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Should I use this brass?

bmash

Sergeant of the Hide
Full Member
Minuteman
May 21, 2018
274
227
Zachary, LA
Posted last year that I had an oversized chamber. (Reamer drawing shows 0.3769"@0.20" from the head. Fired case measures 0.384"@0.25" from head, so about 0.007" over reamer! Sized case goes back to 0.374, so 0.010 expansion of brass.
I have a replacement barrel so the questions are:
should I use the brass, how long will it last, and where will it fail? (I am thinking ok to shoot but it will fail sooner with a head separation.) Any experience or thought on this?
 
You really won't know until you get the new barrel. I really don't see that using the brass that you have will hurt anything if you full length resize it. With a new barrel and chamber I would back off of your pet load and work back up.

Depending on the caliber and the price/availability of the brass I would consider starting with new brass.
 
Thanks. 204 ruger. It was shot in an AR but I’m building a bolt action now. About 100 rounds of Norma brass. I’m thinking if I use it I’ll have a broken shell extractor handy.
i sure do hate to trash brass...