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Posted: 11/16/2021 11:43:48 PM EDT
[#1]
The site has aids, but here's a place that was selling it...
https://www.outdoorlimited.com/rifle-ammo/223-remington-ammo/winchester-223-remington-ammunition-q3340-62-grain-open-tip-purple-tinted-brass-20-rounds/ |
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Posted: 11/17/2021 1:27:56 AM EDT
[#2]
Never heard of it. Interesting.
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Posted: 11/17/2021 1:28:58 AM EDT
[#3]
Not sure of the process they use to color the cases, but they are designated as training rounds for LE and others.
I'd just leave them purple and load them with a load you'd like to easily ID. https://www.ar15.com/forums/AR-15/Its-PURPLE--Winchester-Q3340/16-753240/ |
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Posted: 11/17/2021 2:56:27 AM EDT
[#4]
Quoted: Since it sticks out like a sore thumb, I can’t help but notice the stuff at the range. And it’s guaranteed once-fired, and a caliber I shoot. So I scarf it up. But wet tumbling seems to do something to the coating, turning it really dark. So I want to remove it. But how? I thought it might be ordnance-grade lacquer, but alcohol, lacquer thinner and even brake cleaner didn’t do much to it. An hour tumbling in walnut seemed to take it down a little, but the stuff is still purple. Does anyone have an idea what Winchester uses to stain these cases? They use both plain and nickel plated brass, so I don’t think it’s a chemical stain like Brass Black… The purple ammo is DHS contract training ammo. It's officially known as RITA (Readily identifiable Training Ammunition). It's intended to keep DHS LEOs from carrying it in error. I don't know what Winchester uses but it comes off on your thumb. Load mags all day and you look like you just voted in Iraq. What ever Winchester uses it is hygroscopic (attracts water) and if you let it get wet / leave it out in the rain it will increase drag coming out of the chamber and induce extraction / ejection malfunctions. |
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Posted: 11/17/2021 6:44:22 AM EDT
[#5]
OP, you might try a wet tumbler with pins..the pins would remove that I think...
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Posted: 11/17/2021 2:53:36 PM EDT
[#6]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Not sure of the process they use to color the cases, but they are designated as training rounds for LE and others. I'd just leave them purple and load them with a load you'd like to easily ID. https://www.ar15.com/forums/AR-15/Its-PURPLE--Winchester-Q3340/16-753240/ THIS RIGHT here.......... |
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Posted: 11/17/2021 5:34:12 PM EDT
[#7]
Quote HistoryQuoted: OP, you might try a wet tumbler with pins..the pins would remove that I think... I’ve tried that. It doesn’t remove much (if any) of the purple from cases that started out nickel plated. But wet tumbling does turn “purpleized” plain brass cases kinda black. For the nickel cases, it looks like walnut media does a good job of cleaning them. From experience, walnut isn’t good enough for plain brass cases. But it’s hard to tell with some of these cases whether a case is plain or nickel under all that purple, so… Added: I’ve contacted Winchester about this. We’ll see what - if anything - they have to say. |
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Posted: 11/18/2021 3:11:12 PM EDT
[#8]
And here's their reply:
Submission Date: 11/17/2021 9:43:49 PM Question: What do you use to color your purple “training ammunition” cases? As a hand loader I have come across a pretty large number of purple fired .40 S&W cases with WMA headstamps. They are a challenge to clean before processing. I’d like to be able to remove the purple from fired cases, if that’s possible. Answer: The information you requested is considered proprietary information and is not published, sorry for the inconvenience. So I guess it's time to start experimenting... |
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Posted: 11/18/2021 3:51:51 PM EDT
[#9]
Well at least you got a prompt answer, good luck with your experiments.
I would probably try Acetone, Lacquer thinner, Mek next. Outside of course. |
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Posted: 11/18/2021 4:05:43 PM EDT
[#10]
I have acetone, lacquer thinner, ISO, brake cleaner, and odorless mineral spirits. My earlier tests were really quick - maybe the purple stuff is stubborn enough to require soaking, or whatever.
I'm really curious why the plain brass cases blackened in wet tumbling, while the nickel cases didn't. The purple seems to have reacted with the citric acid in Lemishine... So I may sacrifice a case or two to look into this. |
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Posted: 11/18/2021 4:43:13 PM EDT
[#11]
have you checked that they are brass and not steel cases? maybe they use some sort of bluing to chemically color the cases.
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Posted: 11/19/2021 7:49:47 AM EDT
[#12]
They are brass. Add a healthy spoonful of Lemishine to your wet tumbler and it’ll take it right off. Otherwise it’s just Winchester brass. Reloads and shoots just fine.
ETA- I ended up tumbling them twice, total of six hours. Switched the water in between. Don’t put anything else in with them as the other brass will come out looking very dark. Anther tumble with Lemishine fixed that. |
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Posted: 11/19/2021 12:40:44 PM EDT
[#13]
Quote HistoryQuoted: They are brass. Add a healthy spoonful of Lemishine to your wet tumbler and it’ll take it right off. Otherwise it’s just Winchester brass. Reloads and shoots just fine. ETA- I ended up tumbling them twice, total of six hours. Switched the water in between. Don’t put anything else in with them as the other brass will come out looking very dark. Anther tumble with Lemishine fixed that. I can see re-running my “started off brass” cases with extra Lemishine. It was one of the things I planned to try. I may do the nickel ones separately, just to see if they behave differently. |
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Posted: 11/20/2021 6:29:03 PM EDT
[#14]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Thanks for the tip. Were your cases plain brass? I can see re-running my “started off brass” cases with extra Lemishine. It was one of the things I planned to try. I may do the nickel ones separately, just to see if they behave differently. Plain, not nickel. Seems like good brass just additional work for the initial prep. I’ve got some loaded up with H4895 and PRVI 69gr OTM’s but haven’t shot them yet. |
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Posted: 11/20/2021 10:23:56 PM EDT
[#15]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Plain, not nickel. Seems like good brass just additional work for the initial prep. I’ve got some loaded up with H4895 and PRVI 69gr OTM’s but haven’t shot them yet. Ah. You have the 5.56mm training brass. They have made .40 S&W purple training rounds with both nickel and plain brass cases. Fortunately cartridge brass is cartridge brass, so the extra tumbling should work for pistol cases too. |
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