[BenW]

Do you guys mark your brass in anyway so you can identify it on the ground at the range? If so, what do you use to mark it?

I ask this now because ever since 11SEP the amount of people that go to the heretofore little used shooting area in the National Forest near my home has increased dramatically. Good to see new shooters (especially shooting 1911's), but half these guys leave their brass on the ground when they leave (don't get me started on not only the bad example littering-wise they leave about shooters, but the waste of brass)and it's getting increasingly difficult for me to pick my own brass out of the mess.

I usually pick up all the newer looking brass I find (along with a box of old brass and litter) to make plinking loads with later, but I kind of like to keep my own brass separate by loads and amount of times I've used it just for my records.

Some way to mark it for positive ID that doesn't come off from the round being cycled and that hopefully survives tumbling so it doesn't have to be applied every time I reload would be ideal, though I'm up for ideas on marking each time I reload too. I guess I should also add, something that isn't super time consuming to apply. I could use one of those electric etchers to sign my name on each cartridge, but well, you get the idea...

Anxiously awaiting bright ideas,

ben

 

[SMASH45]

I use a colored paint marker and put a hash mark over the brand stamp, next to, but not touching the primer. It has lasted 3 tumblings so far. getting a little dull.

 

[gyp_c]

Same here and I carry an old broom to sweep around the area at about 6ft away from the shooting points at roughly 3-5 O'clock...works fer me...Oh, and in the snow...Carry an 8x8 blanket, you can get 'em for about 5 bucks on sale and they make a great car or truck blanket for multi-use. Much better than a tarp...I fold it in half and put it at about3-5:00 and 3ft to the right...

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>>>>>>>>>>g2<<<<<<<<<<

!!!Molon Labe'!!!

 

[GrandmasterB]

I use a Sharpie marker and put a black X on the case head. Most of the folks I shoot IPSC with mark their brass. After shooting a stage you hear things like: "who is .40 with one green stripe?" and "who is .45 with a black X?" when folks are picking up brass for each other.

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Byron Simpson

 

[Genghis]

Nothing about 45 ACP brass that is going to come to great shakes by separating yours from the stuff on the ground. If you were running "tight neck" fire-formed, moly bullet, varmint loads in a bench rifle that would be different. But then you'd be loading one round at a time, and manually removing it from the receiver.

I shoot a bench rifle, just for the record. 0.3xx MOA on a good day (Rem. 700 PSS, .223 Ack. Imp., Pac-Nor barrel).

I also load and shoot a lot of handgun ammo. Most handgun brass I just load and shoot until it splits. Most everyone else does the same.

For defensive loads, I'll match headstamps. Even been known to run Starline brass and +P configurations. But most of the loading is with range pickups . . . tossing out the real mutts and the rest into five gallon buckets with little regard for headstamp, or the number of times the stuff has been through a gun -- or even what gun it's been through.

Most range pickups are "once fired" . . . If it's on the ground, it's because the shooter bought new factory ammo and doesn't reload.

Oh yeah . . . Thanks for picking up the mess. We ALL need to pick up the mess after shooting. Most places I shoot in National Forests look like a hazardous waste dump.



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What part of "shall not be infringed" needs 'splainin' ???
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PowderBurns Black Powder / Muzzle Loader Forum

 

[Ken Neal]

One of my pet peeves is range litter, especially from people using Blazer. All of the people that I shoot with pick up their brass and left over range brass as well.

A good practice to get into, especially if your using an outdoor public area.

 

[BenW]

Genghis,

I'm not so much into marking my pistol brass for quality control (different story on a couple of my rifles) as I am just for the fact that I've always been an experimenter. I like to see how many loadings I can get out of a particular load, etc. As I mentioned, I have no problem picking up free brass courtesy of the non-reloaders among us

 

[shooter452]

I really appreciate the non reloaders who graciously leave me all that once fired brass. I often use same headstamp, once fired brass for specialty target loads, but the rest of it gets inspected, thrown in a bucket, cleaned, then fired until there is no headstamp remaining.

I too resent people leaving Blazer cases, but make a point of picking it up and dumping it in the garbage. Just because they foul their nest doesn't mean I want others to have to wade around in it.

 

[paranoid]

I let others have my brass or simply throw it away.I get free once fired .40 brass.
As a matter of fact,I just got about 10k more last weekend.

...life is good

 

[doctor j]

I use a red and a blue Sharpie pen. Once I have a box loaded, I draw a red stripe across the cases in one direction, and then I draw a blue stripe 90 degrees to the red stripe. The marks usually come off in the tumbling process during case cleaning.

 

[bowhunter]

I use a blanket in areas such as this just pick it up and dump your spent brass in whatever contianer you have. Man I guess I am lucky nobody and I mean nobody leaves spent .45 cases around here 9mm yea a little but not much.