Strange damage on neck 223

arpcentralone · November 23, 2017, 06:15 PM

I have noticed these small marks on each cartridge that my AR fires, and haven't noticed it before. Is this something to worry about? Will it affect reloading my brass? It happens to factory as well as reloads.

marked.jpg

bacardisteve · November 23, 2017, 08:02 PM

Probably from the brass deflector nothing to worry about should get ironed out when u resize.

243winxb · November 23, 2017, 08:21 PM

Locking lug damage. Scrap brass. Polish barrel extension lug area.

rg1 · November 23, 2017, 09:03 PM

Bolt locking lugs. When extracted as soon as the brass clears the chamber the extractor flips the brass toward the ejection port side and it hits a sharp edge of one of the bolt locking lugs. This is usually worse in carbine length rifles. You can polish the sharp edge of the locking lugs. I don't and after many rounds fired it gets better on it's own. As far as brass, if it raises a burr I touch it up with a smooth file. Most of the time you can just size and reload. It will cause no safety issues that I'm aware of.

arpcentralone · November 23, 2017, 09:24 PM

How would one go about polishing the locking lug? Is it one of the teeth that is gouging the brass neck? I will try resizing and see if it clears the case, but I really would like the rifle to be a little more gentle to my brass, ya know.

243winxb · November 23, 2017, 10:18 PM

http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=580609 Bottom line, 19 of the 20 cases involved in the test failed due to cracks/splits developing in the root of the gouges created when the fired case was being extracted and contacted the locking lugs on the barrel extension.

arpcentralone · November 23, 2017, 10:28 PM

Im fixing to look into that. I am also looking into the ejector spring, it's kind of hard. Might be too long or too strong. I have had this rifle about a year and just now learning the finer details. I should have learned this stuff long ago, but time only recently permitted for me to get into this like I need to. I'm the guy who loves to tear something down to the last roll pin and reassemble it, polishing any contact surface for smoothness as I go. I know my rifle isn't a mega build, with the nicest barrel, bolt, parts but, "This is my rifle, there are many like it, but this one is mine!"

243winxb · November 23, 2017, 10:33 PM

The barrel extension needs removed from the barrel to polish correctly. This changes head space. Your is not as bad as some.

I would live with it, brass is cheap.

arpcentralone · November 23, 2017, 11:04 PM

Sure, brass is cheap, however that would negate the whole reasoning for reloading my own ammo. As long as I could get a handful of uses from the brass, I would retire it.

arpcentralone · November 23, 2017, 11:27 PM

Alright, it doesn't appear to be too difficult to modify the locking lugs, removing the sharp edges and polishing down some. I will attempt that sometime next week. Also going to shorten the ejector spring slightly, those carts exit the rifle at almost the same velocity as the projectile! Not really, but resting the rifle on the hood of my truck, I though I might chip my windshield. I hung a ball cap from my scope over my ejector port to "catch" the carts as they exited, and it helped pile them right under my mag.

FrankenMauser · November 25, 2017, 01:27 PM

ARs scratch brass. It's life. Don't worry about it.

If you do want to chase it, checking out the ejector spring is a good start.

BWM · November 25, 2017, 01:46 PM

Heck shoot it and have fun it will take care of it self good shooting

ed308 · November 25, 2017, 02:39 PM

All those marks are normal for an AR. As the lugs and barrel extension wear, the problem will lessen. If the AR is ejecting in the right place no need to make changes. But, if you get dents half way down the case, add the soft side of a velcro strip on the brass deflector. If your getting cuts in the case rims, stone or smooth the extractor edges that grab the brass.

hdwhit · November 25, 2017, 05:46 PM

Quote:

arpcentralone wrote:
...I really would like the rifle to be a little more gentle to my brass, ya know.

Yes, I think we all would. But, as others noted, the shorter the gas action, the harder it is on the brass. If you are currently using a carbine length gas action, you might find you get less violent treatment of your brass from a mid-length or rifle length arrangement.

**Mike Irwin** · November 27, 2017, 11:15 AM

You can easily reload those with no issues.

I've reloaded cases with far worse chew marks.

November 23, 2017, 06:15 PM	#1
arpcentralone Member Join Date: November 23, 2017 Posts: 34	Strange damage on neck 223 I have noticed these small marks on each cartridge that my AR fires, and haven't noticed it before. Is this something to worry about? Will it affect reloading my brass? It happens to factory as well as reloads. marked.jpg

November 23, 2017, 08:02 PM	#2
bacardisteve Senior Member Join Date: September 5, 2006 Location: West virginia Posts: 653	Probably from the brass deflector nothing to worry about should get ironed out when u resize. __________________ Kill em all and let God sort em out! USAF

November 23, 2017, 10:18 PM	#6
243winxb Senior Member Join Date: July 26, 2011 Location: USA Posts: 1,730	http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=580609 Bottom line, 19 of the 20 cases involved in the test failed due to cracks/splits developing in the root of the gouges created when the fired case was being extracted and contacted the locking lugs on the barrel extension. Last edited by 243winxb; October 5, 2018 at 07:10 AM.

November 25, 2017, 01:27 PM	#11
FrankenMauser Senior Member Join Date: August 25, 2008 Location: In the valley above the plain Posts: 13,424	ARs scratch brass. It's life. Don't worry about it. If you do want to chase it, checking out the ejector spring is a good start. __________________ Don't even try it. It's even worse than the internet would lead you to believe.

November 25, 2017, 01:46 PM	#12
BWM Senior Member Join Date: November 6, 2013 Location: SW IN Posts: 438	Heck shoot it and have fun it will take care of it self good shooting __________________ Man that likes guns. Navy. USS Ponchatoula AO 148 USS Vesuvius AE 15

November 23, 2017, 08:21 PM	#3
243winxb Senior Member Join Date: July 26, 2011 Location: USA Posts: 1,730	Locking lug damage. Scrap brass. Polish barrel extension lug area.

November 23, 2017, 09:03 PM	#4
rg1 Senior Member Join Date: November 6, 2001 Posts: 1,125	Bolt locking lugs. When extracted as soon as the brass clears the chamber the extractor flips the brass toward the ejection port side and it hits a sharp edge of one of the bolt locking lugs. This is usually worse in carbine length rifles. You can polish the sharp edge of the locking lugs. I don't and after many rounds fired it gets better on it's own. As far as brass, if it raises a burr I touch it up with a smooth file. Most of the time you can just size and reload. It will cause no safety issues that I'm aware of.

November 23, 2017, 09:24 PM	#5
arpcentralone Member Join Date: November 23, 2017 Posts: 34	How would one go about polishing the locking lug? Is it one of the teeth that is gouging the brass neck? I will try resizing and see if it clears the case, but I really would like the rifle to be a little more gentle to my brass, ya know.

November 23, 2017, 10:28 PM	#7
arpcentralone Member Join Date: November 23, 2017 Posts: 34	Im fixing to look into that. I am also looking into the ejector spring, it's kind of hard. Might be too long or too strong. I have had this rifle about a year and just now learning the finer details. I should have learned this stuff long ago, but time only recently permitted for me to get into this like I need to. I'm the guy who loves to tear something down to the last roll pin and reassemble it, polishing any contact surface for smoothness as I go. I know my rifle isn't a mega build, with the nicest barrel, bolt, parts but, "This is my rifle, there are many like it, but this one is mine!"

November 23, 2017, 10:33 PM	#8
243winxb Senior Member Join Date: July 26, 2011 Location: USA Posts: 1,730	The barrel extension needs removed from the barrel to polish correctly. This changes head space. Your is not as bad as some. I would live with it, brass is cheap.

November 23, 2017, 11:04 PM	#9
arpcentralone Member Join Date: November 23, 2017 Posts: 34	Sure, brass is cheap, however that would negate the whole reasoning for reloading my own ammo. As long as I could get a handful of uses from the brass, I would retire it.

November 23, 2017, 11:27 PM	#10
arpcentralone Member Join Date: November 23, 2017 Posts: 34	Alright, it doesn't appear to be too difficult to modify the locking lugs, removing the sharp edges and polishing down some. I will attempt that sometime next week. Also going to shorten the ejector spring slightly, those carts exit the rifle at almost the same velocity as the projectile! Not really, but resting the rifle on the hood of my truck, I though I might chip my windshield. I hung a ball cap from my scope over my ejector port to "catch" the carts as they exited, and it helped pile them right under my mag.

November 25, 2017, 02:39 PM	#13
ed308 Senior Member Join Date: November 5, 2016 Location: DFW, TX Posts: 1,147	All those marks are normal for an AR. As the lugs and barrel extension wear, the problem will lessen. If the AR is ejecting in the right place no need to make changes. But, if you get dents half way down the case, add the soft side of a velcro strip on the brass deflector. If your getting cuts in the case rims, stone or smooth the extractor edges that grab the brass.

November 27, 2017, 11:15 AM	#15
Mike Irwin Staff Join Date: April 13, 2000 Location: Northern Virginia Posts: 41,389	You can easily reload those with no issues. I've reloaded cases with far worse chew marks. __________________ "The gift which I am sending you is called a dog, and is in fact the most precious and valuable possession of mankind" -Theodorus Gaza Baby Jesus cries when the fat redneck doesn't have military-grade firepower.