The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > The Skunkworks > Handloading, Reloading, and Bullet Casting

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old March 10, 2019, 12:08 AM   #1
Prof Young
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 21, 2007
Location: Illinois - down state
Posts: 2,399
Lines below neck on brass?

I bought the bulk 500 "once fired" 223 brass from Midway. As I was depriming and sizing, in the same stroke, there were 18 that did not want to size. Even with case lube liberally applied they jammed up and got stuck. I didn't have to use an tools to get them free of the sizing die. With out fail when I got them out I saw lines below the "shoulder." Those lines may have happened in the die, but I'm not sure. Take a look at the pic attached below and tell me what you think.

Life is good.
Prof Young
Attached Images
File Type: jpg brass.JPG (127.4 KB, 155 views)
Prof Young is offline  
Old March 10, 2019, 12:40 AM   #2
rg1
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 6, 2001
Posts: 1,125
Could possibly be brass fired in a fluted chamber. There are some manufacturers of fluted .223/5.56 chambers out there. Usually they size ok though and are considered safe to reload? The fluted chambers work best for steel cased ammo and can be hard on soft brass cases. That hard to resize, I'd just scrap them.

Last edited by rg1; March 10, 2019 at 12:52 AM.
rg1 is offline  
Old March 10, 2019, 01:32 AM   #3
Metal god
Senior Member
 
Join Date: April 10, 2012
Location: San Diego CA
Posts: 6,872
I agree those look like flute marks to me . If so they should be there before you size them . Can you feel them ?

See post #12 below
https://www.survivalistboards.com/sh...d.php?t=348646

Or
https://www.google.com/search?biw=11...30.J92qWL1oqro
__________________
If Jesus had a gun , he'd probably still be alive !

I almost always write my posts regardless of content in a jovial manor and intent . If that's not how you took it , please try again .

Last edited by Metal god; March 10, 2019 at 01:40 AM.
Metal god is offline  
Old March 10, 2019, 03:12 AM   #4
74A95
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 26, 2016
Posts: 1,551
Those were fired in a fluted chamber. H&K is likely.

I had a H&K 91A3 in 308 and they looked just like that. They reloaded fine, but don't know if they will for you.
74A95 is offline  
Old March 10, 2019, 07:23 AM   #5
Mobuck
Junior member
 
Join Date: February 2, 2010
Posts: 6,846
I'd think brass fired in a fluted chamber would have been noticeable during handling-especially when placing in the shellholder for sizing.
Mobuck is offline  
Old March 10, 2019, 10:12 AM   #6
Don Fischer
Senior Member
 
Join Date: March 2, 2017
Posts: 1,868
Flute's seem not to be a big problem though I never heard of fluted chamber's. But they should still re-size in a proper die. Maybe not lubed well enough? Fairly simple job to take case's to big and size them down to something else. 308 down to 243 is a breeze. You don't suppose they might be steel case's? Never tried loading them but who know's, certainly not me.
Don Fischer is offline  
Old March 10, 2019, 10:23 AM   #7
F. Guffey
Senior Member
 
Join Date: July 18, 2008
Posts: 7,249
I can not see the lines but I have seen lines caused by too much grease/lube. I use a towel on a dowel to get a fresh start.

F. Guffey

I thought he said he was liberal with the lube.
F. Guffey is offline  
Old March 10, 2019, 11:26 AM   #8
big al hunter
Senior Member
 
Join Date: March 12, 2011
Location: Washington state
Posts: 1,558
What lube, press and die are you using? Might be a case of not enough leverage. You said it was not difficult to get the cases out of the die after they stopped. Did they get far enough to knock the primer out? Try running one of them through the sizing die again?
__________________
You can't fix stupid....however ignorance can be cured through education!
big al hunter is offline  
Old March 10, 2019, 11:49 AM   #9
jetinteriorguy
Senior Member
 
Join Date: April 28, 2013
Posts: 3,149
Are they Berdan primed, perhaps your decapping pin is stopping your sizing die because of this.
jetinteriorguy is offline  
Old March 10, 2019, 04:17 PM   #10
zeke
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 17, 1999
Location: NW Wi
Posts: 1,665
Those brass were fired in a fluted chamber. If HK type, the action pulls the brass away before usual action types and the base can swell more. Measure the base on the unfluted brass and compare it to the base on the fluted to check. It would be unusual for the lines to hurt the brass, but personally wouldn't bother with brass from most fluted chambers.

And yes, have loaded batches of fired brass from hk-91.
zeke is offline  
Old March 10, 2019, 08:11 PM   #11
Prof Young
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 21, 2007
Location: Illinois - down state
Posts: 2,399
thanks to all

Thanks to all for the info an ideas.

Just FYI I'm using Lee press and dies.
By "not hard to get out after they were stuck" I mean I didn't have to take the die out and use an extractor or anything like that. The did take a lot of extra pressure to get them pulled out of the die after being stuck.

Thanks again.

Life is good.
Prof Young
Prof Young is offline  
Old March 11, 2019, 09:57 PM   #12
tmd47762
Member
 
Join Date: April 30, 2009
Location: San Antonio, TX
Posts: 96
What are the headstamps? I know some NATO countries use chambers that are are fluted.
tmd47762 is offline  
Old March 12, 2019, 09:11 AM   #13
Unclenick
Staff
 
Join Date: March 4, 2005
Location: Ohio
Posts: 21,017
Prof. Young,

Those are definitely chamber flute marks. The flutes are supposed to make extraction easier in rapid full-auto operation. They will pretty much dissappear after your first cycle of sizing and firing in your chamber.


F. Guffey,

The edges of the flute marks are easier to see in black and white:

Attached Images
File Type: jpg brass flutes 2019-03-12_10-06-49.jpg (89.9 KB, 165 views)
__________________
Gunsite Orange Hat Family Member
CMP Certified GSM Master Instructor
NRA Certified Rifle Instructor
NRA Benefactor Member and Golden Eagle
Unclenick is offline  
Old March 12, 2019, 10:34 AM   #14
Nathan
Senior Member
 
Join Date: July 1, 2001
Posts: 6,285
I would send those back to Midwayusa. It really is unacceptable to sell you “fluted chamber” brass. They ought to pay return shipping as it should be viewed by both parties as Midwayusa’s mistake. If I bought these from a low dollar brass sorter..... I expect some scrap.

Fluted chambers work the brass. That means it is stress hardened from stretching over the flutes. It will be harder to size to the correct size. After you get it sized to run in your gun, it will crack sooner. I cannot tell you what percentage sooner, I have no experience as I scrap this stuff because I cannot move the shoulders back to where I find it acceptable to load.

Annealing might help, but that adds to your processing cost...,a lot.
Nathan is offline  
Old March 12, 2019, 01:59 PM   #15
T. O'Heir
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 13, 2002
Location: Canada
Posts: 12,453
"...some NATO countries..." Only one is Germany by HK, as I recall. HK-91's and 93's and their military counterparts the G3 and HK33 had fluted chambers. Rumours of the cases coming out of any of 'em not be reloadable floated around for years.
The headstamps will tell you if the stuff is milsurp. The NATO circle will too.
__________________
Spelling and grammar count!
T. O'Heir is offline  
Old March 12, 2019, 02:50 PM   #16
Unclenick
Staff
 
Join Date: March 4, 2005
Location: Ohio
Posts: 21,017
The Spanish-produced CETME rifle also uses a fluted chamber.
__________________
Gunsite Orange Hat Family Member
CMP Certified GSM Master Instructor
NRA Certified Rifle Instructor
NRA Benefactor Member and Golden Eagle
Unclenick is offline  
Old March 12, 2019, 02:58 PM   #17
Sharkbite
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 4, 2013
Location: Western slope of Colorado
Posts: 3,678
Ive reloaded TONS of 9mm brass that came out of MP5’s. Those also have fluted chambers. No issues.
Sharkbite is offline  
Old March 12, 2019, 04:32 PM   #18
Unclenick
Staff
 
Join Date: March 4, 2005
Location: Ohio
Posts: 21,017
...and these .223 flute marks seem pretty tame compared to some I've seen on .308.
__________________
Gunsite Orange Hat Family Member
CMP Certified GSM Master Instructor
NRA Certified Rifle Instructor
NRA Benefactor Member and Golden Eagle
Unclenick is offline  
Old March 12, 2019, 05:30 PM   #19
Scorch
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 13, 2006
Location: Washington state
Posts: 15,248
Looks just like the brass that I used to get out of my HK93. And FWIW, resizing it will never get rid of it.
__________________
Never try to educate someone who resists knowledge at all costs.
But what do I know?
Summit Arms Services
Scorch is offline  
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 05:39 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.10758 seconds with 11 queries