Is this case head separation?????????

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RuggedAK

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I was trimming some brass and I noticed some pieces had a slight ring around the middle of the brass. I know the load I used in the pieces were not hot loads maybe midway between min and max charge. Also I just full length resized them so I don't know if the sizing die did that or what. Any help is appreciated?
 

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Could be imminent case failure, but not at the head.

Thats a pretty bad pic....

Can you feel on the inside of the casing with a paperclip, and tell if there is a lip ?
 
I don't have any paper clips but I shined a light down there and didn't see any bulging. Also I ran a fingernail on the line and didn't feel anything. I will try and get a better picture.
 
That's an odd place for a separation , also looking at the neck/ shoulder area that dark residue usually indicates a "weak" load with not enough pressure to seal the case in the chamber.
You mention only some cases were like that , if so it could just be a bad couple of cases.

Get a paper clip as mentioned and run it inside and see if you feel anything.:evil:
 
case head would be down at the bottom where that other line is. Not up at the top.

You can use any stiff piece of wire or a dental pick to scrape the inside down around towards the bottom where the case web is .

Picture "stolen" from Walkalongs great thread!;)
 

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The line the OP indicates with an arrow in the photograph is NOT case head separation.

Case head separation occurs at the case head, like the cutaway picture just above this post.

Nice pic, Rule3. Good job.
 
ants said:
The line the OP indicates with an arrow in the photograph is NOT case head separation.

Case head separation occurs at the case head, like the cutaway picture just above this post.

Nice pic, Rule3. Good job.
Click to expand...

It's Walkalongs picture, I copied it:D
 
Rugged AK didn't say what cartridge he's got, but if it's half way between min and max load
he probably has nearly a dozen cycles before case body gets too thin.


Note: Rather than paper clip we use a dental pick that was $2 at the local gun show.
Get one with a tiny 90 degree hook on the end and it works great. Paper clip is free,
but for 2 bucks the stainless steel tool is a good deal.

First sign I detect is 'roughness' in that region just above case head. That's where brass
is beginning to erode away, making the case wall thinner. The thin section is weak,
that's where it stretches until it separate.
 
I get a line like that when I use my Lee chamfer/deburr tool with a case chucked in a drill.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
 
Thanks to all the replies. I bought some papers clips and did as suggested and felt nothing out of the ordinary. I then looked at the chamber of my rifle and saw a bunch of rough circles all throughout it. I figured out where the ring came from. Again thanks for the help.
 
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