Found some once? fired .380 brass

Howard Law

SkipD

Helper-outer
Jun 8, 2012
703
64
63
77
Southeast Wisconsin
Zip code
53024
I do not recommend this sort of brass for serious reloading. The problem is that you have no clue as to what you'd be getting and the probability is that there's a huge mix of brands, case wall thicknesses, case capacities, etc. This would make it nearly impossible to get good uniform results even if the loads created with it were on the "light" side. For any ammo that's loaded to emulate self-defense ammo, this mix of brass would be a show-stopper in my book because you'd have a potentially significant difference in chamber pressures from one round to another.

My suggestion - buy only new brass. Catch YOUR brass with a net while you're shooting and keep it in lots that have all been loaded a known number of times.

My suggestion for new pistol brass is Starline Brass. There is no better pistol brass and their prices are quite reasonable.
 
D

Denny4kids

Guest
What Skip said was great and I agree with his opinions about once fired brass but we are not reloading for a benchrest rifle or high performance handgun. We are talking about reloading for a pistol that has no sights, held with one hand, and shot at targets from 1 to 20 feet away. Even if the velocity of each round were +/-100 fps the shooter would not notice the difference. Maybe felt recoil will be different if the shooter is just standing there but accuracy will be the same. If I'm shooting on the move or with my weak hand recoil feels the same to me with whatever bullet I shoot in the LCP.
I can't see anything wrong with once or more fired .380 brass. It's half the price and new or used still has to be inspected and sized before use. Any minor case volume difference would not be an issue for me in this low tech round. Den