223 Case Damage - New One on Me

[hdwhit]

I been reloading 223 since 1979 and almost all of it has been with once fired cases. I've seen all kinds of damage to cases, but never anything like this.

I've come across five like this already and I've only started inspecting the shipment. The damage to each of the cases looks the same; like something used a gouge to try and "skin" the case. All the cases are PSD 16 headstamp. All have a ring of red sealant around the primer.

Is this a type of damage characteristic of some problem with the rifle that these were fired in? Like a problem with the extractor? If so, can someone explain it to me because nothing is coming to mind. Or is this something that likely happened after they were fired and laying on the ground?

Thanks in advance.

P.S. 223 brass is cheap and these are going in the recycling bin.

 

[bullseye308]

The only thing I can imagine would be those came from a belt fed and got handled roughly.

 

[ponchh]

Don't know how any gun could do that. Might have happen after shot.
The big question for me is where did you find once fired PSD brass.

 

[hdwhit]

ponchh wrote:
...where did you find once fired PSD brass.

L.E.O. Brass. (https://www.leobrass.com/brass/) I ordered some of their mixed range brass. They package the smaller orders in bags of 100. The bag these were in had 105 PSD & 1 CBC cases. Only 5 had the damage, so I got 101 case and paid for 100. No complaints here.

I've ordered from them before and have always been satisfied with what I have gotten.

Is there something unusual or special about PSD headstamp?

 

[hdwhit]

Bullseye308, thank you for that. I didn't even think about the fact they may have been linked up and that could be from the metal link.

 

[Walkalong]

Like a problem with the extractor?

A good guess, sure looks like it.

 

[hdwhit]

Walkalong, have you seen similar damage before?

If it is extractor damage, how would that work? My problem is that I don't know how all the extractors on all the various types of 223 rifles work so I'm not able to "see" in my mind how the extractor does this and whether it does it as the case is being fed into the chamber or on extraction. This has me perplexed.

 

[mstreddy]

Is there something unusual or special about PSD headstamp?

No, PSD is just fine. I've come across a fair number of it. It's resized, loaded and shot again just fine.
I've never encountered a case with gouges like those you posted. I've picked up a bunch of belt-fed M249 fired cases. I haven't seen marks like that.

Maybe extractor damage as some mention, but from what rifle?

 

[hdwhit]

mstreddy wrote:
Maybe extractor damage as some mention, but from what rifle?

That's what has me flummoxed.

I'm only familiar with the bolt and extractor on maybe a dozen types of 223 rifle and none of them come to mind as obvious candidates, but there are so many rifles made throughout the world that now use the cartridge that who knows how all of the ones that aren't AR clones work?

 

[FROGO207]

I have never seen anything like it either.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Maybe from a SAW M249?

 

[hdwhit]

ArchAngelCD wrote:
Maybe from a SAW M249?

That was suggested in post #2 and explained in post #8.

 

[Walkalong]

Walkalong, have you seen similar damage before?

Only online, I was agreeing with you that it looked like an extractor could do that. It would have to be sticking out to far.

I don't remember seeing that on SAW fired brass, and I have some that was supposedly fired through one.. Some of it is dinged up real bad, but I don't remember anything like that.

 

[Blue68f100]

I have not seen anything like that before. I'm in agreement that it probably related to belt fed, but thinking more of the machine that loads the belt.

 

[Tony k]

I have not seen anything like that before. I'm in agreement that it probably related to belt fed, but thinking more of the machine that loads the belt.

I was thinking it may not even be firearm related damage. Maybe it was on the floor and it got caught under a door as it opened or closed?

 

[hdwhit]

Well, well, it's just a shame that Leonard Nimoy is no longer around to narrate these cases appearance on a reboot of "Unsolved Mysteries".

 

[ponchh]

L.E.O. Brass. (https://www.leobrass.com/brass/) I ordered some of their mixed range brass. They package the smaller orders in bags of 100. The bag these were in had 105 PSD & 1 CBC cases. Only 5 had the damage, so I got 101 case and paid for 100. No complaints here.

I've ordered from them before and have always been satisfied with what I have gotten.

Is there something unusual or special about PSD headstamp?

IMHO PSD is way above LC. The primer pockets are tight fired once or seven times, where LC might be loose right out of the box. I am willing to trade 1500 LC for a 1000 PSD. The primers can be hard to get out the first time and will kill a decap rod in the blink of a eye, so I built a decapper out of a old shotgun press just for PSD.
The only way I have been able to PSD is to buy a case of PMC X-TAC which makes for some expensive brass.

 

[hdwhit]

ponchh wrote:
IMHO PSD is way above LC.

Huh. I had no idea.

I'd love to take you up on the 1500 for 1000 trade, but after discarding the ones that looked like the picture, I only have 94 of them. But if that small a quantity holds any interest for you and you would like them, they're yours. PM with your address and I'll get them in the mail. Be patient, as I'm going out of town this weekend and may not get to a post office until the middle of next week.

 

[redbullitt]

I had a few 10mm cases come out of the seater die last night that was not adjusted right... big gouge and scrape down near the case head.

I did not have die adjusted down right with regard to the crimp. Using a flat seater plug, the cartridge wound up catching on the edge I figure. Pulled them down, but maybe something similar happened with your brass and they did not catch it?

 

[hdwhit]

redbullitt wrote:
...maybe something similar happened

While I don't dismiss anything at this point, the cases that had this damage had primers that were crimped in place, so I don't think they had been through anyone's reloading stream yet.