Hi all. I was wondering how you experienced reloaders keep track of the number of reloads on your brass. My record-keeping is truly poor.

You may have ruled me out with the "experienced" part, but..... I keep 3x5 cards w/ all my reload data for each caliber. On the back I date each reload and the amount of brass done at each load.

First of all, I try to keep brass together, so to speak. That is, I try to keep a box of 20 or 50 or 100 together so that they have all been loaded and or trimmed the same number of times.

When I reload I keep very stingent records in a binder and on each box of reloads goes a label that is available from Midway. This label lists:
Caliber
Bullet weight, brand and style
Powder weight and brand
Primer
Case
Times loaded
Case length
O.A. length
Date
Lot #

I try to be sure to update the "Times loaded" line each time I use a box of brass.

Again, these are Midway Reloaders Labels, available at 1-800-243-3220.

R F

I buy my brass in lots of 100 or more for each of the rifle calibers (about 20,)for which I reload regularly. I keep a small (about 4") looseleaf notebook with the data of all brass I buy, which includes the brand, source and the other pertinent data. If I buy more brass of the same brand for that caliber, I will mark that new brass with a distinctive small notch which looks like an apostrophe, on the head with a small file and note the mark in the record (such as W' on the head of "Winchester" brass,) to enable segregation should the brass get mixed later. The weight, prepping and sorting, if any, is noted.

At each each sizing operation I note date and what was done, whether annealed, neck sized or FL sized, along with any failures found in the inspection process. It's fast, easy, and enables tracking of performance related to your sizing. When you're done with the brass you can dispose of the page along with the brass and replace it. Works for me!

I write the load on each box or partial lot in a box. This detail extends to writing the load on the side of a case with a marking pen. When I find a good load I commit it to memory. I can remember loads from years back.

When I chorongraph a load I fill out the data on a sheet and keep it in a notebook. I have data going back 40 years.

As to lot control I don't load many rounds at a time. It boils down to the fact that when I go even varmint hunting it seems that I don't get many shots and when I go to the range I am satisfied to shoot six to ten shots from a rifle and put it away. Sometimes I fire only one shot and keep the target.

Still I want lot control but mine is on a small scale. Thus while I have a vibratory case cleaner I am more likely to clean a case with a paper towel and or NevrDull. I use each case in the box in order and mark the outside of the box with how many times that box was reloaded.

This counting is not really that important. What is important is the condition of the case and safety is the primary concern. Thus the check of the web with a wire feeler gage.

I conceed that more records are better than few but I get by with my system.

Keep in mind that I go to the range almost every other day and when I go coyote hunting this afternoon the odds are that I will not fire a shot. That's the way it is here.

If you shoot 220 swift, you don't have to keep track of the brass to long. Not confusing then.

Gentlemen,

We keep all our reloads in MTM boxes, and inside the cover, we keep a sticxker with the details of the load.

On that I stick a removeable Scotch tape, on which I just right 1,2,3 etc. on it as I reload that boxe of brass.

I keep an extremely detailed MS Access database record of everything I load. I keep everything from load details such as brass firing counts to velocities to accuracy. Almost all of it is keyed on lot numbers. Every time a detail of the load changes (such as primer lot#, bullet lot#, anything)I create a new load record with a new lot #. The only thing I write on the ammo boxes is the lot # and the bullet weight.
With this set up I can associate any load with it's velocity, accuracy or even the gun it was fired from.
Even with all of that it is still challenging to keep the brass physically segregated by the number of times it was fired. The best solution I can come up with is to throw out all your brass, buy all new, load it all, and don't load any new until the whole lot has been cycled. Not a pleasant answer. I'm resigned to live with the occasional imperfection as best I can rather than do that.
Hope that helps.

I have a paper-based system I developed in the '70s to track reloading and results. Years ago I bought an MTM Reloaders Notebook, a three-ring binder with sheets for recording firing results.

I also inserted a three-ring punched notebook in the binder. The notebook gets all the data recorded on load planning, development and testing.

I make notes in the notebook in chronological order, and I record a lot of data. For new cartridges I also weigh and record data on factory LOAs, case weights, etc. For development loads I record charge weight, velocity, fired case expansion, along with the components used. Some loads I consider I never load, so they are still in the book as monuments to whatever brainstorm produced them.

I take a 5"X8" notepad to the range to record air temperature, and to make notes on firing results. I also record #rounds fired, and cumulative # rounds fired for the couple of rifles that I am tracking that for. After I get home I measure groups and record them in the notebook.

I keep brass in cardbox or plastic boxes, and include one of the stick-on labels that bullet manufacturers supply in the box. I mark on it in pencil the number of firings for that brass (#F= ).

My notebook pages are graph paper, so I can graph results for visual display. Changes in the slopes of curves tell some interesting stories.

I was a physics major as an undergrad, can you tell?

jim

I don't keep that sort of records. I prep say 100 cases ready for powder and bullet. Then I load thru this block of cases. I may load 20, 50 or whatever but all of the lot are fired before I start over. The first time thru some blems may show up as split necks or what have you. These are, of course, discarded. After that I shoot them in sequence until I start getting split necks or loose primer pockets. Then I dump them all and start with a fresh batch of cases.
I have some .243 cases that I opened into 7-08 cases that I have been reloading for almost 20yrs. Not constantly, I'll admit, but the pockets are still tight and the rest of the dims are acceptable.

I buy brass in boxes of 500, when I prep a block or two of cases I put them in a big ziploc storage bag inside the box.

On the bag I mark the caliber, manufacturer, # of firings and whether they're clean or prepped, e.g.:

.280 Rem. R-P NEW prepped
.280 Rem. R-P 1x DIRTY
.280 Rem. R-P 1x prepped

etc.

This way I can pick new or once-fired cases for hunting or load development, or multiply-fired cases for practice.

I had a feeling there were many "systems" being used out there. Thanks for all the advice. I'm sure this will help!

I shoot several rifles and keep detailed records of all brass shot and resized. I take a box to the bench that will hols 50 rounds, marked new, or how many times it has been resized and shot. Back at my reloading room I put that brass in a holding block marked accordingly, 1,2,3 fired etc. I keep the once fired brass that has been resized and prepped for hunting purposes, usually. Two of my rifles shoot new brass as well as once fired. I find all the paper work a chore, but very necessary. I have trouble getting my buddies to keep good records. I will see them pick up a handful of reloaded cartridges that came from three different loading sessions and different brass preps, maybe even different bullets, or primers mixed togather and expect to shoot small groups. Good shooting.

I haven't decided yet whether the records matter (as opposed to just inspection), but I wish I had better records on my older stuff.

So now I give names or numbers to each box of brass, and keep a chronological record of as much info as I can, every time I load or shoot. If I want the info later, then when I actually know what I want, I can extract it. Meanwhile, the chronological record is fairly painless.