OK,

I just finish up 500 rounds of 45 Colt. Brand new box of Starline brass. Fortunately there were a few extra!

This is intended as an "on the light side thread" to test some OCD.

I caught one in the drawer I was keeping them in and slightly dented/creased. I already pushed some from the inside and have run it through my resize after I was done with my 500 rounds.

It will be fired in an Uberti 1873 El Patron and loaded with 5gr Trail Boss under a 250gr Missouri Cowboy #1 coated bullet at 1.60"

The pictures show the opposing sides. My theory is the first firing will make it round again

Use it or toss it????

PS, third pic is from the test ladder I made a few weeks ago, 4.9 and 5.1 were very similar so I loaded at 5.0 with these bullets.

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Really? U saw it in Wikipedia?

Your theory is known as fire-forming and it will work. Before you do it look over each round close.

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14 S&W Revs none with locks!

I would toss it.
Here is my thinking:
While that case may stand up indefinitely to your Trail Boss load, it is always going to have a weak spot where it was bent.
Loading it up to max (whatever gun you are using at the time), say 35KPSI in a Redhawk or Freedom Arms,
you might find out just how weak that spot is.
Easier to toss and forget than to try to segregate it for the rest of its life.

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NEMO
"Everything 44"

When loading large batches of 44-40 for SASS shooting, apon occasion a 45 LC would get in the 44-40 pile. On the progressive press you could tell you were sizing the wrong case, I marked them with a felt tip pen and loaded them anyway, and used them for practice. I used the expander die on them and then returned them to the 45 Colt pile. After reloading and firing you could never tell them apart except for the red mark.

Ivan

It's brass, if you are concerned about strength you are forgetting your cylinders are steel. You may get 5-7 less firings out of it but right now I see it as no different than a neck dent.

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Front sight and squeeze

I shot a 9mm once with a dent that looked about like yours. In hindsight it was a stupid thing to do, 9mm are high pressure rounds and the gun was plastic. But no harm ensued to gun or operator. The dent ironed out about 95 percent. Your low pressure 45 in a steel gun does not seem like a bad idea. But as other pointed out the case is probably weaker now. If it was my 38 or 45 LC I would keep it. If it was a 44 mag or 357 I would pitch it.

I've reloaded 223 brass that was dented and it is runs a lot higher pressure than a 44, 357, 45 or 9mm. I've never had a problem and haven't noticed any effect on brass life.

I have fired rounds worse than that, and they came out just fine.

I'd mark it, load it, shoot it, then track it just for a learning experience.

Simple, if it chambers, shoot it. It's no big deal.

If not then pull it and resize it.

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Still Running Against the Wind

When you post a poll, please consider adding a "None of the Above" reponse as an option.

If all I had was this case and nine others and was strapped for cash, I would probably chance loading it.

But, since it has 499 healthy siblings, I would toss it.

I am very particular in inspecting my brass; going so far as to measure critical dimensions on each case with a micrometer. When I purchase previously-fired brass, I expect to find up to 15% of the cases out-of-specification and recycle them.

Fire Formed Brass stretch's more than that dent and we don't worry! Shoot it and don't look back.

I'd load it in a heartbeat and never look back.

Yep, me, too ! Load it and shoot it 'til the mouth splits. That dent is no big deal. In absolute terms, yes, there's a weak spot there. In practical terms, you'll not likely ever notice it.

Larry

I'd shoot it, no problem. The dent will pop out when you shoot it. Especially since that is a low pressure round to start with, it wouldn't bother me a bit to shoot the dent out.

I'd be utterly unconcerned about the dent. There simply is not an issue of concern there. Have loaded many dented cases picked up as scrounged range brass since the mid-1970s.

I'm in the load it camp.

I'd shoot it. IF the damage looks permanent, toss the case.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

The dented cases I've used never gave me any trouble

My last order from Starline had two extra cases, both completely undamaged. Still haven't decided what to do with them because I load into 50 rounds boxes and one has to work at it a bit to lose a 357 Magnum case. Someday I'll have a case split at the case mouth and then I'll get one of those spares off my bench.

As for your dented case I would expect that within two reloading cycles you won't be able to spot that case even with a microscope.

I've loaded dozens much like that over the years in my Cowboy action ammo, using similar load with Trail Boss. Never a problem, but they seemed to develop full on crack earlier than others.

If it chambers, no problem IMHO.
If it sticks on ejection, look closely, consider tossing in your junk brass collection.

I know I got multiple reloads our of similar cases.

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Dum vivimus Vivamas

If it doesn't have a hole in it, I'd shoot it. It's surrounded by steel. If it does fail; so what?

A cap and ball revolver doesn't have a case at all, and they work fine.

A brass case is just a gasket that hold the powder and bullet together.

It's what they call 'fire forming'. Wildcatters do it all the time, to a much greater degree than ironing out that little dent.