brass dents good or bad

dbomb · December 2, 2008, 09:32 AM

I'm new to reloading. I have bought some once shot brass online and after tumbling and cleaning it i saw a few that had dents on the neck. Are those any good or should I throw them away.

I have been throwing away the ones that have dents on the boddy.

I took a couple of pictures.

Thanks

Sevens · December 2, 2008, 09:44 AM

Stop throwing away brass!

Dents in the neck come from getting dinged upon ejection. Not a big deal at all and they'll iron out and be entirely unnoticed as soon as you resize. Dents in the body come from the same thing and while the sizing die won't iron them out, shooting them certainly will. (this is called fire forming, the brass will take the shape of your chamber when you shoot them.) If they come out of your gun with dings and dents after shooting then you'll know that your rifle dings them up, too!

If you have SPLIT necks or actual splits in the case body, recycle that brass.

Brass is malleable and will get dinged around. But it's flexible, it's meant to get dinged and then be reshaped.

It's all good.

dbomb · December 2, 2008, 10:35 AM

Thanks, luckly I just started so I have not thrown away that much haha.
This forum is great. thanks again,

spencerhut · December 2, 2008, 12:58 PM

Dents in the body are fine too. Don't be so darn picky. 50,000PSI or so from firing the round irons out the body dents every single time. Neck dents? I get brand new Winchester brass that looks worse than the pictures you posted

dbomb · December 2, 2008, 01:02 PM

yeah, I just didnt know. When in doubt throw away, that was my rule lol. I've seen some videos online with people blowing up their rifles. I didnt want to be another newbie-reloader blowing up stuff

CrustyFN · December 2, 2008, 05:21 PM

I load brass like that all the time. Even unusable brass can be thrown into a bucket and sold for scrap.
Rusty

jamaica · December 2, 2008, 07:27 PM

Neck dents worse than that can be fixed quickly with a tapered punch.
Just insert the punch and apply some pressure to re-shape it.
Sizing will fix all those in your pictures.

PCJim · December 2, 2008, 08:31 PM

Dbomb, welcome to reloading. The answers you've received are all correct. You'll find that when you size your brass with those dinged necks, the decapping pin/expander ball will reshape it back to a beautiful round neck.

I also applaud you for asking first before possibly taking a risk that could injure your weapon, yourself and possibly those around you. This forum, as well as others online, are a wealth of information. You'll find that we're all anxious to offer assistance to further promote our sport.

All the best, Jim

singlestack45 · December 3, 2008, 05:09 PM

Size them and shoot them.

amamnn · December 4, 2008, 12:39 AM

In case you were wondering, the dents are typical of brass ejected from an AR with a deflector on it. Like everyone said--not a problem to rework.

December 2, 2008, 09:32 AM	#1
dbomb Member Join Date: November 11, 2008 Posts: 35	brass dents good or bad I'm new to reloading. I have bought some once shot brass online and after tumbling and cleaning it i saw a few that had dents on the neck. Are those any good or should I throw them away. I have been throwing away the ones that have dents on the boddy. I took a couple of pictures. Thanks

December 2, 2008, 09:44 AM	#2
Sevens Senior Member Join Date: July 28, 2007 Location: Ohio Posts: 11,756	Stop throwing away brass! Dents in the neck come from getting dinged upon ejection. Not a big deal at all and they'll iron out and be entirely unnoticed as soon as you resize. Dents in the body come from the same thing and while the sizing die won't iron them out, shooting them certainly will. (this is called fire forming, the brass will take the shape of your chamber when you shoot them.) If they come out of your gun with dings and dents after shooting then you'll know that your rifle dings them up, too! If you have SPLIT necks or actual splits in the case body, recycle that brass. Brass is malleable and will get dinged around. But it's flexible, it's meant to get dinged and then be reshaped. It's all good. __________________ *Attention Brass rats and other reloaders:* I really need .327 Federal Magnum brass, no lot size too small. Tell me what caliber you need and I'll see what I have to swap. PM me and we'll discuss.

December 2, 2008, 05:21 PM	#6
CrustyFN Senior Member Join Date: June 4, 2006 Location: West Virginia Posts: 2,258	I load brass like that all the time. Even unusable brass can be thrown into a bucket and sold for scrap. Rusty __________________ I don't ever remember being absent minded.

December 2, 2008, 08:31 PM	#8
PCJim Senior Member Join Date: July 11, 2008 Location: FL Posts: 570	A smart newbie - asking first! Dbomb, welcome to reloading. The answers you've received are all correct. You'll find that when you size your brass with those dinged necks, the decapping pin/expander ball will reshape it back to a beautiful round neck. I also applaud you for asking first before possibly taking a risk that could injure your weapon, yourself and possibly those around you. This forum, as well as others online, are a wealth of information. You'll find that we're all anxious to offer assistance to further promote our sport. All the best, Jim

December 4, 2008, 12:39 AM	#10
amamnn Senior Member Join Date: May 13, 2006 Location: WA, the left armpit of the USA Posts: 1,323	In case you were wondering, the dents are typical of brass ejected from an AR with a deflector on it. Like everyone said--not a problem to rework. __________________ "If the enemy is in range, so are you." - Infantry Journal

December 2, 2008, 10:35 AM	#3
dbomb Member Join Date: November 11, 2008 Posts: 35	Thanks, luckly I just started so I have not thrown away that much haha. This forum is great. thanks again,

December 2, 2008, 12:58 PM	#4
spencerhut Senior Member Join Date: March 18, 2006 Location: Idaho Posts: 147	Dents in the body are fine too. Don't be so darn picky. 50,000PSI or so from firing the round irons out the body dents every single time. Neck dents? I get brand new Winchester brass that looks worse than the pictures you posted

December 2, 2008, 01:02 PM	#5
dbomb Member Join Date: November 11, 2008 Posts: 35	yeah, I just didnt know. When in doubt throw away, that was my rule lol. I've seen some videos online with people blowing up their rifles. I didnt want to be another newbie-reloader blowing up stuff

December 2, 2008, 07:27 PM	#7
jamaica Senior Member Join Date: March 24, 2006 Location: Northern Utah Posts: 705	Neck dents worse than that can be fixed quickly with a tapered punch. Just insert the punch and apply some pressure to re-shape it. Sizing will fix all those in your pictures.

December 3, 2008, 05:09 PM	#9
singlestack45 Member Join Date: November 24, 2008 Posts: 19	Size them and shoot them.