How much of a dent is too much?

[IndianaBoy]

Greetings:

A question:

I have some once fired Lake City brass that is mostly in excellent shape. A few of the cases have some dings, mostly in and around the shoulder. They are not bad enough to interfere with the case properly headspacing on the shoulder.

I know small dents and dings are generally ironed out of the case as it obturates to the chamber during firing.

Will slightly larger dents cause increased pressure? I know that decreasing case volume by seating bullets deeper will generally increase pressures. But forcing a bullet to shape to the bore and pushing it down the bore likely applies a lot more force back on the gas than does a dent in a case.


What say you?

 

[nicholst55]

You'll be just fine shooting this brass, as long as it will chamber easily. The dents will be ironed out when the round is fired.

However, if you're not comfortable loading and firing this brass, just toss it in the recycle bucket and forget about it. Brass is still comparatively cheap.

 

[Larry Burchfield]

Dents

The dents should come out when fired.
Larry Burchfield
SEABEES/RVN/67/68/69
DAV

 

[Martyk]

The dents won't increase pressure since they will "give" and expand to the cylinder when fired.

 

[USSR]

No problem, shoot it.

Don

 

[Nate1778]

As to not start a new thread on about the same subject. I bought 1K .38 special brass yesterday and I would say roughly 15% has a crimp ring around it. Is this stuff OK to shoot, or should I just not use it?

 

[Walkalong]

.223

Case dents will be fine. Creases can be another story.

.38 Spl.

Crimp ring, or cannelure about 3/8 to 1/2" down the case? Either way, you will be fine.

 

[loadedround]

Those dents on the shoulder are usually caused by too much lube on your the case when sized. Cut back on your lube and the dents will stop. They are fine to load and shoot as is, and as previously stated will disappear upon shooting.

 

[IndianaBoy]

I use Hornady One-Shot case lube. A thin film does a great job, anyways, the dents were all present before resizing. These are from the cases being stepped on before they were collected at the range where they were first fired. I discard any cases where the case has been bent beyond concentricity and/or where the neck is crushed. There are just a handful with dents that are maybe the size of a grain of cooked rice.


Thanks for all the replies.