[Orangejeep]

After shooting your reloads and before dumping them into your storage container, look them over. If they are in good shape keep reloading them. If they are starting to split at the crimp folds or along the body of the hull, toss them out. Don't make it overly complicated. When I started out, I'd mark the base rim with a sharpie to indicate the number of times I reloaded each hull and tried to keep them separated. It took way too much time and I found that even with the same brand of hull, I could get two reloads out of some or 10 before they were trash.

 

[flamborn]

I keep them separated by times reloaded (roughly). I have about 1000 AAs right now I am cycling through. The silver (5 times) are about 2 reloads ahead of the grey (3 times). Was using two colors to separate between 1 oz (silver) and 1-1/8 oz (grey). Since I shoot 1 oz more, the silver get reloaded more often.

I watch the condition. When I see a couple in a group getting cracks and crusty I start examining the entire group closer. That is the only reason I keep them separate. As Orangjeep said, some reload a few times, some 10.

 

[HSLDS]

I don't know - separating shells may have racist overtones...

 

[jwsmith1959]

Clay target boxes with the tops cut off are great. A 135 count box will hold ~500 empty hulls. You can mark on the sides with a big sharpie as to how many times they have been loaded.

Good luck and all the best.

 

[Rabbit-hunter]

I don't know - separating shells may have racist overtones...

Well yeah, gotta kep 'em separated!

 

[Trapshooter1100]

Well yeah, gotta kep 'em separated!

Nice offspring reference

 

[Rabbit-hunter]

Clay target boxes with the tops cut off are great. A 135 count box will hold ~500 empty hulls. You can mark on the sides with a big sharpie as to how many times they have been loaded.

Good luck and all the best.

The sharpie marks maybe a good idea

 

[Tom2536]

I once knew a guy ( Romeo ) (nickname) who won the Grand many years ago and what he would do is load anything and everything in no order all mixed up. I just can't do that I need some kind of order

 

[Rabbit-hunter]

I once knew a guy ( Romeo ) (nickname) who won the Grand many years ago and what he would do is load anything and everything in no order all mixed up. I just can't do that I need some kind of order

Now that would drive me nuts. I couldn't do it. Heck, I gotta put AA's back in AA boxes and Gun Clubs in GC boxes whenever I can

 

[PaulCISSA]

Now that would drive me nuts. I couldn't do it. Heck, I gotta put AA's back in AA boxes and Gun Clubs in GC boxes whenever I can

I use the Sharpie method just so I have a reference when I spot weaknesses or failures. I do separate by type but otherwise my straight-wall OF'd hulls are all mixed together and my AAHS gray OF'd are all mixed together. Every thing that goes through my press gets a hash mark. |

I gave up on boxes altogether years ago. Bins for my three favorite 'bucket' loads. I'm the same way with some center-fire loads. Boxes are a complete PITA.

 

[rrp]

I use the Sharpie method just so I have a reference when I spot weaknesses or failures. I do separate by type but otherwise my straight-wall OF'd hulls are all mixed together and my AAHS gray OF'd are all mixed together. Every thing that goes through my press gets a hash mark. |

I gave up on boxes altogether years ago. Bins for my three favorite 'bucket' loads. I'm the same way with some center-fire loads. Boxes are a complete PITA.

I seperate by brand. Do a quick visual when I reload. Cheers RRP

 

[slide action]

I once knew a guy ( Romeo ) (nickname) who won the Grand many years ago and what he would do is load anything and everything in no order all mixed up. I just can't do that I need some kind of order

But I'll bet he didn't win the GRAND with reloads( unless he cheated and didn't get caught) If it was YEARS AGO not only were new shells required but you had to buy them there.

 

[spitter]

Now that would drive me nuts. I couldn't do it. Heck, I gotta put AA's back in AA boxes and Gun Clubs in GC boxes whenever I can

You've answered your own question... separate by hull type and just visually inspect them at the time of reloading.

If you use the marker... what if you forget, or start second guessing? See you burn throughs or splits... toss 'em.

Generally, there is little ballistic falloff using reloaded hulls. I'd use the AACF hulls to start and if it's a critical event then start using the Remingtons...

 

[saskbooknut]

I never count reloads of my AA CF hulls.
I discard when the crimp shows a split.
I don't see the need for an accurate count of reloadings.
Because AA CF hulls are old, I get 5 or 6 reloads, where I used to get 8 to 10.
Loads in Federal hulls are once and toss.
Hulls are, or were recently plentiful, so I won't push the usage of tattered hulls.
I can switch to AA HS or Gun Club when AA CF finally disappear.

 

[ezz555]

I look at them after they are shot and throw the ones that are bad. I've got better things to do than keep track of how many times they have been reloaded. I don't know what difference it would make anyway.

 

[1straightshot]

Hash marks on hulls is anal retentive. You do know when you load your gun for the last shot of a straight and it has 2 or more hash marks you will drop that target. Just something else to cloud your head on the line.
I also find it interesting that no onen is looking for gas leakage around the primer.

 

[6541]

While I was able to shoot, I reloaded mostly Federal Paper hulls. I put them in target boxes and then put the target boxes in the top of my garage where the heat would dry out any moisture.

When I reloaded Federal papers, i would inspect all the hulls in a target box and toss any hulls with pin holes in the tube and/or a missing part of the crimp. I remember shooting Federal Paper hulls in my 870's until the tube pulled free from the brass head. I always inspected each hull after firing to ensure that I removed the entire hull.

I experienced removing a few Federal Paper hulls from the ejection port with pin holes in the tube just ahead of the base. These may have been existing pin holes or newly created ones. The 870 has a large election port and the firing of a round with a pinhole would send a jet of hot gas out the ejection port. That gas is hot and the pressure very noticeable, especially to a shooter on your left waiting for his turn to shoot. They will let you know if this happens.

If you reloaded a brass headed Federal shell to many times, a split at the juncture of the tube and the head could occur and let gas escape. I had several of these occur out of a flat of shells once. The brass on a brass head is very thin and brass is soft when compared to steel.

I used to bench rest shoot a .223, .308 and a 30-06 some years ago. The Springfield was set up as a Camp Perry Match Rifle with Lyman 48 aperture sights. I may start doing so again as I can shoot from a seated position. I am not able to stand and shoot 25 trap rounds at a time. When I shot bench rest, I kept my brass in numbered plastic boxes and never added a case to a box if a case became damaged. When you shoot and reload metallic, you have to carefully inspect and measure a case each time it is reloaded. I usually resized all of my cases in a box before I began the reloading process


Shooting 25 straight is fun. So is shooting a 1/2 MOA 5 shot group at 100 yards.

 

[6541]

Correction: to a shooter on your right.

 

[derbyacresbob]

I kept track of my hulls by marking the boxes, flat boxes and my storage boxes. It was very easy to keep track of them.

When I shot 2nd green STS shells they would go into a storage box marked 3rd green STS. Marking the boxes and a storage box takes very little time and effort. It is very easy to keep track of your hulls by doing it this way. It is keeping track of the hulls not counting the hulls.

I started keeping track of my hulls in the early 1990's when a friend of mine gave me about 15,000 once fired Win AA Red and Silver hulls. By keeping track of my hulls I never had worn out hulls mixed in with good hulls. I didn't have to go through them and inspect them, when they were fired 4 times I tossed them or gave them away.

If you have to remove worn out hulls from good hulls you are spending more time doing that than you would spend keeping track of your hulls.