Ring on Rifle Brass

[tkcomer]

As in an earlier post, I’m getting back into shooting. Had some old 243 shells that I loaded about 15 years ago. 70gr BTHP Sierra Matchkings that I fired out of a Weatherby Vanguard. Brass is marked R-P that I assume is Remington. If I remember right, this is the first reload on this brass. Load is 37gr of Winchester 748. I’m seeing a ring on the brass about halfway up. Can’t feel it or measure it, but I can see it. In this same box of ammo are empty brass cases that I fired years ago. There is no ring on any of them. The ring is just on the brass that I fired a few days ago. I always thought that ring was a sign of impending separation of the case. Primers look fine and the cases extracted from the rifle just fine also. I do remember that the old fired brass was shot out of a different rifle, a Remington 600. Any ideas why this is happening?

 

[xring44]

By the ring you see being half way up the case body, I'd suspect that it is a chamber imperfection, normally a ring indicating a case seperation will be just ahead of the web.
Have you fired factory ammo in this rifle, if so did it have the ring?

 

[tkcomer]

No. If I remember right, all the brass was fired through the 600. Remington factory loads in 80gr or 100gr PSP. I just saved the brass from that. When I got the Weatherby, I just fired a few reloaded rounds to sight the scope in. Amazingly, after all these years and a couple of moves, that sucker still fired 3, three shot groups at just around an inch at 102 yards at about1 inch left of the bullseye. And that’s with the crappy trigger on that gun. The 600 hasn’t been fired since ’94. That’s when the coyotes showed up and that was the end of the groundhogs. If my sniper buddy is available this week, I plan on bringing the 600 out and see what it will do. So you think the ring is due to the chamber in the Weatherby? I just seat the bullet in the case to the max OAL spec in the Sierra book. No crimp. I was thinking something happened to those loads after all these years.

 

[ClarkEMyers]

Section a case

Best to have Wilson case gages or RCBS plastic case micrometer or whatever you prefer. I like the Wilson for a first cut. As already noted a bright ring towards the case head is almost always the result of the case stretching to fill a long chamber - excess headspace - and the bright ring on the outside is associated with a depression on the inside where the brass is stretched. Often the depression can be felt with the proverbial bent paper clip or dental pick or what have you.

When in doubt gage the case and section one to see what's on the inside of the bright ring.

 

[tkcomer]

The ring is not near the case head but around the middle. Same spot in all 12 cases. I do remember one time I jacked a loaded round out of the 600. The case came out, but the bullet separated from the case. The bullet fell out also, but what a mess. Only did it one time. I figured the max OAL is the absolute limit on that 600. I took some steel wool and rubbed the brass. You can polish this ring out. Me thinks the Weatherby has something to do with this. I was just a little paranoid because I’ve heard this board doesn’t think too kindly of Remington brass. On a side not, my sniper buddy gave me some nickel plated brass for the 308 for when I finally get my stuff in to reload that. It’s marked FC. Are those good cases?

 

[Art Eatman]

SFAIK, any problems with Remington brass are some sort of occasional thing. I've used several different brands of brass, including Remington, through the years in .243, and never noticed any sort of problem.

R-P = Remington-Peters.

Art