Slanted case necks...

[Tyler]

Hey all.

I'm going over some once fired .303 brass from my Eddystone P-14 and I've noticed something peculiar: the top rims of the case necks are slanted after firing. The case itself has no other deformities and the case itself is straight and true, it's just the top rim is slanted. The rim is about .310 up from the shoulder on the 'short' side and about .318 up from the shoulder on the 'tall' side.

I imagine a case neck trimmer will take care of this and level things out, but what will this do to my brass life?

EDIT: Upon closer inspection and measurement, it seems the once fired brass has a shorter over-all length than the unfired brass:

Case length unfired: 2.210
Case length fired: 2.198 (short side)

Is this safe?

 

[Eagleye]

If your P14 has a "generous" cut chamber, it will shorten the brass somewhat on the initial firing. The same phenomenon occurs when firing a standard round in an "Improved" chamber. [e.g. 7-08 to 7-08AI] The fact that it has receded unevenly may be due to brass neck thickness or other similar factors. Trim it true and neck size for future uses and you should be good to go. The fact that the brass is a bit shorter than specs is not dangerous at all. Regards, Eagleye.

 

[Ganderite]

Sounds like the brass is sticking to the chamber wall on one side of the neck and not the other. Try cleaning chamber with a brush and solvent.

 

[Tyler]

Thanks for the tips and advice guys! Much appreciated.