One of most popular materials for ammo cartridges is brass. The main reason for its popularity includes ease of reloading, durability, and resistance to corrosion.

Brass cartridges are not new at all; they have been around for nearly 2 centuries. The first brass cartridges were developing in 1846 but it took at least 50 years to refine brass casings for accuracy and reloading.

Over the past 70 years, additional refinements have been made to brass cartridges. The casings have been well studied ballistically in coordination with the power, primer, and bullet. Brass offers the ideal flexibility and balance of strength, allowing it to expand under pressure within the chamber without losing its power, accuracy, or integrity. Today, brass cartridges have earned their reputation as one of the top cartridges in the firearm industry.

 Brass casings have their pros and cons for cartridges:

• Brass is Reusable: A key reason that brass is preferred is its reusability. Ask any gun owner or hunter, and the most common reason is because it can be reloaded. Many people retrieve and reload their brass casings because it beats the price of new cartridges. In fact, most gun shops and fellow shooters are always willing to buy any used brass shells from gun owners. If you reload your own ammunition, the brass casing is the most expensive item in the process.

• Brass is Reliable: Even though brass is flexible, it is very reliable. With that being said, it is less likely to get stuck or impinged in the firearm as compared to aluminum or steel cased cartridges. For those shooting hundreds of rounds, brass has withstood the test of reliability. Another key feature is the softness of the metal itself. It will show features of being worn-out or over pressurized. This sign allows the reloader to see failure points and take corrective action before any harm or damage occurs. With a firmer or harder brass shells, this type of deformation does not always occur but rather the entire case will simply fall apart and may even damage the firearm.

• Brass is an exceptionally soft material which when fired rapidly expands, and then quickly shrinks. When the cartridge is fired, the neck expands and seals the chamber preventing the noxious gases from flowing backward. When compared to steel ammunition, brass is a lot cleaner and has a much lower risk of malfunction in your firearm.

• Unlikely to damage your firearm. Brass cartridges rarely scratch gun parts and this preserves the aesthetic features of your firearm. In addition, brass will not induce a spark when rubbed with other metals.

 Brass is most popular for once fired brass in bulk

While brass casings tend to be slightly more expensive, the overall functional value makes them worth considering for performance and for reloading. Brass makes a great option over other metals such as steel because of its reliability, ease of use and resistance to corrosion. If inspected properly, brass can be used multiple times for reloading as long as there is no damage to the casing.

Contact our Capital Cartridge sales team to discuss bulk brass in either once-fired brass or range brass quantities. We provide sorted, mixed headstamps, washed brass for individual reloading or bulk quantities for ammunition manufacturing.