Magnetic Brass-Looking Shells??

[cavallo]

My mind is officially blown. I went to the outdoor range today and picked up all of the 9mm brass that I shot as well as a bunch of 9mm shells left by a previous shooter. I noticed that a lot of the shells left by others was silver (it looked like typical nickel-coated brass.)

When I got home I grabbed a magnet to double check the silver shells and sure enough they stuck ... they must have been steel after all. But then the unexpected happened: I put that magnet down into the bucket of range pickup to quickly pull all of the steel out. Out came A LOT of shells; silver and brass colored.

At first I thought that maybe the primers in the brass shells were the culprit. I decapped some of the brass shells and they still stuck to the magnet.

Not all of the brass cases were magnetic - it looks like only those with a "CC" head stamp are magnetic.

I went ahead and threw out all of the magnetic shells but my mind is blown. Have any of the other reloaders seen this? What is going on? Why would a manufacturer coat steel in brass??

 

[JTKelly]

Steel primers

 

[Michigan Slim]

Steel primers

Look again. No primers

 

[Wolfhound]

Steel coated brass has been around. Not sure what manufacturer uses the CC head stamp. Expect low quality stuff to be left at a public range.

 

[OutdoorDad]

electroplated steel. best? or worst? of both worlds?

 

[OutdoorDad]

Steel coated brass has been around. Not sure what manufacturer uses the CC head stamp. Expect low quality stuff to be left at a public range.

brass coated steel?

 

[Wolfhound]

brass coated steel?

Mea Culpa

 

[OutdoorDad]

Steel coated brass has been around. Not sure what manufacturer uses the CC head stamp. Expect low quality stuff to be left at a public range.

russian stuff

 

[cavallo]

brass coated steel?

FYI: Googling around it looks like CC could be Capital Cartridge.

 

[Wolfhound]

russian stuff

Well yeah as far as I know Russian stuff is just steel case. Maybe they are coating it with brass now. I think there is a ban on Russian ammo right now anyway. Seems like Silver Bear might have been zinc plated steel.

I have seen some silver and brass colored coated steel cases around. I think there was a guy on this forum that tried reloading steel case for a while. Seems like high risk and low reward to me.

 

[Aszerigan]

Steel cases are fine to reload. They’re harder on the dies but they can certainly be used. Aluminum is a no-go though.

Brass washed steel has been around for a while. The brass aids in extraction. I’m sure I’ve loaded a few unknowingly with no adverse results.

 

[2in1evtime]

started finding a lot of steel cased 9mm on the ranges 3 to 4 years ago, brass colored but steel, haven't found any 40 or 45 yet though!

 

[Leo]

you have to coat steel with something or it will rust before it gets to the store. Pretty easy to brass plate, and alternate coatings are not cheaper. Brass is so thin it does not really effect the dimensions, plus it makes the ammo look right.

 

[BigRed]

Steel cases are fine to reload. They’re harder on the dies but they can certainly be used. Aluminum is a no-go though.

Brass washed steel has been around for a while. The brass aids in extraction. I’m sure I’ve loaded a few unknowingly with no adverse results.

True.

 

[bold115uc]

My mind is officially blown. I went to the outdoor range today and picked up all of the 9mm brass that I shot as well as a bunch of 9mm shells left by a previous shooter. I noticed that a lot of the shells left by others was silver (it looked like typical nickel-coated brass.)

When I got home I grabbed a magnet to double check the silver shells and sure enough they stuck ... they must have been steel after all. But then the unexpected happened: I put that magnet down into the bucket of range pickup to quickly pull all of the steel out. Out came A LOT of shells; silver and brass colored.

At first I thought that maybe the primers in the brass shells were the culprit. I decapped some of the brass shells and they still stuck to the magnet.

Not all of the brass cases were magnetic - it looks like only those with a "CC" head stamp are magnetic.

I went ahead and threw out all of the magnetic shells but my mind is blown. Have any of the other reloaders seen this? What is going on? Why would a manufacturer coat steel in brass??

Wild. Not sure I’ve ever taken a magnet to any of mine to find out. Will be now next time just to see. I knew of steel cases but wouldn’t have thought to check for brass coatings.

 

[Creedmoor]

Are you using a neodymium magnet?

 

[cavallo]

Are you using a neodymium magnet?

Could be. It is a very strong magnet that someone gave me probably 15 years ago. I don't know much about it.

 

[Bassat]

Could be. It is a very strong magnet that someone gave me probably 15 years ago. I don't know much about it.

Keep it away from folks with a pacemaker.

 

[Creedmoor]

Could be. It is a very strong magnet that someone gave me probably 15 years ago. I don't know much about it.

Take a pair of dykes and cut one of them.
If it's plated you will know right away.

I'm going to guess it's brass that just has some ferris metals in it.
And these super magnets can hold with just small amounts of ferris in the alloy.

 

[gassprint1]

Take a pair of dykes and cut one of them.
If it's plated you will know right away.

I'm going to guess it's brass that just has some ferris metals in it.
And these super magnets can hold with just small amounts of ferris in the alloy.

Think everyone has a frig magnet, even us older folks. I think those nickel plated rounds are steel also