases at a given time. This will remove most of the dirt and sand from the casings.
Step 2: Wash the brass
Next, wash the brass. I used a case tumbler and some water with a little detergent. If the cases are extremely dirty, I use the RCBS liquid cleaner. Rinse the cases with clean water several times. If you don’t own a tumbler, place the cases in a bucket with lid. Add water and detergent to it and shake it. Allow it to soak for a while to loosen the dirt. Then shake it again. Rinse and shake the water until there is no more dirt.
The Shell Sorter, shown here with the.380 ACP Plate, has taken a lot out of sorting pistol bullet brass.
Step 3: Sort the Brass Casings
After washing the brass, I sort it. Dillon and other reloading companies sell the Shell Sorter, which takes a lot out of this tedious task. The Shell Sorter consists of three plastic pans with slots at the bottom that allow certain cases to pass and hold the rest. The first one will have.45 ACP or similar-sized cases left, while the next one will have.40 S&W sizes and the last 9mm or similar-sized cases. It is important to not overload them but to only use small quantities of brass. You will still need to sort the brass at the end. The.40 S&W tray will have.357 SIG boxes. The 9mm will have.38 Super,.380 ACP. To allow easy passage of the optional.380 cases, the Shell Sorter comes with an optional.380 plate. This allows for the sorting of the 9mm. You will still have the.38 Super cases along with the 9mm, which must be sorted manually.
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You may need to sort casings by hand
Another problem is that the cases can stick to each other. The.40 S&W case will stick in the ACP.45 ACP, while the 9mm will stick to the ACP.40 S&W. Sometimes all three will be stacked together. They will need to be pulled apart to sort them and also to ensure that the water doesn’t evaporate after washing. After separating the cases, check to make sure that there is no dirt left inside.
Not all casings can be reloaded
Aluminum and steel cases should be thrown out as they can’t be reloaded. Toss any case that is severely corroded. You can have small dents or dings, but any case with enough kinks should be thrown away. Let them dry for several days after being sorted. Mix them up at least once per day and shake the containers or buckets they are stored in to remove any water from the cases.
Step 4: Place Casings into a Case Cleaner
After they have dried, place the cases in a vibrating cleaner with ground corncob medium. Run the machine for several hours to clean all dirtiest cases. After cleaning, you can separate the cases from the medium by placing them in a basket-style separator. The medium will then fall out if they are rotated. I store the cases in 2-gallon paint containers, each one labeled for a particular cartridge.
Step 5: Resize the Casings
Recycling brass shell casings is difficult because you don’t know its history. Any.40 S&W brass should go through a Redding Grx die. I believe the new carbide version is the best option, as it doesn’t require you to lubricate the cases or clean off any lube afterwards. This die eliminates the bulge in the case that is caused by the unsupported chamber of some.40 S&W pistols. This bulge can cause chambering issues with loaded ammo and should therefore be removed. Standard sizing tools cannot get all of it because of the relationship between the shell holder & die. This prevents the sizing tool from reducing the case enough. The GRx die forces your case through the die until it is completely resized.
Step 6: Reload the Clean Brass Casings
You have clean brass cases that are ready to load. It’s a mix of brands and headstamps. It’s too much work to sort it all. I choose a load that is safe in all cases, somewhere between the full power load and the starting load. This allows me to load the cases and shoot with no worries. This is especially true for shooting at pistol ranges. Range brass is not used if I need to load ammunition hot for power factor or hunting. Range brass is saved for practice loads.
Before shooting, all loaded cartridges are checked using a case gauge. This is to ensure that the cartridge will fit in the pistol. One last tip: use knee pads. Greatest invention ever! Continue reading
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Personal Defense World’s first article was How to Recycle Range Brass
