Brass Question

[nosler06]

I have some older Norma 30-06 brass that has been reloaded well over 15 times now and has been annealed. I just found 2 cases with what I call a crack ring on them. I attached a picture of one of the cases. My question is with showing 2 cases of this type of separation would it be best to scrap all of the remaining cases to avoid any chance of another case possibly separating either in the reloading die or worse in the chamber. What do you all feel about it? Thank you for any suggestions.

 

[nhenry]

I’d feel for cracks internally with a paper clip before tossing them all out.

 

[nosler06]

If checking internally for cracks with a paper clip is it best to leave the end of the paper clip straight or put a small 90 degree bend like a hook to drag on the inside wall?

 

[sako2]

It's hard for me to tell but it looks to straight to be a crack. Are there jagged edges on it. You can try the paper clip method on the rest to see if they are thinning on the inside. If they are scrap them because the next 1 might not come out of the chamber. Search case head separation.

 

[sako2]

If checking internally for cracks with a paper clip is it best to leave the end of the paper clip straight or put a small 90 degree bend like a hook to drag on the inside wall?

It needs to be bent

 

[sako2]

here's a video the watch.

 

[Math Teacher]

You got your money's worth out of them. What is your eyesight worth? Scrap them.

 

[DrMike]

Fifteen loads? The brass owes you nothing. The paperclip with a slight 90 degree bend will certainly tell you if there is an incipient crack. However, since 06 brass is readily available, I'd opt to start with some new brass.

 

[TexasLife]

What gets me is the use of the word(s) "case head"..............think about it! Now remember where the neck, body and shoulder is.................yup! Now the head is at the feet? Should it be case base, knee or ankle separation? Sounds more reasonable!

 

[wvbuckbuster]

Not only this but you run the risk of a blown primer. Have had that happen to me after several loadings that I thought was still ok to use. Do like the good Dr says, buy new. Dan.

 

[RL338]

As others have stated you’ll got all the life out of those cases you’re going to get. Now is the time to scrap them and start with a new lot of brass.

 

[TXbaldhunter]

You best get rid of them.If your getting case head separation on some and they all had the same amount of firings,you can bet more will show up next time.If you fired them 15 times,I'd say you got your moneys worth out them.

 

[PJGunner]

First thing first. scrap 'em! You should then readjust you sizing die properly. You must be pretty darn close to OK for that brass to last for 15 reloads. I on;y have one set of 20 rounds of brass that I've used more than 10 times. It's a box of Winchester .375 H&H brass that has been used with a cast bullet load running a 270 gr. bullet at around 2100 FPS. That brass was loaded four times and neck sized only, then full length sized then annealing the necks. Both dies were set up in the following method.

This is how I set up my sizing die for bottleneck cartridges. 1. Take a once fired factory round and blacken the neck and shoulders with a Magic Marker or Sharpee pen. Some people like to smoke the neck and shoulder, but I find the Magic Marker/Sharpee pen a bit better. 2. Carefully lubricate the case. 3. Loosen the lock ring on the sizing die and back off about two turns from when the die is set to touch the shell holder. 4. Size the case. Note where the marks are on the case and turn the die down about a half a turn and size again. Turn down some more, and resize again. What you are looking for is the marks on the blackening just touching the shoulder. 5. Clean the lube from the case and try it in the rifle. It may chamber just a bit on the snug side. If so, turn the die down ever so slightly, lube and size again. Wipe off the lube and try in the rifle. If it slides in as easily as a factory round, you should be good to go. If not, usually one more very slight adjustment should fix the problem. 6. Tighten the locking ring for the die and you're done. You have just set your sizing die up for a custom fit to your specific rifle, rather than a generic one size fits all guns. Paul B.

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[nosler06]

First thing first. scrap 'em! You should then readjust you sizing die properly. You must be pretty darn close to OK for that brass to last for 15 reloads. I on;y have one set of 20 rounds of brass that I've used more than 10 times. It's a box of Winchester .375 H&H brass that has been used with a cast bullet load running a 270 gr. bullet at around 2100 FPS. That brass was loaded four times and neck sized only, then full length sized then annealing the necks. Both dies were set up in the following method.

Thank you Paul for this information. I have 2 similar Winchester Model 70 30-06s and a set of dies for each. I will reset the dies again. I think I will finally retire the old Norma brass. It has been the best brass that I have worked with by far. I just opened a box of 50 Nosler brass pieces to start playing with. Will see how that compares. Cheers Mark

 

[Firebird]

I had some 7mm stw brass that started to do the same thing. Hard to find at that time so I chanced using it. The head came completely off of one and the brass remained in my chamber. Can’t remember the cost to remove it but the gunsmith was not impressed with my frugality in using brass so many times!

 

[xphunter]

Fifteen loads? The brass owes you nothing. The paperclip with a slight 90 degree bend will certainly tell you if there is an incipient crack. However, since 06 brass is readily available, I'd opt to start with some new brass.

THIS! THIS! THIS!

 

[nosler06]

I had some 7mm stw brass that started to do the same thing. Hard to find at that time so I chanced using it. The head came completely off of one and the brass remained in my chamber. Can’t remember the cost to remove it but the gunsmith was not impressed with my frugality in using brass so many times!

I think that I won't be trying to stretch the penny so far at the risk of a separation. For me hunting in the East and West Kootenays of BC I regularly see the tracks of or the Grizzly Bear itself. Not something that I should be risking my life on just to be able to stretch out a favorite brass. I guess it seems like a no Brainer as I squeeze the brass with pliers and chuck it.

 

[TXbaldhunter]

I had case case head separation on a 338 Win Mag once.It was on the forth firing of the cases.First round right off the bat working with some test loads on a new to me used rifle.I could not get the case out at the range to continue with my test loads.After I got home I tried a tight patch,tight brush and could not get it to budge.I ended up stuffing a patch inside the case,then putting JB Weld Kwik on a swap and carefully inserted it into the case from the chamber end.I gave it about 30 minutes to setup,then I inserted my cleaning rod from the muzzle end and let it drop about a foot to the broken case.It popped right out the first try.The next trip to the range I shot a couple more of those test loads and visible signs of near case head separation showed up on those so I quit.This is another good reason to keep your brass separated by the number of times fired.If I had mixed those up with other brass I could have compromised the whole batch by not knowing which ones were about to separate.

 

[Lazy Bushman]

I live inconsistently with the mantra of "If in doubt chuck it out"....I try to live but this but have successfully lived life past the edge on occasion for various reasons. For mine, I would throw the remaining cases in the bin if I had ready access to replacement brass

 

[Divernhunter]

You got your moneys worth out of the. Toss all of them and get new brass to work with. It is not worth the chance of damage to your firearm or yourself. My 2 cents worth .