Determine if a case was reloaded.

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geist262

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Hey guys, I am savaging brass from a makeshift range. I found a pile of 5.56 next to a bunch of 300 ultra mag. All cases have neck cracks and one neck half sheared off. Probably reloaded is my guess. Anyway, it makes me question the 5.56 now. Cases do look staked (primer).


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If the necks are all cracked I'd say they've been reloaded a number of times.
(and never annealed)

You say "Cases do look staked (primer)".
Click to expand...

Sorry, but I don't understand what you mean.
What is staked?
 
I meant the 5.56 primer looks crimped. The ultra mags were cracked.


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If the primers on the 5.56 NATO cases were crimped, it is a very good bet that they have never been reloaded.

Generally, home reloaders do not bother crimping primers but the crimp needs to be removed for reliable and proper priming of the the case.

I am not sure if commercial reloaders crimp primers, but I really doubt it.
 
The crimped area looks weird though. No ting around the primer. It looks like stake marks one on each side of the primer. All four stakes form a square. I haven't been collecting 5.56 for very long, truth be told.


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http://i338.photobucket.com/albums/n420/joe1944usa/Firearms%20%20and%20%20Reloading/556Staked.jpg

Looks like this.


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I can't get that photo to load. Copy and paste.


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geist262 said:
The crimped area looks weird though. No ting around the primer. It looks like stake marks one on each side of the primer. All four stakes form a square. I haven't been collecting 5.56 for very long, truth be told.


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Click to expand...
If the primers are still staked and look uniform then chances are they've never been reloaded. I've never heard of a reloader crimping in primers. It could probably be done but I've never seen a cheap tool for doing it and most people wouldn't go through the trouble on reloads.
 
Don't count on 5.56 as being reloaded. I had a buddy give me factory 30-30 ammo when he sold his gun. I shot the factory ammo, and 5 out of 20 shells had cracked necks or shoulders, factory loads. So please don't assume that they could be reloads.
 
MarshallDodge said:
The 5.56 ammo was probably shot in a gun with a 223 chamber.
Click to expand...
interesting thought...

Incidentally, there are some manufacturer's of 5.56 out there that crimp their primers by staking as the OP stated. I've only seen this when prepping once fire brass for plinking but never paid much attention to the headstamp.
 
FWIW so far all the 4 petal staked primer 5.56 brass I have found has been Berdan primed. Not many of these and they all went to the recyclers a while ago so no head stamp info for you. I would check and see if yours are also.
 
Frog, thanks for the heads up on the berdan thought. I wouldn't have thought about it until I broke a decapping pin.


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geist262 said:
Hey guys, I am savaging brass from a makeshift range.
Click to expand...

I hope you mean "scavenging" instead of "savaging."

I found a pile of 5.56 next to a bunch of 300 ultra mag. All cases have neck cracks and one neck half sheared off. Probably reloaded is my guess. Anyway, it makes me question the 5.56 now. Cases do look staked (primer).
Click to expand...

Your confusing post lacks a specific question. In your followup post, which some folk missed, you say the 300 Ultra Mag was the brass with neck cracks, not the 5.56 brass. Which indicates that you were questioning how to tell the 5.56 cases were reloaded, yes?

If there is an untouched crimped primer pocket, they have not been reloaded.
 
David E said:
I hope you mean "scavenging" instead of "savaging."



Your confusing post lacks a specific question. In your followup post, which some folk missed, you say the 300 Ultra Mag was the brass with neck cracks, not the 5.56 brass. Which indicates that you were questioning how to tell the 5.56 cases were reloaded, yes?

If there is an untouched crimped primer pocket, they have not been reloaded.
Click to expand...

You are correct on both points. I am sorry for the lack of clarity and spelling. I rattled off that post without my usual proof reading. Anyway, that ultra brass was nasty. I load for 300 win and wby mags and never saw that. I have found stress cracks, but I made sure to chuck the cases. My concern was the 5.56 being reloaded as much as the ultras may have been. As most said, they were still crimped, so I doubt they were reloaded. The crimp just looked odd to me. I have found similar on google images though.


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The staking crimp is much easier to remove than the more common circular crimp.
 
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