Would you load this brass or pitch it.

Status
Not open for further replies.
S

scythefwd

Member
Joined
Mar 13, 2008
Messages
3,603
Location
Manassas Park, VA
I have some brass that was handed to me. There is a very small dimple in the wall of the case. I'm shooting beginning loads and I expect the dimple will be corrected as the case is formed to my chamber. It is in the same place on every piece of brass (a few mm south of the shoulder). It was not fired in my chamber before, so I suspect there was a small defect in the last chamber (or a grain of sand, etc) it was fired in. I cannot get my cameras to get a pic of it where you can actually see the dimple. This dimple is very shallow and my coarse corn cob media fills it in easily.

Would yall shoot it or pitch it? I already primed it, but then I got to second guessing myself and am seeking more experienced opinions.
 
Would shure help if you would't stated what caliber you're asking about.

With that said, depending I would probable use it as it more than likely a ding created from extraction from a semi auto rifle. It will fireform out and a new ding will reappear if fired in a similar rifle.
 
I suspect the "dimple" is from a pressure transducer from a pressure barrel but it could also be from a defective chamber; as noted, a photo would help. In any case, I would load it and shoot it.
 
JC - .308 win.

grum - not a pressure barrel... it was may grandpas .308 he loaded for. Other than the ding it all looks good. No thinning at the case head even. The ding doesn't show up in photos because it just looks like a little mar in the brass (though I can feel it).

Thanks for the opinions... it always helps to confirm my instincts with someone elses experience. I'm still very much a beginner here.
 
If I tossed all the "dinged cases" that my semi-auto's produce I'd have nothing to reload.

If it's just a dimple where the metal has only been displaced without any cutting or gouging, just go ahead and load it again. It will disappear when it is fireformed. If any signs of cutting, ie: sharp edge on the margins of the "ding" then you should just discard it. There is more damage than just a ding.
 
shoot it. run your finger in the chamber and see if you feel anything, and if so you may want to have it smoothed out. But like amlevin said.... no sharp edge, shoot it.

Alot if semi auto will ding the case too.
 
The brass comming out of my chamber is perfect. My grandpa's .308... have no idea if it was a semi or not. My .308 is a break action. I shot a box of his reloads and they fit perfectly, so I used one of his rounds to set my coal on (just as a starting point to work with). All of my sized stuff fits the chamber, so either the chamber is cut right OR I'm setting the shoulder back a hair like they recommend for break actions. Not sure which as I just followed the setup directions for the die (ram touches the die bottom at topmost position + 1/4 turn(manual says 1/2, but my ram's top of stroke is not the end of the stroke so I adjusted. Im in case oal and my shoulders are matching the factory ammo I have at the house).
 
Last edited:
Most all brass manages to get dings and dents in it from inadvertant debrie, a piece of bore brush that went unnoticed, and other small easy to miss debrie including the most probable cause being a sand particle.
My rule of thumb is, if the dent doesn't break the skin or tear the brass I load it. I worry more about a deep scratch that is located on the neck, shoulder, or just above the head where the shinny ring eventually developes. These areas of the brass are more likely to separate so defects in those regions of the brass need to be acessed with a bit more attention.
 
Semi-auto's tend to be hard on brass that way. My FAL will dent the case mouth consistantly if I have the gas turned up a little too much. Ar's sometimes crease the case below the shoulder. Looks like a little smile on the case wall.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top