Can this piece of brass be saved?

[thump_rrr]

I dropped the wrong die down on the middle case in this pic.
It’s a 338 Lapua case.

If it chambers do you think it can be fire formed back to a useful case?

I don’t think there is any harm in trying.
I know it’s only 1 piece of brass but my OCD hates uneven numbers.

Your thoughts.

 

[Misplacedtexan]

I would think it would fireform .

 

[Riomouse911]

If it isn’t cracked at the neck, if it holds a loaded bullet, and then if it chambers, it should iron out.

Look for a minimum load to use.

Stay safe.

 

[WestKentucky]

Looks like it bulged the tapered shoulder a bit. Probably want to hit it watch the right die to fix that and then load it like normal. Keep it separate and use it was a warm up round. Likely it won’t be notably different than any other round, but you’ll feel better by doing it that way.

 

[Hooda Thunkit]

If it will chamber will shoot.

If it holds a bullet and chambers, I would try it.

 

[Walkalong]

If it holds a bullet and chambers, I would try it.

Yep, if it does, it will probably reform to the chamber just fine. Lightly oil the case body when you do so it doesn't grip the chamber and stretch the case if the shoulder/datum got moved back too much

 

[jmorris]

I know it’s only 1 piece of brass but my OCD hates uneven numbers.

If your OCD hates "flyers", more than uneven numbers, you won't keep that one piece of odd ball brass...

If it doesn't matter though, well, it doesn't matter...

 

[thump_rrr]

If your OCD hates "flyers", more than uneven numbers, you won't keep that one piece of odd ball brass...

If it doesn't matter though, well, it doesn't matter...

That was one possibility that I hadn’t considered.
What I will do is mark that piece of brass and test your theory.

I loaded the piece of brass with 81gr of H1000.
I have marked the brass to keep track of it and I will be bringing it along with me today.

I have had excellent ES and SD numbers along with very good accuracy during load development so I will be comparing the results on my next loading to these.
Today I will be testing some 250gr Scenar Mexican match.
As you can see the factory Lapua loading didn’t do that well.



The gong was 3 shots at 425y with a load of 92.3gr of H1000 over a 285gr ELD-M.
WARNING: This load is above published load data. Do not use without carefully working up.

 

[jmorris]

That was one possibility that I hadn’t considered.
What I will do is mark that piece of brass and test your theory.

Not really a theory, for lots of stuff I shoot even mixed brass doesn't matter. Testing will tell you if it matters or not with your setup.

 

[thump_rrr]

The shoulder looks like it bounced back nicely.
The chronograph shows it to be only 5fps faster than the same load the previous time I shot it.

I will keep it separate and test it against the other 79 rounds that I will be reloading
.