Brass or Trash

[roostercogburn98]

Have a small batch of 6.5 creedmoor brass that I got to test loads and break the barrel in. It is 100 rounds of Federal brass. My question is should I try to anneal the necks and use it more or scrap it since I have 4 firings on it and some of the primer pockets are getting soft. I already have 400 pieces of Hornady waiting to load up so no loss if I trash it. Just curious to the thoughts here.

 

[Bender830]

If the pockets are lose then toss it.

 

[Steel head]

If they won’t hold a primer reliably it’s scrap.

 

[straightshooter1]

I swage each piece of my brass after each firing with a pocket swage tool and just get rid of those that are loose. I tend to get about 10 firing from my Federal brass and only have to discard very few to that point. At 10 firings case wall is stretching and head separation looks imminent and that's when I trash them all.

 

[lightman]

If the primer pockets are getting loose, trash it.

 

[straightshooter1]

If the primer pockets are getting loose, trash it.

How loose is loose? ?

 

[1moaoff]

How loose is loose? ?

Primer pockets or women? Oh nevermind it's the same answer!

 

[Sean the Nailer]

FWIW, and as I have asked in other threads, Please hang on to 'scrap brass' for me. I'll pay shipping. I'm trying to amass a 'shit-load' of brass (all different caliber's) for an 'Art Project' and I just don't have it in me to use 'good/viable' brass.

For well over a year now, I've been trying to collect brass. No, I'm not kidding. Serious as a heart-attack. Hit me with a PM, if you're willing to help.

https://www.snipershide.com/shooting/threads/now-thats-art.6902828/#post-7238596

 

[roostercogburn98]

FWIW, and as I have asked in other threads, Please hang on to 'scrap brass' for me. I'll pay shipping. I'm trying to amass a 'shit-load' of brass (all different caliber's) for an 'Art Project' and I just don't have it in me to use 'good/viable' brass.

For well over a year now, I've been trying to collect brass. No, I'm not kidding. Serious as a heart-attack. Hit me with a PM, if you're willing to help.

https://www.snipershide.com/shooting/threads/now-thats-art.6902828/#post-7238596

Will keep it for you then. Probably got more somewhere laying around or different calibers as well.

 

[lightman]

How loose is loose? ?

I guess it depends on how much you value your bolt face. Brass is fairly cheap. New bolts, not so much.

 

[straightshooter1]

I guess it depends on how much you value your bolt face. Brass is fairly cheap. New bolts, not so much.

True. But still don't know "how loose is loose" . . . our how loose is not tight enough??? ?

 

[roostercogburn98]

They stay in the pocket and I’m not worried about them falling out during firing. They just don’t have that snug fit you expect when seating a primer. I got 400 more to start working on so these will be retired. I have had one primer blow out in a gun but was in a different caliber that is notorious for pressure. It was a super small change in powder but I won’t make that mistake again and risk myself or a gun

 

[wpgk58]

Have a small batch of 6.5 creedmoor brass that I got to test loads and break the barrel in. It is 100 rounds of Federal brass. My question is should I try to anneal the necks and use it more or scrap it since I have 4 firings on it and some of the primer pockets are getting soft. I already have 400 pieces of Hornady waiting to load up so no loss if I trash it. Just curious to the thoughts here.

Not worth the effort. Toss it.

 

[Steel head]

How loose is loose? ?

This is too loose.

 

[straightshooter1]

View attachment 7207430
This is too loose.

Yup.

Rather than finding out this way, I simply use a swage gauge after each firing and trash canning any that the swage will slide into. Though some pockets can feel a bit loose when priming, they hold up as long as they pass the swage gauge test. It's really the only reliable way I've found to know when the pockets are actually too loose. I hate guessing and throwing away perfectly good brass. . . especially when I've invested a lot of time precision tuning them.

For those who haven't see such a swage gauge, here's a pic:

 

[roostercogburn98]

View attachment 7207430
This is too loose.

Yeah that’s loose but some of those primers look a little flat and like they are starting to crater. Some ejector marks as well in there.