How do these once fired cases look?

[dacoontz]

Sorry guys, total newbie reloader here. I have collected S&W's for several years but just got my dads reloading equipment so decided to start working some brass. These pics are of once fired .223 remington brass. My AR seems to bang up the cases a little bit so I wondered if these imperfections are acceptable or not worth reloading. Please let me know your thoughts and assume I know nothing about reloading because I practically don't. This is probably fairly obvious if you have ever read any of my comments in a reloading thread.

And another question, how imperative is it to trim rifle brass after one round of use? Comparing the measurements shows almost no difference to me. Thanks again, Dacoontz.

 

[OKFC05]

Superficial minor dings and dents are harmless. Where you have to watch bottleneck cartridges is thinning of the case about 3/8" forward of the head, which is hard to see from the outside.
STRONGLY recommend reading the loading technical section of a good loading manual or three, especially in dealing with high power bottleneck cases. They require much more massaging than straight-walled pistol cases.

 

[dacoontz]

Superficial minor dings and dents are harmless. Where you have to watch bottleneck cartridges is thinning of the case about 3/8" forward of the head, which is hard to see from the outside.
STRONGLY recommend reading the loading technical section of a good loading manual or three, especially in dealing with high power bottleneck cases. They require much more massaging than straight-walled pistol cases.

Sounds good. Good call, I'll do a bit more studying. Thank you.

 

[iouri]

Cases look good. Dings will be flattened out when fired.

 

[Engineer1911]

Dings in brass are from granules of powder inside the chamber. Brass is just fine for reloading.

 

[dacoontz]

Thanks for the additional advice. I read a little in my Speer reloading manual number 13. Between the info here and in the book, I feel a bit more educated. I have to say though, there is a lot to know and be cognizant of when reloading. This is no joke. I'm certain I will be a bit nervous the first time I shoot my initial reloads. Hopefully this is a normal feeling.

 

[dacoontz]

I'm a bit apprehensive every time I drop the firing pin on one of my jacked up loads, especially in a 5 grand custom rifle.

I bet, that would certainly increase the pucker factor for me.

 

[rwsmith]

Read and learn the whole thing.....

It would be beneficial to read the whole reloading section, especially that for bottleneck rifles. There are some important differences in reloading for rifle and pistol.

If you trim your cases, usually you may want to check the length of the case after about five rounds depending on how hot they are loaded. I trim my cases cheap and fast with Lee hand tools chucked into the drill press.

 

[MichiganScott]

I'm a bit apprehensive every time I drop the firing pin on one of my jacked up loads, especially in a 5 grand custom rifle.

Nice thing about modern sporting rifles (bolt guns) is they all are cross drilled in the receiver to 'let the fire out' without blowing your face off if you happen to exceed the pressure rating of a particular case.

never had the fire come out but I've cratered primers before and stuck cases and had to drive them out with a long rod and hammer.

All part of the 'experience'.

If you feel the need to "jack up loads", you need a bigger rifle. I've handloaded for 40+ years and never so much as blown a primer.

Please be courteous to your fellow shooters at the range and warn them that you may find it necessary to drive out cases with a long rod and hammer. They may wish to change benches.

 

[Ballistic147]

The brass in your photo to me appears to have been trimmed already as the case mouth has been chamfered and deburred. I don't recall seeing that on any factory cases. Did you pick this brass up somewhere? Is it possible it's been reloaded once already?

As long as the brass is under the max length you don't need to trim unless you will be using a crimp. At that point trimming will insure all cases are exactly the same length so your crimp will be consistent. The brass in your photo looks completely fine for reloading to me.

 

[Rule3]

As mentioned small dings on the outside are not a issue.

Trimming is necessary after sizing to keep the cases from "growing" if the case(brass) is over the max you will have problems. The 223 spaces off the "shoulder" so you need to size it correctly (WITH LUBE)

What I believe OKFCO5 is refer to is ICHS. Not to scare you, just be aware. Many links to Google. You can check inside the case with a bent paper clip or a dental type pick to "feel" for a crack or line starting,

Incipient case head separation

Case Head Separation: Causes and Cures << Western Powders

 

[dacoontz]

The brass in your photo to me appears to have been trimmed already as the case mouth has been chamfered and deburred. I don't recall seeing that on any factory cases. Did you pick this brass up somewhere? Is it possible it's been reloaded once already?

As long as the brass is under the max length you don't need to trim unless you will be using a crimp. At that point trimming will insure all cases are exactly the same length so your crimp will be consistent. The brass in your photo looks completely fine for reloading to me.

You are correct, these pics were taken post some prepping of the cases. Good eye!

 

[dacoontz]

As mentioned small dings on the outside are not a issue.

Trimming is necessary after sizing to keep the cases from "growing" if the case(brass) is over the max you will have problems. The 223 spaces off the "shoulder" so you need to size it correctly (WITH LUBE)

What I believe OKFCO5 is refer to is ICHS. Not to scare you, just be aware. Many links to Google. You can check inside the case with a bent paper clip or a dental type pick to "feel" for a crack or line starting,

Incipient case head separation

Case Head Separation: Causes and Cures << Western Powders

Thanks Rule3, I'll check it out. I'm definitely lubing the cases prior to sizing and avoiding getting any lube on the shoulder of the case or anything above. Starting to learn just how much time it takes to properly reload. Between reading up, getting your supplies organized, setting up your equipment, and then actually handling brass it becomes quite the time commitment. Very cathartic though.

 

[kd5exp]

It is a good time killer. I enjoy it and have a lot of time to kill most of the time. Trimming your cases is necessary to keep it consistent. Everything the same will make them all shoot the same, at least we hope. 223 is a hot round and tends to grow so just keep an eye on it and trim when necessary. Powder is anyone's guess and there is a lot to choose from. I have a 223 single shot and never could get it to shoot any kind of good group. A buddy of mine let me borrow a scope and that cured it. I had a new Buckmaster on it which was a little over kill but should have been good. I shot a 5 bulls eye target and put all 5 in the center red dot. You just never know what the problem is sometimes. Good luck and enjoy. Lot of good info on here and a great bunch of guys.

 

[jimbo728]

Measure your cases after sizing. The sizing die operation somtimes increases case length. That has been always true with 30.06 and .308
for me. For .223, I cant be objective because I have not loaded them in years.
If my cases were a little shorter, I did not worry about them but longer than spec, they got trimmed and deburred inside and out.
Welcome to the fascinating word of reloading and kudos for picking up where your Dad left off.
Jim