fatelk
May 19, 2007, 10:25 PM
I have a question for you reloading gurus out there.
I recently acquired a bunch of 7.62 NATO brass. I've been sorting through it, tossing the berdan stuff in a recycle bucket, picking out the bad stuff. There is a lot of nice looking once and twice fired USGI brass, but I noticed a couple with bright rings that I instantly recognized as incipient case head separation. I got my trusty mini-mag light and looked in a bunch, and many showed the dark ring inside forward of the web, some worse than others.
Reloading handbooks say this (in one way or another)- "Cases that have developed signs of incipient head separations must be destroyed and scrapped at once."
I have been reloading for many years; I'm far from a novice. I've also done a lot of stupid things. I've had separated cases, ruptured cases, blown primers, etc.. As a result I am much more careful than I used to be. Generally anything that shows any sign of damage get chucked in the old bucket. However, I am tempted to go through this bunch and sort out the worst to throw and get another loading out of the others, the ones that show no sign of separation on the outside and only a shallow ring on the inside. With the scarcity and insane price lately for .308 brass, I hate to scrap 1500+ pieces.
I know the textbook answer (scrap brass is high right now!), what is the practical limit? At what point do you throw out your brass?
I recently acquired a bunch of 7.62 NATO brass. I've been sorting through it, tossing the berdan stuff in a recycle bucket, picking out the bad stuff. There is a lot of nice looking once and twice fired USGI brass, but I noticed a couple with bright rings that I instantly recognized as incipient case head separation. I got my trusty mini-mag light and looked in a bunch, and many showed the dark ring inside forward of the web, some worse than others.
Reloading handbooks say this (in one way or another)- "Cases that have developed signs of incipient head separations must be destroyed and scrapped at once."
I have been reloading for many years; I'm far from a novice. I've also done a lot of stupid things. I've had separated cases, ruptured cases, blown primers, etc.. As a result I am much more careful than I used to be. Generally anything that shows any sign of damage get chucked in the old bucket. However, I am tempted to go through this bunch and sort out the worst to throw and get another loading out of the others, the ones that show no sign of separation on the outside and only a shallow ring on the inside. With the scarcity and insane price lately for .308 brass, I hate to scrap 1500+ pieces.
I know the textbook answer (scrap brass is high right now!), what is the practical limit? At what point do you throw out your brass?