Strange dent in Mosin brass?

Prof Young · January 12, 2018, 12:46 AM

Loaders:
So I bought some non-milsurp Mosin ammo thinking I'd learn to reload them.
Got the dies and all the components. Sat down and decapped and size em today and then notice these odd dents in the shoulder. (see attached pic). All of the fired rounds have this dent. Non of the unfired round have it. None of my fired steel cases have the dent either. It occurs to me that I didn't didn't inspect these until I had sized and decapped. Is the gun doing this or the die?
Help!!!

FrankenMauser · January 12, 2018, 12:55 AM

Too much lube while sizing.

Wrought · January 12, 2018, 09:31 AM

Frankenmauser said it. You only want to lightly lube your cases, enough that they feel slippery but dont exactly look wet.

Prof Young · January 12, 2018, 10:50 AM

Really? Wow. Who would'a thought. Okay. We will try with less lube.
Life is good.
Prof Young

jimbob86 · January 12, 2018, 11:33 AM

Clean your die, as well ..... probably some lube built up in there, too...... What are you using for lube and how are you applying it?

jag2 · January 12, 2018, 11:38 AM

Absolutely, a very common mistake with bottle shaped brass. Case lube is a learned procedure. You see so many reloaders complaining about spray on lubes. Fact is, if the proper amount is applied it works just fine and cases won’t stick. Spray on too much and you’ll get the same result you had. Pad or spray, you need to determine the correct amount thru trial an error. It’s been over 30 years but I remember learning that lesson on some .243 brass.

LBussy · January 12, 2018, 11:51 AM

I've not had that happen to me. If I did though I would probably not hesitate to fire the reloaded round, thinking it would just re-expand. Is that a reasonable/safe assumption?

jimbob86 · January 12, 2018, 11:58 AM

Quote:

I would probably not hesitate to fire the reloaded round, thinking it would just re-expand. Is that a reasonable/safe assumption?

Yep, firing will iron that right out .... fireformed to the chamber fired in.

F. Guffey · January 12, 2018, 12:01 PM

Quote:

thinking it would just re-expand.

I was at the firing range with cases that look similar to your cases with the dents; one shooter next top me told me to tell him I was not going to shoot those cases. To make him happy I said "I am not going to shoot these ugly cases" and then? I shot the cases, he wondered and then reminded me I told him I was not going to shoot 'those' cases. And then I corrected him; I reminded him he told me to say that.

I have had dents in cases while forming, I have allowed lube to build up but I have never had cases form dimple/dents when simply sizing the cases unless there was too much lube.

When firing there is no guarantee the dimple/dent will flatten, there are time the dent will become a folded crease. Life is too short for a reloader to shoot ugly cases.

F. Guffey

jimbob86 · January 12, 2018, 12:03 PM

Quote:

there are time the dent will be come a folded crease.

That would have to be one SERIOUS dent.

T. O'Heir · January 12, 2018, 01:34 PM

"...it would just re-expand..." Yep. No problem at all firing those. Just once back and forth with light pressure on the lube pad is enough.
Same kind of thing happens with .30-06 out of an M1. The cases tend to get whacked on the receiver upon ejection. Lotta the time on the case mouth. You just open that enough to get the expander in(Use needle nosed pliers as a mandrel. Handy things needle nosed pliers.) and you're fine.
Never seen any dented case fold in on itself.

F. Guffey · January 12, 2018, 03:36 PM

Quote:

Never seen any dented case fold in on itself.
__________________

When this happens the reloader can look down inside the case and see what looks like veined vortexes. It would be a lot of trouble to post pictures plus

I have not found the tokens.

F. Guffey

Ifishsum · January 12, 2018, 10:14 PM

Keep lube off the shoulders. I only lube the lower 2/3 or so of the case body, that's where a case will stick if it's going to.

m&p45acp10+1 · January 13, 2018, 10:27 AM

As has been said it is just minor lube dents. Load them up. When you fire them the dents will pop out. Next time you size them try to keep the lube below the shoulder of the brass.

Those could also be from fluted chambers. Some of the SVT had a fluted chamber to prevent stuck cases. Though I have never seen them leave ones that looked like lube dents. The SVT tends to leave brass cases looking like they were cut there.

F. Guffey · January 13, 2018, 10:55 AM

Quote:

Never seen any dented case fold in on itself.

And then there was that time I did a real live demonstration; a reloader insisted he could move the shoulder back on a case when sizing with a full length sizing die, and I disagreed. I insisted I could move the shoulder back but when finished the case would take on the appearance of being a case with an accordion attacked or a case with bellows.

It is important to have case body support when sizing a case, I know; there are reloaders with Redding dies that they call body dies.

F. Guffey

Prof Young · January 17, 2018, 05:59 PM

I managed to resize the rest without any dents. Shot both dented and undented today and all shot just fine. All but one of the dented ones came out of the gun with dents no more.

Life is good
Prof Young

January 12, 2018, 12:55 AM	#2
FrankenMauser Senior Member Join Date: August 25, 2008 Location: In the valley above the plain Posts: 13,424	Too much lube while sizing. __________________ Don't even try it. It's even worse than the internet would lead you to believe.

January 12, 2018, 10:50 AM	#4
Prof Young Senior Member Join Date: August 21, 2007 Location: Illinois - down state Posts: 2,404	Really?! Really? Wow. Who would'a thought. Okay. We will try with less lube. Life is good. Prof Young

January 12, 2018, 11:51 AM	#7
LBussy Senior Member Join Date: February 26, 2012 Location: Kansas City, MO Posts: 296	I've not had that happen to me. If I did though I would probably not hesitate to fire the reloaded round, thinking it would just re-expand. Is that a reasonable/safe assumption? __________________ -- Lee Bad decisions make good stories.

January 12, 2018, 01:34 PM	#11
T. O'Heir Senior Member Join Date: February 13, 2002 Location: Canada Posts: 12,453	"...it would just re-expand..." Yep. No problem at all firing those. Just once back and forth with light pressure on the lube pad is enough. Same kind of thing happens with .30-06 out of an M1. The cases tend to get whacked on the receiver upon ejection. Lotta the time on the case mouth. You just open that enough to get the expander in(Use needle nosed pliers as a mandrel. Handy things needle nosed pliers.) and you're fine. Never seen any dented case fold in on itself. __________________ Spelling and grammar count!

January 13, 2018, 10:27 AM	#14
m&p45acp10+1 Senior Member Join Date: May 3, 2009 Location: Central Texas Posts: 3,930	As has been said it is just minor lube dents. Load them up. When you fire them the dents will pop out. Next time you size them try to keep the lube below the shoulder of the brass. Those could also be from fluted chambers. Some of the SVT had a fluted chamber to prevent stuck cases. Though I have never seen them leave ones that looked like lube dents. The SVT tends to leave brass cases looking like they were cut there. __________________ No matter how many times you do it and nothing happens it only takes something going wrong one time to kill you.

January 12, 2018, 09:31 AM	#3
Wrought Member Join Date: February 11, 2016 Posts: 96	Frankenmauser said it. You only want to lightly lube your cases, enough that they feel slippery but dont exactly look wet.

January 12, 2018, 11:33 AM	#5
jimbob86 Junior member Join Date: October 4, 2007 Location: All the way to NEBRASKA Posts: 8,722	Clean your die, as well ..... probably some lube built up in there, too...... What are you using for lube and how are you applying it?

January 12, 2018, 11:38 AM	#6
jag2 Senior Member Join Date: June 30, 2009 Location: dallas Posts: 773	Absolutely, a very common mistake with bottle shaped brass. Case lube is a learned procedure. You see so many reloaders complaining about spray on lubes. Fact is, if the proper amount is applied it works just fine and cases won’t stick. Spray on too much and you’ll get the same result you had. Pad or spray, you need to determine the correct amount thru trial an error. It’s been over 30 years but I remember learning that lesson on some .243 brass.

January 12, 2018, 10:14 PM	#13
Ifishsum Senior Member Join Date: September 15, 2005 Location: Oregon Posts: 1,033	Keep lube off the shoulders. I only lube the lower 2/3 or so of the case body, that's where a case will stick if it's going to.

January 17, 2018, 05:59 PM	#16
Prof Young Senior Member Join Date: August 21, 2007 Location: Illinois - down state Posts: 2,404	Reloads shot fine . . . I managed to resize the rest without any dents. Shot both dented and undented today and all shot just fine. All but one of the dented ones came out of the gun with dents no more. Life is good Prof Young