LC 308 brass/shoulder question

[F4D]

Gentlemen,
I was given 100 processed and primed LC 308 brass. I have a Hornady ogive and shoulder gauge. I checked the shoulder on all cases and they measure from 1.606 to 1.618. The OAL is 2.006 and the web is .469 which is fine.

I load for my FAL and Remington 700 SPS Varmint. The shoulder bump for both is 1.618 max for a smooth bolt close and the average shoulder of most commercial ammo I have tested is 1.615 to 1.618.

So my question for all of you who are knowledgeable in such matters is what problems would there be in firing the brass that is from 1.606 to say 1.6114?

 

[turbo54]

Worst case is a ruptured case, but it is exceedingly unlikely if it is truly 1x brass.

If it's been fired/sized/fired/sized a number of times however (and sized too much each time), a ruptured case or casehead separation is much more likely.

 

[FLIGHT762]

I would just load the brass up and shoot it. Then be careful in using minimal shoulder bumping for the 700 in subsequent firings. FAL's are hard on brass and they may be chambered in 7.62NATO, which could have a bit looser chamber than your Remington 700 chamber. You can measure the fired cases from the FAL to see how far forward the shoulders are being pushed. When you measure fired cases from the FAL, I would turn the gas plug in the FAL to the grenade "G" position and fire 5-10 rounds single shot to get a more precise shoulder measurement. Some gas guns will move the shoulder farther forward during the normal operating cycle, the M-14 / M1-A will do this. You will still have to F/L size for the FAL so you will get easy chambering, but the measurements with the Hornady gauge will show you how much the FAL is moving the shoulders. On some gas guns, you may only get 4-5 reloadings out of the brass.

I would take the brass and segregate it to 50 for the FAL and 50 for the 700 and not inter mix the brass between the rifles. I swipe the case heads with a colored magic marker to mark them.

 

[SatCong]

Gentlemen,
I was given 100 processed and primed LC 308 brass. I have a Hornady ogive and shoulder gauge. I checked the shoulder on all cases and they measure from 1.606 to 1.618. The OAL is 2.006 and the web is .469 which is fine.

I load for my FAL and Remington 700 SPS Varmint. The shoulder bump for both is 1.618 max for a smooth bolt close and the average shoulder of most commercial ammo I have tested is 1.615 to 1.618.

So my question for all of you who are knowledgeable in such matters is what problems would there be in firing the brass that is from 1.606 to say 1.6114?

Don't worry about it!

 

[F4D]

Here is something I found on the subject.....................

Excessive headspace may lead to gas leakage around the case or head separation and the sudden release of high pressure gas. A chamber that is over maximum might not show any signs of trouble at all. In fact, you might never know it unless you reload. However, upon firing, the expansion of the case blows the shoulder forward. When you full length resize and set the shoulder back, you will probably set up the excess headspace condition again, potentially causing the stretched brass to eventually crack and break.


Insufficient or excessively tight headspace may cause malfunctions such as failure to lock. It often makes extraction difficult and may cause dangerous stresses on the mechanism which, in turn, may shorten component life expectancy or lead to failure. If your chamber is below minimum (and thus, too small) you may experience problems with bolt function. The cartridge, being crammed into the excessively tight chamber, pre-stresses the locking lugs of the bolt. After firing, the bolt handle might be hard to lift. Or, in a self-loading rifle, spent cases might not eject far, if at all. The extra force can wear the engagement surfaces of the locking lugs or even wedge the action closed and locked.

 

[Flea21]

Here is something I found on the subject.....................

Excessive headspace may lead to gas leakage around the case or head separation and the sudden release of high pressure gas. A chamber that is over maximum might not show any signs of trouble at all. In fact, you might never know it unless you reload. However, upon firing, the expansion of the case blows the shoulder forward. When you full length resize and set the shoulder back, you will probably set up the excess headspace condition again, potentially causing the stretched brass to eventually crack and break.


Insufficient or excessively tight headspace may cause malfunctions such as failure to lock. It often makes extraction difficult and may cause dangerous stresses on the mechanism which, in turn, may shorten component life expectancy or lead to failure. If your chamber is below minimum (and thus, too small) you may experience problems with bolt function. The cartridge, being crammed into the excessively tight chamber, pre-stresses the locking lugs of the bolt. After firing, the bolt handle might be hard to lift. Or, in a self-loading rifle, spent cases might not eject far, if at all. The extra force can wear the engagement surfaces of the locking lugs or even wedge the action closed and locked.

Interesting... I had a similar issue with ppu brass. The bolt was hard to bring backward after firing no matter what recipe I used and I was always startinf 10 percent below max. I damaged my extractor and the face of bolt a little which required sending the rifle to the smith for a new extractor install and refacing the bolt (just .001 or .002, nothing major thank GOD). When I switched to hornady match and lapua (so far thats all ive used otherwise) the issue disappeared and the rifle functions excellently... I still cannot understand it and my curiosity has me still baffled as to why this is the case. Part of me wants to forget it and move on and an9ther part of me wants to get to the bottom of it.. hopefully someone here might be able to shed some light on the situation.

 

[F4D]

I'll fire form them in the 700 with 40.5gr of IMR 4895 and a 147gr Mil Surplus bullet. This mid load.