What is Once Fired Brass?

Once Fired Brass (OFB) is not new brass, it is an ammunition/firearms industry term to loosely describe brass bullet casings that has been fired at LEAST once. Although called “once” fired, the actual number of times fired is unknown as each piece of brass does not have a ‘counter’ to indicate how many times it has been fired. All brass fired is called Once Fired Brass, there is no such thing as Second Fired Brass or Third Fired Brass. If looking for a perfect case, better to purchase new brass cases.

We have serviced indoor, law enforcement (LEO/SWAT), ammo manufacturers and military ranges, and contrary to popular opinion from our competitors and some reloaders, they all have brass that has been shot more than once (regardless of their policies and rules). Therefore, we never claim our brass has been shot only once, we know better as we see this every day.

Only a very naïve person would think that any company could guarantee that 100% of their tons of brass would not have some brass that has been shot more than once. Just because a range has a policy, doesn’t mean that everyone will follow it. How many people have never exceeded the speed limit, and that is a law, not a policy.

Unit of Issue

Unit of Issue (usually with a yellow highlighter), indicates how may pieces of brass per package. This could range from 1 piece to serveral hundreds. The inventory database is what powers the website, so when we receive 1 piece of xxx brass, we update the inventory to indicate that is what we have. The next day we may sort and find another dozen, in which case we add those to the current inventory. Customers can either purchase that one case or wait till there is more. Although 98% of our customers prefer packages of 50, 100 or greater, we have others that only want a couple of pieces of this caliber for a gift, jewelry or to fill the last 2 empty slots in their ammo box. 

• Our range brass includes commercial and military casings (this means there may be crimped primers and we make no guarantee of what amount will or will not be crimped, it could be anywhere from 0-100%). We do not sort by headstamp, manufacturer, case length, flash hole size, primer crimp, or primer size, unless specifically stated.
• Regardless of our stock photos, some brass may be deprimed. 
• We may add additional brass to compensate for brass that could be damaged or miscounted at our discretion. Usually when we do, it is 2 to 3%.
• Brass purchases are for an 'As Is' condition. We do not warrant these for every possible use and bullet combination, they are for general reloading in a multitude of guns. Some also may be deprimed, regardless of our stock photos. If they are damaged and can't be used, we will replace them, with the exception of bulk dirty brass.
• OFB may have imperfections, such as minor dings, dents, or bent mouths. Most flaws can be easily removed during resizing or upon first firing. This does not mean they are unusable, it just means you must resize them and fire them to remove the dings. Most bent mouths are fixed during the normal reloading process, learn more here. 
• Brass casings come with several different primer flash hole sizes,  .057 small flash hole, .074 (standard size) and .110 (50 BMG). Ensure you have the correct decapping pin when resizing/decapping as there is not a standard and manufacturers can use any size they want.
• Additionally, manufacturers do not always follow SAMMI standards. They can and do vary the case length on some brass (i.e., Hornady LeverEvolution), use different size primers, and may use nonstandard primer flash hole sizes (regular size is .074, small .057, .110 BMG). Ensure you have the correct decapping pin when resizing and decapping, as there is no standard and manufacturers can use any size they want. The wrong size pin will make decapping difficult and break pins. Many who have difficulty depriming think it is due to the crimp, however, sometimes it is due to a small flash hole. Norma, Lapua, Speer (their 357 SIG for example), WW, some Federal, Remington Peters (R-P), IK (Igman), S&B, DAG, and MAL. have the small flash holes.  There appears to be a growing trend to use the smaller flash holes.
• Additionally, there is not a standard for primer sizes in cases, manufactures can and do, use different sized primers in their products. Note, Federal has both large and small 45 ACP, as does Starline for their 6.5 CM, and many others do the same.

To learn more about OFB such as the recycling process, read our article “New Brass vs Once Fired Brass”.

Inspect All Brass

• ALL brass must be thoroughly inspected and resized. Inspect product for correct caliber and primer size, as incorrect caliber or “bad” brass may ship occasionally. Not inspecting brass before reloading causes most issues during reloading, and by inspecting first, you will save much time and money.
• Carefully inspect and resized/decap brass WITH YOUR DIES prior to loading. You will need to FULL LENGTH RESIZE prior to loading. Accurate reloading is based upon consistency, if you don't resize your brass with your dies prior to reloading, then they are not consistent, and your accuracy will suffer. US Reloading Supply is not liable for damage to your equipment or weapon under any circumstances.
• Some brass sizes may include CRIMPED PRIMERS. When working with crimped cases, care must be given to ensure the primers are removed correctly and swaged. If you do not understand the difference between these types of cases, please contact us for information prior to ordering.
• All purchases of brass are in "as-is" condition. We do not guarantee these for every application or bullet combination; they are intended for general reloading in a wide range of firearms. Regardless of our stock photos, some brass may be deprimed. If they are damaged and can‘t be used, we will replace them, with the exception of dirty bulk brass since we did not sort them.

NAS3 Cases