Unrelated questions (about reloading)

[bensdad]

Hi guys.
I've been reloading for a little over a year now, and a couple of questions have come up:

1) Can I reload brass from a Saiga? Ejected brass has a dent in it that appears to be pretty sharp. Both my Saigas (223 and 7.62x39) leave the same mark, so I assume it's a characteristic of the gun. I haven't used any of it yet, as the mark makes me a little nervous.

2) When my handgun brass gets real easy to resize and/or real easy to prime, are they getting too old for continued use? I've noticed this more and more lately. Is this an issue, or just something that happens?

3) I've had several cases where, when I deprime, the anvil gets pushed through the bottom of the primer, leaving the outside rim of the primer in the pocket. Is this an indication of over-preasure? Is it just something that happens once in a while?

TIA for any and all help.

 

[Dean Williams]

For your handgun brass, if the primers go in really easy, you should probably weed those cases out. Primer pockets will expand after many firings, and sometimes after only a few reloads with the hot cartridges. Depends on the brand of brass, too.
If you're shooting mid-range rounds, in other words, loads well below max, brass from those will sometimes seem easy to resize. Usually, the most obvious reasons to discard straight walled brass is the loose primer pockets you mentioned and neck splits. Neck splits usually come first, in my experience.

I've never had a decapper push clear through a spent primer on retail brass. Your primers aren't being pierced by the firing pin, or show a crater after firing, are they? The crater I'm talking about will be a bit of the primer that has flowed out around the firing pin. That could be an indication of excess pressure. I've only seen that in rifle rounds, though.

Don't know about your Saiga brass without seeing it. Sorry.

 

[SASS#23149]

I've had several cases where, when I deprime, the anvil gets pushed through the bottom of the primer, leaving the outside rim of the primer in the pocket

are you sure this is not a crimp ring like is used on military brass?

 

[bensdad]

For your handgun brass, if the primers go in really easy, you should probably weed those cases out.

Thanks. I will.

If you're shooting mid-range rounds, in other words, loads well below max, brass from those will sometimes seem easy to resize.

I'm at least two or three (or more) tenths under Speer max for all my handgun stuff (380, 9mm, 40s&w, 45acp). I'm sure you're right. thanks.

Your primers aren't being pierced by the firing pin, or show a crater after firing, are they?

Nope. Just a nice, clean dent from the pin. I can't imagine having a preasure problem. These are weak practice loads. I'll start canning the loose pocket stuff.

are you sure this is not a crimp ring like is used on military brass?

I hate to admit this, but I don't know. I've never heard of a "crimp ring". I'll continue to discard these cases (getting the ring out would be more trouble than it's worth).

Thanks guys!

 

[janobles14]

for the primer piercing...make sure your shell holder is in line with your decapper. if not then the resistance can pierce.

 

[rcmodel]

I must admit I have never ever seen a primer separate and leave the wall inside the primer pocket.

I have no idea what would cause it, or what to do about it.

My best guess is you got hold of a carton of defective primers with brittle cups.

It certainly isn't a common problem I have ever heard of.

rcmodel

 

[jhansman]

To the OP, I have a Saiga .223 and was dismayed by how beat up the brass was by it. Then I found a couple of good tips on the Saiga-12 forum:

• Get a can of Plastidip liquid rubber. Dip the charging handle in it, about 5 layers worth. (http://www.plastidip.com/)
• Get a strip of door liner (Bell makes the best for this) from your auto parts store. Put this on the edge of the receiver cover where the case ejects. (Sorry, no link. Took me a while to find this stuff, had to order online.)

After I did both of these steps, my brass is virtually (not entirely) dent free. I can post pics if you want.

 

[The Bushmaster]

Check your decapping pin to make sure it isn't pointed. If it is...Round it off. (Never had or heard of this problem, but...There are a lot of things I have never heard of)

 

[bensdad]

Thanks guys!
There were only a few cases that held onto the primer wall. Since a pattern never developed, I assume it was a primer/case problem, rather than an equipment problem. I also only saw it in one cal.

Thanks for the tips on the Saiga. It doesn't demolish the brass (like my friend's SETME), it just makes one hash-mark. I'll try both tricks to see if I can save the brass.

Thanks again for all the wisdom. Your collective help with these reloading questions over the last year has either saved me a small fortune (cheaper ammo) or cost me an arm and a leg (I shoot 10 times as much). I don't care which, as I'm having tremendous fun.

 

[Jim Watson]

Knocking out the face of the primer cup and the anvil, leaving the side wall in the primer pocket, is common enough that commercial reloading equipment includes "ringer" detectors.

One cause is corrosion. Are you using pickup or "once fired" brass bought from John Doe?
Do you chemically clean your cases?

 

[SSN Vet]

I reload my dented x39 Saiga brass...

no troubles....

would love to see pics of the Saiga mods that prevent this....

I like the dip idea a lot

 

[dardascastbullets]

The phenomenon of the decapping pin piercing through the primer is definately caused by 'crimped in' primers. You can easily identify the crimp ring. It appears as a concentric depressed ring around the primer pocket. The depression creates a flow of brass over the I.D. of the primer pocket. Look at a 'normal' primer pocket and compare it to a 'crimped in' primer pocket - there is a definite difference.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I must admit I have never ever seen a primer separate and leave the wall inside the primer pocket.

I have no idea what would cause it, or what to do about it.

My best guess is you got hold of a carton of defective primers with brittle cups.

It certainly isn't a common problem I have ever heard of.

rcmodel

I agree with all of the above.

 

[45ACPUSER]

Hi guys.
I've been reloading for a little over a year now, and a couple of questions have come up:

1) Can I reload brass from a Saiga? Ejected brass has a dent in it that appears to be pretty sharp. Both my Saigas (223 and 7.62x39) leave the same mark, so I assume it's a characteristic of the gun. I haven't used any of it yet, as the mark makes me a little nervous.

Your case life from an auto loader is going to short, because of the stretching of the case with FL sizing and the chamber of the gun. You wnat dented brass see 308 from an HK 91 without the port buffer. Just check your brass and keep track of the # of firings. You should be able to get 5 reloads out of brass before pitching, longer if you take other steps.


2) When my handgun brass gets real easy to resize and/or real easy to prime, are they getting too old for continued use? I've noticed this more and more lately. Is this an issue, or just something that happens?
Easy to resize is not clue that the brass is shot, it could be the result of shooting down loaded rounds. Loose primer pockets well that brass needs to chucked.


3) I've had several cases where, when I deprime, the anvil gets pushed through the bottom of the primer, leaving the outside rim of the primer in the pocket. Is this an indication of over-preasure? Is it just something that happens once in a while? Well, I would suggest a universal decapper die to help with depriming of cases with crimped primers.

TIA for any and all help.