I suppose this is BAD,,,,

[cloverleaf]

So I just finished trimming my first box of cases. They were 19 years old and had been reloaded several times. The 250-Savage is pretty easy on brass loaded the way I do. So any way, I am not overly impressed with the precision I was able to get with the cheap Hornady case trimmer, but it did the job. All cases are within specs now. Maybe some operator error too.... My question is this. I had a piece of scotch brite laying there and just to make 'em look nice (get the powder off the necks) I ran the pad around the necks. Instant bright shinny. So will this have a negative affect on how the brass "flows" when fired? Accuracy affected? Thanks CL

 

[DrMike]

You should be fine, CL. No harm done.

 

[Oldtrader3]

With Scotch Brite you are probably not removing more than .0005 max inches of brass from the cases. Factory brass necks thicken a little with resizing anyway so I would not be too concerned.

 

[Horsethief]

With brass that old, it is a great idea to clean the shoulder and neck area to check for cracks. The crud that can be on the neck might be hiding a crack, and there is no reason to fire a case with a crack there. I also clean the crud off with 0000-grade steel wool. The more times you handle the brass, the better your chances of finding something.

 

[Guy Miner]

Scotch bright, steel wool, I've used both to clean up the brass a bit and neither seems to hurt anything. Makes for good looking brass too!

 

[Wincheringen]

With brass that old, I would anneal the cases before you load or you'll likely split a few necks upon sizing or firing.

 

[big rifle man]

steel wool for the necks works for me. Wincheren is right about the annealing. I had a problem with old (30 yrs.) Rem 7Mag cases. The necks would split when fired. Annealing solved the problelm.

 

[cloverleaf]

Thanks guys- I dont know if I'll venture into annealing just yet, but I did picth a couple cases that looked like the necks were close to splitting. Im sure I wouldnt have seen them had I not tiddyed them up a bit. CL