changing brass headstamp

geeguy

July 09, 2012 10:45

I shoot some .44 special and have always been interested in cutting down .44 mag brass and using them. My concern is that I have so much brass and sometimes only load that round once every two years or so, I have been afraid that I will forget (even though the box is marked)and mix the rounds.

Does anyone know of a reasonable method of changing the headstamp (thought of using a dremel, but it would change the base thickness)?

In the past I have marked each case on the side, but I'm looking for a better way.

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  TANK78Z

  July 09, 2012 11:29

  I personally would not do any metal removal on the cases.
  What I have done in a similar situation, was to use red or green permanent magic markers to coat the entire head stamp, an put a line or 2 encircling the case.
  This along with putting the cases in separate containers properly marked has worked for me.

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  charliemeyer007

  July 09, 2012 12:42

  Take a sharp file and cut a small notch in the rim. When you see or feel that notch you will know it's now 44 Special brass.

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  geeguy

  July 10, 2012 04:14

  Tank - tried the marker, but when cleaning the cases it is removed. Plus I use this method for my match ammo, so it could get further confused.
  
  Charlie - good idea, it's a revolver and a small notch would not have an effect. I gauge all my rounds after final crimp so I would easily see the notch.
  
  Thanks to all for the information.

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  victorj19

  July 10, 2012 09:53

  I've actually cut a groove through the edge of rims with a dremel tool for the 9x18 cut down from 9x19. Fired several hundred without a problem.
  
  In general, I wouldn't advise thinning the flat surface of the rim. It would be way too much effort anyway.

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  Ambrose

  July 11, 2012 13:44

  Hardly seems worth the effort to cut down the brass, much less modify the headstamp. Starline makes very good .44 Special brass that sells for a reasonable price and it already has the correct headstamp. Since you don't load very much .44 Special, that's the way I'd go.

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  Mobuck

  July 12, 2012 01:31

  One of the cartridge conversion books showed a little tool made to remove/obliturate the headstamp of modified cases. It located on the primer pocket and cut a groove where the headstamp was. With the pressures a 44 SP works with, I wouldn't see that as a problem.

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  geeguy

  July 12, 2012 04:43

  Ambrose: Yes "buying" a bag of 100 would solve the issue easily. I have tried trading many other types of brass also. But like "most" reloaders I am frugal (can be read as cheap), I have lots of 44 mag that I don't use and only use the 44 special a few times a year, so it didn't seem like I should actually spend money on more brass.
  
  I have also been known to reform .223 to .222 and .308 to 7mm-08 just to see if I could do it since I had the dies and not the guns. I will admit that sometimes trying to be cheap costs me a lot more, but it's part of the game for me.
  
  Thanks everyone for your input.

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  RCrosby

  July 27, 2012 03:38

  I load a lot of .44 Special and .44 Mag; currently for my Blackhawk and Smith 24. The difference in appearance between the two is so clear to me that I've never considered it a problem though I will often shorten my mag brass to special when cracks start to appear at the mouth of the longer case. If I'm looking carefully enough to read headstamps I'm looking closely enough to tell length differences. I'd probably be more careful if my Smith would chamber mag ammo but it won't even come close.
  What I will do is to mark the base with permanent marker when I note that primers are going in noticably easier than in the past. Those I shoot then discard.

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  Riomouse911

  July 27, 2012 08:22

  Use the dremel and just lightly scuff the headstamp on the "Mag" part of the headstamp. You don't need to remove more than a tiny bit of surface brass to permanently mark it. This should not affect the case at all.
  
  This'll prevent the cleaning from removing the mark (like magic marker) and make it obvious to you that it's a Special.
  
  I started doing this years ago with hot-loaded .45 Colt's, back when I had a SAA clone and my Rugers, in order to keep the hotties from the clone. The clone is now gone, but I still mark them this way just in case.

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  reloader44mag

  July 27, 2012 15:50

  quote:Originally posted by Riomouse911
  Use the dremel and just lightly scuff the headstamp on the "Mag" part of the headstamp. You don't need to remove more than a tiny bit of surface brass to permanently mark it. This should not affect the case at all.
  
  This'll prevent the cleaning from removing the mark (like magic marker) and make it obvious to you that it's a Special.
  
  I started doing this years ago with hot-loaded .45 Colt's, back when I had a SAA clone and my Rugers, in order to keep the hotties from the clone. The clone is now gone, but I still mark them this way just in case.
  +1..

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