What's your system for rotating brass?

[ReaperDriver]

So I picked up 200 pieces of new Lapua .308 brass from powder valley a while back with good intentions of tracking the round count religiously and keeping like counts together. I had planned to use 100 and shoot it till it died and set the other 100 aside when those wore out.

Well, as you can imagine, that didn't work so well. On some range sessions when I was doing load workups - I was shooting 60-75 rounds at a time. Other times, I would shoot only 50. And again at other times - it was 40. So as you can see, lots of odd amounts that I could never keep together. So now I have brass that has anywhere from 1-8 rounds on it and everywhere in between. I know I kinda screwed the pooch on this batch of Lapua. But they are still shooting fine.

So what's the best system for when I get my next 100-200 pieces? I don't really want to always be forced to shoot 100 at a time just to keep everything even when I'm just doing a short range session and only need 40-50 rounds. Thoughts?

 

[ECH]

Re: What's your system for rotating brass?

I have 400 pcs of Lapua brass that I run through before I need to start over again. When I am done with a shooting session, I dump the spent brass in a 3gal bucket w/ lid marked with the number of times it has been fired (for this purpose, lets say it had been shot 3x). Then I pull some out of my other three gal. bucket marked with the number of times IT has been fired (this one would be all 2x fired brass) and tumble, size, prime, charge and seat. When you get near the end of your supply I just keep those rounds segregated in an MTM box and use them at the range first.

 

[Victor N TN]

Re: What's your system for rotating brass?

A lot of my loaded cartridges are in 50 round plastic boxes. There is room for a 3 X 5 index card. I have code numbers for my loads. I can tell how many times they were loaded and how hot the loads were.

But most of the younger crowd doesn't want anything as simple as a pencil and an index card.

 

[TresMon]

Re: What's your system for rotating brass?

I typically run them until I feel the primer seat into the pocket noticeably easyier than the others. I then take a needle file and file a obvious groove in the rim of the case to mark it. When I fire that round the case goes into the trash can at the range.

Not super scientific, but works for me. As primarily a long range shooter I run loads on the warm side of things. Typically I get loose pockets before I get a groove eroded ahead of the web.

 

[Rafael]

Re: What's your system for rotating brass?

I have 500+ Lapua cases for my 308's current batch. They reside in MTM 50 rnd boxes. Each firing receives a tick-mark on the box-top with a sharpie. When you get new brass just wipe off the sharpie marks with an alcohol pad.

 

[Supersubes]

Re: What's your system for rotating brass?

I do basically what ECH above does but I use stackable tupperware like rectangular bins. When I get near the end of a bin I will usually just load the rest up and shoot them. I'd rather not have to worry about sorting brass in the field.

 

[Pat M]

Re: What's your system for rotating brass?

I just shoot it all, untill primers fall out or neck splits = then i don't use that piece of brass

 

[ARCOREY]

Re: What's your system for rotating brass?

I have 4 MTM boxes for my 243 Lapua brass that spend their entire lives in the same boxes. I circle the row numbers in the bottom of the lid label marked 1-10 as I finish the box and get ready to tumble. The boxes are also labeled in Sharpie 1-4. If I have a few rounds left in a box and plan to shoot more than what is left, I take several boxes. I put the brass back in where they came from and label my targets to match my boxes and rows. That way I can look at pressure signs when I get home too and make notes on the brass and targets. When I tumble and prep, I do one box at a time to keep them sorted. So far it has worked well.

 

[Jester8]

Re: What's your system for rotating brass?

I have 3, 100 round lots for my 22-250. I don't shoot each lot of 100 at a time, unless I get into the prairie dogs. Anyways, when I shoot up a "batch" they get loaded again, and a mark inside the lid of the MTM of how many times they have been loaded. Simple enough for me. Each lot gets tumbled, sized, trimmed, primed, and charged by itself. NO mixing of the brass.

 

[ReaperDriver]

Re: What's your system for rotating brass?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ARCOREY</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I have 4 MTM boxes for my 243 Lapua brass that spend their entire lives in the same boxes. I circle the row numbers in the bottom of the lid label marked 1-10 as I finish the box and get ready to tumble. The boxes are also labeled in Sharpie 1-4. If I have a few rounds left in a box and plan to shoot more than what is left, I take several boxes. I put the brass back in where they came from and label my targets to match my boxes and rows. That way I can look at pressure signs when I get home too and make notes on the brass and targets. When I tumble and prep, I do one box at a time to keep them sorted. So far it has worked well. </div></div>
OK, wow. That's a lot more anal than I'm looking for. But hey, if it works....

 

[ARCOREY]

Re: What's your system for rotating brass?

The funny part is that my 243 is the only one to get such treatment. I've got 223 Winchester brass that has 5-6 loads mixed with 1x stuff for my AR and it out shoots the 243. I neck size the 243 stuff, so I want good records of how many firings so I can get an idea how long they'll last and when a FL size is needed. Plus I'm trying to get the whole 200 round lot as uniform as possible.

 

[Dreamweaver]

Re: What's your system for rotating brass?

I get a reasonable size batch together of about 500 pieces all same headstamp, i am currently using WIN brass.

I then have 2 medium storage boxes for my rifle brass labeled Trimmed and Sized and a # FIRE box.

I process all the brass in one go and place them into the T&S storage box and start using these to reload.

After use i then place them in a box labeled 1 FIRE.

When the T&S box is empty i size and trim all the brass in the 1 FIRE box and move them to T&S box.

Then change the label on the FIRE box to 2 FIRE.

Simple.

~Mike

PS - Before someone points it out....i size then trim...i just call it trimmed and sized dunno why.