Case Separation

garandfan

November 09, 2002 13:26

I was reading my Lyman manual and it talked about incipient case head separation. It said the first sign of it is a bright partial rings near the case head. I'm am just starting to reload for my 270 and I looked at my once fired (by me) Remington brass and noticed more of a discoloration ring on all the cases near the head. I noticed the same thing too on some 30-06 brass from Remington as well. Does anybody know if this is normal with Remington brass? I know that I am just being paranoid, but I just want to make sure of everything before I reload my first rounds. Thanks.

"To be prepared for War is one of the most
effectual means of preserving peace"-George Washington

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  Tailgunner1954

  November 09, 2002 13:42

  Some amount of "bright ring" is normal with any brass. This is where the "thin" walls meet the "thick" base. If you ever see a thin black line in this area, you are looking at a case that is partially seperated.
  The best check is to streightn out a paperclip, and than bend a "hook" about 3/16 long on one end. Insert the hook into the case and drag it along the inner wall of the case. You can feel the case thinning (if it's occuring) when the hook "catches" in the thin spot.
  If you suspect a case (with the hook), or just want to see for yourself, cut the one of your cases in half (fine tooth hacksaw).
  

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  Some guys like a mag full of lead, I still prefer one round to the head.
  
  Edited by - Tailgunner1954 on 11/09/2002 18:46:20

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  GPWEAPON

  November 09, 2002 14:59

  Since you are just starting you should get many reloads out of your brass if you #1 do not push your reloads to the max and #2 resize to work the case to a minimum. meaning get a gauge which shows the min-max dimentions for your cartridge you can get a dial indicator to see how far your chamber streches them over the max on the gauge. In stead of resizing to the gauge max you would size a thou or two smaller than the present size. This would make your brass last a long long time. At one point you would have to anneal the necks because this is where failure would occur first. maybe after 12 reloads.

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  Iconoclast

  November 09, 2002 17:54

  That ring is normal and will be more obvious when you resize the brass because there is an short area which is not re-sized corresponding to the clearances involving the shellholder, sizing die lead, etc. Not to worry. The incipient separation will have a somewhat different appearance and will stand out after you become accustomed to looking closely at fired cases. If you shoot moderate loads, you will shoot any given case many times before this will appear. You can check it as Tailgunner suggests. It is a time-consuming task IMHO, so if I get brass which I feel needs that sort of attention, I just pitch it. Usually I see evidence of primer pocket enlargement or neck cracks before head separation. Usually doesn't mean always, though. If you've not had to trim the brass (I usually do when I first load it, to ensure uniformity . . . I'm talking about later, 5-10 times after the first reload), incredibly unlikely enough brass has flowed forward under the chamber pressure to cause thinning in the head area.
  
  You are not being paranoid. Applying caution to matters involving firearms is evidence of proper use of the gray cells and asking these sorts of questions is evidence of that.

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