Brass loaded too hot; when do you toss it?

[TheGerman]

Shot some handloads (5.56, 77 grain) that were loaded much too hot (primers with holes, flattened primers, extractor marks) and ironically inaccurate as shit yesterday and am now going through the brass. I'd like to keep as much of it as possible as its all once fired LC brass and is fire formed to the chamber, properly prepped and trimmed, etc.

It seems that even the cases with no extractor marks have the metal from the primer cup cratering out a bit; imagine if the firing pin hit the primer with ALOT of force and the tiny bit of metal from the primer coming out a bit around it from the displacement. What do you look for as far as discarding the cases after blown primers, flatted primers and/or some rims with a little mangling and what is considered unsafe?

None show a sign of the head separating from what I can tell but all have a slight ring around them and none have split necks or any odd deformities, bulges, etc.

 

[ShtrRdy]

My first check would be to see if the primer pockets got streched enough to not hold a primer in firmly.

 

[lte82]

My first check would be to see if the primer pockets got streched enough to not hold a primer in firmly.

This +1.

Your primer pockets will be the first thing to go usually.

 

[Graham]

Brass loaded too hot; when do you toss it?

Do the cases fit in the shell holder? If the case head is blown out above the rim, throw them away.

 

[TheGerman]

Do the cases fit in the shell holder? If the case head is blown out above the rim, throw them away.

So far I've lubed a few and put them through the die to see how they 'reacted' to it and everything looks to be good to go. The shoulder is at exactly the right right bumped dimension and case OAL is within .005 of what it was when trimmed.

I'll see if they fit in the shellholder of the priming tool or single stage I'd have the correct sized holder for and see. The primer pockets were also something I was going to look at when attempting to prime. Some of the primers are requiring a bit of force to pop out.

 

[JBNj]

Take a bent coat hangar or something of the like and feel inside the case where the slight ring is. See if you feel anything. The inside will tell you if case seperation is closer than what you think of the outside. Otherwise what was said above would be my next check up.

 

[bigedp51]

Check the cases using pin gauges to check the primer pockets for being oversized, this beats pushing live primers out of oversized primer pockets.

Also measure the base of a few of your fired cases and check for excess base expansion, the shell holder method just means you really screwed up and way over loaded the case. Meaning .001 expansion is your first sign of over pressure and the brass starting to flow, if it doesn't fit in the shell holder it means its too late to fix the problem and your case is scrap brass.

 

[leadbullet]

I toss my brass when it doesnt hold a primer, neck is split or can't keep powder in. everything else like dimples, burrs on the rim etc, I fix and re-use.
cheers.

 

[BuzzBoss915]

Judging by the initial remarks, you don't have a grasp on the concept of working up a load? The proper method is to load starting at least 10% below published data and attempting to find a sweet spot where velocity and accuracy is satisfactory. THEN, go home and reload those case with the information derived in your testing. If you do this, you won't see any surprises, fully taking into consideration ambient temperatures, which is always something you should consider. Example; you should not work up your "max" load on a cold morning then spend a warm summer afternoon shooting a hundred rounds that seemed perfectly safe, last winter.

Okay, you assembled some hot loads by mistake. It is your responsibility to pay attention to EARLY RESULTS...and stop what you are doing and reevaluate. You could have discovered the problem after a half a dozen rounds; most people WOULD HAVE noticed rather than banging away, only to find the problem when you got home. This is different than a known safe and accurate handload that you might have been using for weeks, and months, if not years previously. It is also something that people used to shooting factory ammunition hardly pay attention to. But, these are your loads, you made them and you should know what kind of performance you are seeing, right away, not tomorrow.

I'm not picking on you, I am offering good advice. BB

 

[BCP]

I toss my brass when it doesnt hold a primer, neck is split or can't keep powder in. everything else like dimples, burrs on the rim etc, I fix and re-use.
cheers.

Same here.

My usual number is 3 loads for once fired brass in gas guns but sometimes I let them go longer.

Also I think this guy made a post about 77gr black hills which is loaded hot so it's probably that ammo and he wants to save the brass...hopefully....

 

[Deerhunter28]

Judging by the initial remarks, you don't have a grasp on the concept of working up a load? The proper method is to load starting at least 10% below published data and attempting to find a sweet spot where velocity and accuracy is satisfactory. THEN, go home and reload those case with the information derived in your testing. If you do this, you won't see any surprises, fully taking into consideration ambient temperatures, which is always something you should consider. Example; you should not work up your "max" load on a cold morning then spend a warm summer afternoon shooting a hundred rounds that seemed perfectly safe, last winter.

Okay, you assembled some hot loads by mistake. It is your responsibility to pay attention to EARLY RESULTS...and stop what you are doing and reevaluate. You could have discovered the problem after a half a dozen rounds; most people WOULD HAVE noticed rather than banging away, only to find the problem when you got home. This is different than a known safe and accurate handload that you might have been using for weeks, and months, if not years previously. It is also something that people used to shooting factory ammunition hardly pay attention to. But, these are your loads, you made them and you should know what kind of performance you are seeing, right away, not tomorrow.

I'm not picking on you, I am offering good advice. BB

I assume you are a expert in this?
Your post seems correct.





PSE EVO 60 Lbs.
Blacked out

 

[KYpatriot]

Some rifles will crater a primer with low pressure loads, primer cratering is not a reliable indicator of pressure. Now if you have a custom or bushed firing pin yeah that may be different. The slight ring is a problem...as someone suggested you must consider that as a sign of incipient head separation as use the paper clip method to confirm. Head separation can be caused by resizing too far as well as pressure so investigate that as a reason - do you have any loaded rounds from this batch that are unfired? If so measure them. Actual blown primers are clearly a sign you are up there.

In the end, it is just brass. Be conservative, dont mess up your rifle or your face, prep a new batch and keep shooting if you have any doubt after checking.