How bad are these brass dents?

[in2anity]

These are out of my Ruger:

Should I be concerned?

B4B97A8D-2205-4D8A-8407-20065DF90F17.png (1.05 MiB) Viewed 5196 times

It feeds a little rough, so you can’t limp wrist it when cycling the bolt, hence the dents.
I’m not keen on FL resizing due to liberal headspace.

Just curious for some opinions; do you guys think this will affect brass integrity much?
Thanks, In2.

[on_one_wheel]

Personally I wouldn't be concerned about minor dents like that.

I seriously doubt that tiny dents like that would affect structural integrity.

[bigfellascott]

Have you got a pic of the same brass without the "Dents" the neck/shoulder looks a little funny in that pic for some reason, what cal is it? I'm wondering if the dies been set up right?

And no those dents I can see aren't really an issue IMO, they will pop back out with the next firing.

More info needed but I reckon you might need to adjust your die slightly more (there's something funny going on near the shoulder I think) like the dies not quite adjusted right, might be causing that issue with the bolt not closing easily.

[in2anity]

Bfs are you talking about how it almost seems to have a second shoulder? If so, it’s fireformed brass then collet neck sized - the second line is where the collet ends - I feel I can’t adjust that.

I had to turn down the mandrel a couple of thou to obtain adequate neck tension. It seems the 300blk (shooting fast pistol powders) requires very tight neck tension to get that reliable ignition - loose necks see groups blow right out. All my brass looks like that, and besides feeding it shoots very well now with my handloads.

[in2anity]

Personally I wouldn't be concerned about minor dents like that.

I seriously doubt that tiny dents like that would affect structural integrity.

Thanks - that’s what I was thinking also.

[Blr243]

The shoulder angle looks steeper on your case than my 300 blk
And where the main case diameter meets the shoulder / and where the neck meets the shoulder ...at these points the junctions look very tight and definite .... mine are gently flowing from one part to the next .....and I see a ring mark on your neck that I don’t see on mine ......dents occasionally I don’t worry about , they just tell me I’ve done it wrong and I need to clean up my act

[in2anity]

The shoulder angle looks steeper on your case than my 300 blk
And where the main case diameter meets the shoulder / and where the neck meets the shoulder ...at these points the junctions look very tight and definite .... mine are gently flowing from one part to the next .....and I see a ring mark on your neck that I don’t see on mine ......dents occasionally I don’t worry about , they just tell me I’ve done it wrong and I need to clean up my act

It’s fireformed brass hence the sharpness. The ring on the neck is where the collet ends - I can’t change that.
I haven’t fl resized in about 5 reloads so they’re probably a bit overdue. I have a couple of questions for you though blr243 re your 300blk. 1) do you always FL resize? 2) what rifle brand/model Is your 300blk 3) have you ever tried magnum primers. Thanks, In2

[Blr243]

The only loads I have been making are useing brass that I purchased already primed so have not don any sizing of fired cases yet and I have decided after my last hunt that I will be selling the new Remington sps tactical ( because I shoot so close to my dog I want to not hurt his ears. ) I was useing subsonic loads and 220 grain Noslers that are supposed to expand at sub velocity..... but it was such a poor performer on pigs that I am now getting myself a 450 bushmaster and some hornady 300 grain xtp s .....I’m getting some earmuffs for my dog too. They are called muttmuffs......... just out of curiosity, what’s with the primers you mentioned ?

[in2anity]

And where the main case diameter meets the shoulder / and where the neck meets the shoulder ...at these points the junctions look very tight and definite .... mine are gently flowing from one part to the next ..... the only loads I have been making are using brass that I purchased already primed so have not don any sizing of fired cases yet

Yes they come out of the factory curvy and smooth, but after the first shot here's what mine look like (bottom one is unfired):

unfired (bottom) vs fireformed + collet neck-sized

Image-1.jpg (329.8 KiB) Viewed 5073 times

Then I'm collet neck-sizing only, which exerts a clamping force only up to the ring line you see near the base of the neck (more prominent in my first photo above).

Still, my understanding is you should FL resize after about 5 of these shortcut neck-sizing reloads (I think the top photo has been reloaded quite a few times). And I wouldn't be too far off that on some of my brass (I'm lazy )

just out of curiosity, what’s with the primers you mentioned ?

My Ruger Ranch doesn't like the thicker magnum primer (i.e.cci450s) - I get loads of light primer strikes with them. It's due to too much headspace and possibly a light striker in the Ruger Ranch - but I'm working around it now basically by just sticking to regular primers.

BTW how do you find the Remington sps in 300aac? Is it the 16.5" version? Any feeding issues or misfires?

[bigfellascott]

Yep FLS and that should fix the issue of them being hard to chamber and you might have to trim the necks too - FLS first and see how they chamber then. I assume you aren't jamming the projectile into the lands?

[in2anity]

Yep FLS and that should fix the issue of them being hard to chamber and you might have to trim the necks too - FLS first and see how they chamber then. I assume you aren't jamming the projectile into the lands?

Nah It doesn't have chambering issues bfs - they go in just fine, and extract OK. I have feeding issues - i.e. the rounds catch a bit as they get picked up by the bolt (with the the particular magazine I'm keen on using i.e. a Lucky13).

This can be overcome by chambering rounds with some authority. It does however raise the question of whether it's acceptable to be putting that much wear-and-tear on my brass when using that magazine (hence this post I guess). I'm mainly a target shooter so I really don't like chewing through brass...

As I said, I do think some of them are overdue for a FL resize - extraction is getting a little weaker on some.

[bigfellascott]

Yep FLS and that should fix the issue of them being hard to chamber and you might have to trim the necks too - FLS first and see how they chamber then. I assume you aren't jamming the projectile into the lands?

Nah It doesn't have chambering issues bfs - they go in just fine, and extract OK. I have feeding issues - i.e. the rounds catch a bit as they get picked up by the bolt (with the the particular magazine I'm keen on using i.e. a Lucky13).

This can be overcome by chambering rounds with some authority. It does however raise the question of whether it's acceptable to be putting that much wear-and-tear on my brass when using that magazine (hence this post I guess). I'm mainly a target shooter so I really don't like chewing through brass...

As I said, I do think some of them are overdue for a FL resize - extraction is getting a little weaker on some.

Ah right my bad

[marksman]

your mag feed lips need adjusting to get your rounds to feed straight into the chamber

look at the way your usual mag feeds the ammo then have a look at the lucky 7 mag ammo, how it sits and how it slides into the chamber
it may be as easy as sanding a little off the lips but maybe not
it is not a good thing to have your cases look like that from being fed from a mag, it is not setup right

[in2anity]

your mag feed lips need adjusting to get your rounds to feed straight into the chamber

look at the way your usual mag feeds the ammo then have a look at the lucky 7 mag ammo, how it sits and how it slides into the chamber
it may be as easy as sanding a little off the lips but maybe not
it is not a good thing to have your cases look like that from being fed from a mag, it is not setup right

You might be right - the only problem is the factory rotary mag is also pretty crappy - it also feeds poorly (hence why I bought the Lucky13).

Still, I think it definitely warrants some further investigation - they both seem to have different issues, but perhaps I can get some clues by comparing the two.

[Blr243]

I am haven’t a bit of trouble with the rem sps extraction misfires etc but th new primed brass was very cheap to begin with so I will try something else before I start bagging out the rifle. I’m probably going to be pretty busy with load dev for the 450 and then I will take it hunting for a week so the Remington will sit for a while until I find the time

[in2anity]

I am haven’t a bit of trouble with the rem sps extraction misfires etc but th new primed brass was very cheap to begin with so I will try something else before I start bagging out the rifle.

That's interesting. The brass I bought was under saami, which no doubt contributed to these problems. If you ever got back to it, I think you'll find fireformed to be more reliable. If not, you can sell it to me!!

[Blr243]

I bought them for 35 dollars per hundred already primed so I’ll probably give them away. Now that u mention “ under saami” it makes me think there’s a good chance the brass was bulk made and was based on the probable intended us of military stlyle srlf loaders ‘s in the states