Once Fired Cases - Come On Man!

[Land_Owner]

Pardon my incredulity, but really...what is all of the hulla-ba-lou about "once fired cases"?  Tell me how to know, without a shadow of a doubt, which cases are and which cases are not once fired.  If you  believe the ads that cases for sale are "once fired", then, IMO, you are seriously fooling yourself.
 
I have fired THE SAME (pistol) cases DOZENS of times with no unfavorable results.  I cannot tell them from once fired after cleaning and polishing.  I am not pushing the threshold limit of maximum velocity/ultimate steel strength and I am not mic'ing every case for SAMII specification dimensions either.
 
Range pick-ups are just that.  You cannot tell which are and which are not once fired, unless YOU are the original shooter, and your offering of those for sale is a matter of trust between you and the purchaser, which is fairly freely given on GBO Classifieds.
 
however, everyone should remember Caveat Emptor (Let The Buyer Beware) on "WTS 'Once Fired' Case" classifieds as I am fairly certain that they are not.
 
That reminds me, WTH is the big deal with MORE THAN ONCE FIRED CASES?
 
 

[45-70.gov]

i have been looking into reloading shotgun shells.....for a while
i saved up an assortment of  my own once fired hulls
bad plan.....they aren't as interchangable as brass   as we know it


so i got 500 ''once fired'' hulls  off gun broker
all 500   AA winchesters looked great  and identical wear
$15 if i recall correctly


probly  some one had access  to some training facility  with a good buget
where they buy pallets of identical ammo


just my limited experience with buying  ''once fired''

[D Fischer]

Been a long time since I've got what is called "once fired". But if I was at a range and someone was shooting factory stuff, I'd ask for it. With shotgun hulls, wear on the crimp is a pretty good indication of how much it's been used.

[twoshooter]

Military cases of course have the crimp, if they have colored primers they are likely once fired. I know that many are represented as once fired  but are not. What one wants is cases from shooters who buy factory and do not reload. That way you have the best chance of cases that are not work hardened, not stretched a lot and trimmed. I have loaded many cases multiple times with no problems, but I prefer to buy the newest ones I can.

[mdi]

A while back, like when I started reloading, "once fired" brass usually came from military or law enforcement ranges, and was really fired just once. Now "once fired" is just a term for "used". Doesn't matter to me much either way as I know going into the purchase that the brass is indeed used, and I inspect all my cases before reloading. Some batches are military surplus, and primer crimps verify "once fired", like the last 500, 5.56 cases I bought. In some batches of handgun brass I'll find a rare split case, mebbe a aluminum or steel case mixed in with the good brass, but for the economy, and with a good inspection, "once fired" brass is a deal...

[SHOOTALL]

If it is a reputable dealer then it is a good chance he is telling the truth . If the dealer buys military brass and the primers are crimped then it is a good chance they are once fired. Some factory brass has an odd crimp on the bullet which looks like it is interrupted , if that is present it most likely is once fired . Most handgun brass will not have an expanded expansion ring for once fired factory ammo. If the ring is expanded then the case saw high pressure most likely from reloading at max pressure. Glock's may differ but they are a give away.

[Lloyd Smale]

I wont argue whether it should be advertised as once fired or used but at least in the case of rifle brass you can usually tell. Some like winchester have gold primers vs silver. Sure its possible to use ww primers to reprime it but not many people think that they need to fool anyone with there used brass. Also the biggest telling to me is scratches on the case. If theres not many or none i know its once fired. Most brass by the time you fire it in a chamber and resize it a couple times it gets so scratched that it doesnt even shine up like newer brass. Military brass and some commercial brass in .223 and 308 comes with crimped primers and you have to remove teh crimp to reprime it so uniess your selling me once fired reprimed military brass its tough to fool someone and with the cost of primers these days not to many are going to reprime it anyway. As to why to use once fired brass thats an easy one. Its half the price. Say my brass last 10 fireings. I think its a pretty good deal if its fired once and i get it for half price. Honestly if i knew who loaded it i wouldnt shy from twice fired brass. Another thing i tend to avoid is lake city ammo. Most if it is loaded in ussed brass to begin with and you have no clue how many loadings its had. Ive wasted lots of time depriming and sizing lc brass just to find out the primer pocket is so loose it wont hold a primer. but bottom line is i just shoot to much to be able to afford new brass for all my shooting and will gladly take your used brass.

[mauser98us]

Norma cases used to have np stamped on the primer