gamestalker
member
I'm in the middle of a large batch of .243 win, the brass is on it's 6th or 7th loading. When I say large batch, I'm referring to 500 pieces of brass, which is a good sized batch on a single stage press.
I started resizing them on Saturday, and immediately noticed a perfect line just below the neck / top of the shoulder on about 30 or so pieces of brass prior to, and after resizing, and after tumbling. I can feel it on the inside and the outside, much like what incipient case head separation looks and feels like. I'm working with R.P., Winchester, and Federal brass, and it's only on the Federal brass.
BTW, I have annealed this brass twice, once one the first loading, and then on the last loading.
My question isn't about the integrity of the brass, given the depth of the anomaly, I know it's a pretty certain bet that the necks are probably going to separate. My question is if anyone else has been having problems with Federal brass. Up until recently, I haven't ever had a problem with Federal brass, that has all changed. Over the last year-ish, I've had some issues with Federal brass, so I wouldn't be using this Federal brass if not for the fact that this batch is from about 3+ years ago, but I'm think now that they're problems started further back than 3 or 4 years ago. I've been using Federal brass for my entire reloading life, and it's always been good to me, so this is really bumming me out.
GS
I started resizing them on Saturday, and immediately noticed a perfect line just below the neck / top of the shoulder on about 30 or so pieces of brass prior to, and after resizing, and after tumbling. I can feel it on the inside and the outside, much like what incipient case head separation looks and feels like. I'm working with R.P., Winchester, and Federal brass, and it's only on the Federal brass.
BTW, I have annealed this brass twice, once one the first loading, and then on the last loading.
My question isn't about the integrity of the brass, given the depth of the anomaly, I know it's a pretty certain bet that the necks are probably going to separate. My question is if anyone else has been having problems with Federal brass. Up until recently, I haven't ever had a problem with Federal brass, that has all changed. Over the last year-ish, I've had some issues with Federal brass, so I wouldn't be using this Federal brass if not for the fact that this batch is from about 3+ years ago, but I'm think now that they're problems started further back than 3 or 4 years ago. I've been using Federal brass for my entire reloading life, and it's always been good to me, so this is really bumming me out.
GS
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