Just had some .38 Spec. once fired brass given to me. I don't recognize the head stamp (IVI 67) so I assume it is military. On the exterior the cases look great but on the inside there is a deposit of "crude" where the bullet base was. The amount is quite small and forms a ring even after tumbling for three hours. It is a bit sticky but will scrape out quite easily but is time consuming. I assume it was some kind of a sealer used to moisture proof the round. Does anyone out there have any info on this situation? Is it okay to reload with out removing this small but questionable deposit?
Once fired brass with crud on the inside.
- Thread starter retav8r
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JRH6856
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IVI is Industries Valcartier Inc., Valcartier, Quebec, Canada.
I don't know about the crud. It could be lube if it was a lead bulllet but with a mil headstamp, probably not, so a sealant might be a good guess.
If you are wet tumbling, you might try to find a detergent or solvent that dissolves the stuff and then tumble in that.
Or get a .38 cal cleaning brush, chuck into an electric drill and take it out that way.
Or you could just load it up and see if it survives the next firing. Pick a light bullet and seat it shallow so the crud stays exposed to the burning powder. But if survived the first firing, this might not do anything.
I don't know about the crud. It could be lube if it was a lead bulllet but with a mil headstamp, probably not, so a sealant might be a good guess.
If you are wet tumbling, you might try to find a detergent or solvent that dissolves the stuff and then tumble in that.
Or get a .38 cal cleaning brush, chuck into an electric drill and take it out that way.
Or you could just load it up and see if it survives the next firing. Pick a light bullet and seat it shallow so the crud stays exposed to the burning powder. But if survived the first firing, this might not do anything.
ReloaderFred
Member
The sealant is what you're seeing, and it won't hurt anything. After all, it didn't hurt anything the first time those cases were fired. You'll probably also find the primer pockets are crimped. Almost all the IVI brass I've reloaded has had crimped primers, but it only has to be removed one time. It's good heavy brass and you'll get many, many loads from it.
Hope this helps.
Fred
Hope this helps.
Fred
medalguy
Member
I have a ton of IVI brass from back in my AF days, several 5 gal buckets full. It is all crimped, pretty heavily as I recall, and depriming is a real chore. Hence I still have a lot of it. The tar sealant will come out if you tumble it in old media with a good amount of mineral spirits in it, then simply discard the media. That's why I suggest using old media, because it will blacken anything you tumble with it later. It's good brass once you prep it the first time.
judgedelta
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If you don't get it out, it may feel "sticky" when you are expanding the cases.
bocefus78
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Won't hurt anything but will attract dry tumbler media.
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