Look at this brass, tell me what caused this

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BigSlick

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Hi guys,

I just loaded a few rounds of 500SW.

When going thru loaded round inspection, I noticed one piece of Corbon brass had an odd anomoly.

I pulled the round, and the same is on the inside of the brass, with interior and exterior edges raised enough to catch a finger nail or dental pick on.

I haven't fired the brass in my 500, I just bought this batch of 100 from brassman.

I don't know what would cause something like the ring, but it looks like it was a 'filler' piece of some sort.

I'm not going to fire this for sure. I went thru the rest of the brass with a magnifying glass under a bright light and none of the others exhibit the same marking.

What causes this ?

Corbon-500SW.gif

Just a reminder to be thorough in your round inspection, I can't imagine what a KB would be like with 42gr of H4227

Opinions ?

Thanks

BigSlick
 
Looks just like a plug that a Ramond machine puts in plywood veneer. Good catch, BigSlick. It really pays to put in the time to inspect each and every round.:) Just think if you had loaded this on a "progresive" press:D You may not have caught this...
 
Just think if you had loaded this on a "progresive" press
Click to expand...

I did load this on a progressive press - a Dillon 550B.

I still inspect every round I load, thanks to the suggestions I have received here and good loading manuals.

I've never seen one like this...

BigSlick
 
Do you really think that "little" mark is going to affect anything. On both my Rem. 700 8mm Mag, and my Ruger MkII M77 7mm Mag. when you cycle the action "Bolt" it puts a small dent in the case below the one you are chambering. After you shoot it, the small dent is smoothed out from the pressure in the case, it is "Fire Formed" to the gun. After hundreds of rounds shot through each the small ding has never bothered a thing. Personally I don't think your little ring in your case is a problem.

2 Questions:

1. I might have missed it but have you shoot that round from your pistol? If you have then you might have a piece of trash in your chamber.

2. Is it new out of the box brass, If it is new brass and you have never fired it and thats the only one like it then maybe you just got a bad piece of brass. I reload alot and when you buy bulk brass you may, and most of the time will get a few pieces of brass that may have defects.
 
I never saw anything like that but it's not a 'filler piece'. I wonder if it wasn't in a pressure testing barrel of the 'copper crusher ' type. These test barrels have a hole into the chamber at right angles to the bore . Pressure from inside the case compresses a copper slug in the hole. I wouldn't fire it as it may be a weakened area.
 
Looks to me like another case landed on it when being dumped into a bin or something. Dent from the mouth of a 22-250 or similar.

Your call, but I would probably load and fire it. Case separation in a revolver is a very unspectacular event.
 
Trash it. Fast. Crush it before you're tempted to use it. If there's ANY chance of it being weak, it's not worth it.

.500 S&W is not a trivial round.

StrikeEagle
 
Case separation in a revolver is a very unspectacular event.
Click to expand...
Please note what I said before. Now, I would trash this brass if there was any doubt, BUT, case separation in a revolver, even a high pressure one, is of no consequence. Not, repeat, NOT a danger to the shooter or bystanders.

Just extract the case head, dump out the remains of the case, resume shooting.

Please note that the brass case is just a container for powder and bullet, the cylinder is designed to take the pressure.
 
No direct experience, but my guess is the same as mete's since you bought the brass as once fired. At least it looks like what I imagine a copper crusher measurement would look like.
 
why are all of you people dead set on crushing the case???? The case itself does not hold the pressures of shooting... the cylender* does. That little "Dent" in the case IS NOT going to harm you or your gun...and i seriously dought it will cause "Case Seperation" and even if it does i have pistol cases split down the side ALL THE TIME.... Your case is not ment to withstand ANY pressure, your cylender* is.... you can do what you want but I just can't figure out how some people think or wher they get there information from.... Im not trying to be rude or disrespectful but some people give false reason to do stuff (In this case destory Brass) without ever having had experience with the situation :banghead: .....Do what you want but if it was me i would shoot it and never think twice about it!
 
As everyone else here said, do what you feel is neccesary, but my personal thought is life is too short to shoot bad brass. Of, course, my 9mm brass is a LOT easier to come by than yours!
 
I wouldn't use it.

It might be a copper crusher round, but it wouldn't have been fired yet as cases used in Cu crusher receivers are designed to rupture at the site of the crusher gas check piston. That one appears to be intact. Is there any evidence of powder having been fired in it? (The bullet will, of course, have to be pulled if it hasn't already.)

Since Cu crusher methods are used less and less these days, if it is indeed a pressure testing case, it is more likely a case that was used in a transducer type of pressure testing equipment. Extrapolating for size based on the oversized case in the macro photo, the marking is about the right size shape and location. The fact that the marking is somewhat complete without the case being dented in suggests that the object making the mark was rounded with roughly the same diameter as the case itself. Again, that suggests a pressure piston, whether Cu or transducer.

I wouldn't use it.

(A simple call to Cor-bon is worth a pound of speculation.)

All that being said, Larry is right. I have had my share of ruptured case walls in revolvers and rifles. The only evidence that the "event" occurred was the longitudinal rupture evident on the case after extracting it. Case head separation on the other hand .... !!
 
Fire it, and see what happens. Just make sure you're wearing your safety glasses in case anything escapes, but I seriously doubt _anything_ will happen. It's probably just a spot where something hit it.

Guys, brass is SOFT and flexible. That's why it is used. Heck, could be something was stuck in a chamber, anything. I wouldn't worry too much about it.
 
... more like 2 1/2. I would want to examine the case first before giving a blanket "go ahead and fire it" statement. If it is a case intended only for a copper crusher receiver, that mark may be a thin diaphragm of brass. It still wouldn't cause any damage, but it isn't intended for use in a regular barrel. I still wouldn't say to use it until I saw the case first hand.
 
Oh, and By The Way...

I'm pretty sure that if you send that piece back to Corbon, they'll replace it. They may even send you a few.
 
D'oh!

For some reason I thought the brass was unfired Cor-bon brass (it's possible). If it has already been fired - most likely - then I am now fully in the StrikeEagle camp. Go ahead and fire it with no worries.
 
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