Is this case head about to seperate?

P

pilot_dc

Regular
Rating - 100%
60   0   0
Location
Ontario
These are 2 of 250, out of a box of 300 once fired brass I bought from a CGN member.

Looks to me like case-head seperaton in the works, but then again I'm new to reloading belted magnums. Should I be sending a message to the seller?

Note: I haven't resized these yet. They were shipped after being cleaned.

SSWAHandgunClub017.jpg


SSWAHandgunClub016.jpg
 
I'm sure the more experienced re-loaders will give you a better answer but they look OK to me, My 338 rounds look like that after the first firing, and I'm able to get 5 or 6 fairly warm loads out of each piece.
 
If it's once-fired, that's not incipient case-head separation. It's just a mark on the outside of the case - nothing to be concerned about.
 
Nipe. That one's fine. Incipient case head separation looks like a narrow, bright line - it's easily detected with a sharpened paper clip. Just scrape the needle sharp tip up and down inside the case, right down near the bottom. If it's getting ready to separate, you'll feel the groove.
 
What you are seeing is the expansion ring which forms at the point where the brass case wall transitions to the solid head. I can't see anything that looks like an incipient separation. By all means, check with a little right angled scraper, or even section a couple of case heads, for your peace of mind.
 
I get that same shiny ring in front of the magnum band on my 264 all the time, and then still get 4 or 5 reloads after that with no problems. When I've tried to measure the brass thickness, it seems to be slightly thicker just in front of the band, so I guess the shine is just metal compression. Doesn't hurt to be careful, though, and check the inside of the case for a groove.
 
If these have been sized/decapped already, that could just be marks from the die, where it stops sizing.

Doesn't look like anything to be worried about
 
That happens on every magnum case that I have reloaded. The resizing die is not able to resize down that far on the case. After several reloads, the brass may become hard to chamber.
Something to check out - www.larrywillis.com
They sell a die that can be used to iron out the pre-belt bulge you are showing on the case. I just got one and it does work. May extend the life of the brass for a few more reloads.
 
Last edited:
Best way to reload belted magnum cases is to forget about the belt, and set the headspace on the shoulder. This avoides excessive resizing of the case.
 
Take a paper clip . take the bends out of it, and run it down on the inside of the case to feel for a ring down around the base there, if it don't catch down in there your ok. :)
A point to note, if your size part way , just enough to hold the bullet firmly , like just over 1/8 inch on the neck of the case, you will not have a problem. All is required is to back off the die a bit.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom