Collecting brass and bullets.

[ovenpaa]

Looking at my case the bottom half for pistol and short stuff is rather sparsely populated. A couple of people have asked me where the case itself came from, a neighbour was going to take it down the local tip so I saved her the journey. If you hunt around you can find them for sensible money if you hunt around.

[ovenpaa]

I do a fair amount of polishing of the bits we make so I just drop the cases in a box next to the polishing station and then do them at the same time as the guides or whatever. The only thing I do is change the wheel (20 second job) to one that is used only for brass.

The only reason I do not do them immediately is polishing is a filthy job so I try to do as much in one go as possible.

[Maggot]

I do a fair amount of polishing of the bits we make so I just drop the cases in a box next to the polishing station and then do them at the same time as the guides or whatever. The only thing I do is change the wheel (20 second job) to one that is used only for brass.

Polished.jpg

The only reason I do not do them immediately is polishing is a filthy job so I try to do as much in one go as possible.

Arrrggghhhhh

You know my take on polishing Dave....the anoraks would have your nuts for "Display purposes only" :55:

I like the look of the printers case, but mine are all in plastic trays in storage boxes.

Some of the big stuff is on display but if you think I am going to dust this lot, forget it!!

Anyway, who wants to look at bullets? If folk are that bothered they can put on a pair of cotton gloves and dig in...but will be searched when they leave.

Mine are all catalogued with examples of their bullets etc (Ideally pulled from a spare example).

I am afraid the anoraks would also have my nuts in a vice as I always drill a tiny vent hole (you could hardly see it) in the small pulled versions for 2 reasons.

1. I like to show them as inert, which apart from the primers they are

2. Some of the older ones I have oiled have produced some rather spectacular results with green foam exiting the case over a period of time, best let it out then.

I am not worried about the intrinsic value of the things, but to be fair some I would not drill, preffering to leave head and bullet seperate (or removeable).

Dunno what I have now, a couple of hundred types, all sorts and it continues to grow.

Again, always on the look out, stuff turns up in the oddest of places, even the bins at the NSC have produced the odd find.

[ovenpaa]

I do a fair amount of polishing of the bits we make so I just drop the cases in a box next to the polishing station and then do them at the same time as the guides or whatever. The only thing I do is change the wheel (20 second job) to one that is used only for brass.

Polished.jpg

The only reason I do not do them immediately is polishing is a filthy job so I try to do as much in one go as possible.

Arrrggghhhhh

You know my take on polishing Dave....the anoraks would have your nuts for "Display purposes only" :55:

Eunice, I understand what you mean however this is a far from serious collection and I do have a mixture of polished and 'Au Naturale' The printers case just seemed like a logical place to keep them so they are neat and tidy and I can see them at the same time, plus in this sort of location means other people can pick them up and have a closer look if needed. I had a bit of an organise of the case last night and have segregated by belted, Improved, bolt face etc.

It still needs a load of work and I need to dig some more out. I will put like cases in groups so I know when I have duplicates.

It is just a bit of fun really.

[Maggot]

The real bugger is I cannot upload a decent image of my lot Dave, I will send you a copy.

You can zoom in and look at them easily.

I am not anti polishing, but some need preserving as they are (for example, I have one that was given to me that had clearly been through the war, I kept it as was), a new Lapua with that lovely annealing should stay as it is as well.

Likewise, some of the military stuff will have coloured annulus and tips that are easy to destroy if polished.

I did hear that a light polish with bronze wool was an accepted way to take bad grunge off of a case.

The pulled round is a bit of a conundrum.

Do you drill a small hole near the base, leave the bullet out (actually a good idea as it shows the bullet form as well) or leave it whole less powder with an oiled primer?

I like to prove mine safe, but some of the real oldies wont get drilled.

A solution I saw at Warminster was to label each round with a small watch makers label (On a piece of cotton) with a dab of PVA or tied round the rim.

Don't use glue or gum as it does the brass in, PVA is water based and easy to peel off.

I also like mine to be handled, I am going to try Davids suggestion of hairspray as it can be removed if needs be.

Its a fascinating thing, you cannot collect several hundreds of rifles easily, but you can collect many thousands of cartridges without a licence.

Many of these spawned or enabled the design of rifles that were built to serve the bullet and not the other way round.

The bullet is the weapon if you like (sorry, but that is what a vast majority of them were designed for and I make no apology for using the word as it is important in context) the rifle is merely a launcher.

So the cartridge is usually the egg and not the chicken.

I tend to keep doubles, or a loaded case and a separate bullet if I can, the rest go in a box of spares to hand on.

It is not a very big box though.

Having the collectors ticket has helped in so much as folk who would previously not have bothered have given me things that are really worth having (Boys ATK being one) that I could not have held previously.

I don't like paying for bullets, not because I am tight (I have paid and I will if needs be) but having collected since a kid of about 7 (I still have the original head of a .303 dug up by a mate) where and how you find them, and their provenance is what really matters.

I wont be selling mine on and I don't sell any on, I give away if I have spares, the plan is if I snuff it they either go to another collector, a museum, or go to my step son. To me the worth is in the design and diversity of their purpose and not financial.

While we are at it, a huge thanks to anyone here who has given me the odd bullet of twenty, all appreciated more than you realise.

Jees what a saddo!! :lol:

[ovenpaa]

Eunice, this is your collection sized to suit the forum requirements.

[Dougan]

Another nice collection...I'd love to have a rummage through that lot tongueout

There's nothing 'saddo' about your approach, especially as you collect genuine rounds - Most of my rounds are ones that have been fired (so definitely no live primer) and had a new bullet put back in; so I just run them though the tumbler occasionally - I only have 5 that appear original (made inert professionally) with an unfired primer...which I clean by hand just in case.

I got an old 1934 .303 - It was in poor shape with bad discoloration and corrosion encrusted on it...a 24 hour soak in C2R took off the corrosion and even some of the discoloration...it's now half presentable and the head-stamp can be clearly read

[Maggot]

Eunice, this is your collection sized to suit the forum requirements.

Maggot brass collection.jpg

Ta

On the original you could practically look at each one close up Dave.

I have a package that has been hanging about with some feet and spare cases in it.

I am going to pass you on some of my duplicates as the wife pointed out "Theres no point in having 2 of everything". She's right of course.

Bloody women!! tesnews

It will be after crimbo I am afraid, sorry.

[bobbob]

This could be a bargain for someone's collection. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-Woode ... 3f2dabb947

[Maggot]

Dave

Remember when I asked you what would likely happen if I ignited a stationary tracer.....

Well apart from a pop and a very rapid red flare not a lot really.

I took all the precautions and this is what happened

Firstly I had no idea the old RG tracers (this one hails from the early eighties) were steel jacketed.

It cleaned out very easily.

The other round is a Sierra 2155 (I just wanted to see how thick the jackets were and how big a cavity was behind the meplat)

The an RG 5.56 showing its steel insert

Interesting stuff.....don't worry I wont be messing with anything naughty