I am totally new to reloading and have been reloading for my Garand to make a better round to shoot than commercial ammo and obtained a very therapeutic (and addictive) hobby. However on my second attempt to reloading I inspected my brass and some of the shoulders have started showing some funky marks on them and I am not sure what they are from or what is causing it. I was hoping I could get some help here with this. As for the details of the round I am using IMR 4895 at two different loads of 46.5 and 47 under a Hornady #3037 150 grain bullet. Case length is 2.494 with an over all length of 3.22 to seat the cannelure with in the neck line. I tossed these since I do not feel they are safe with those dimples in the shoulders and in the body of the brass. It has only happened to about 10 rounds out of 120 shot. I recently purchased Sierra #2130 150 grain bullets to load and will try these next to see how they do compared to the Hornady bullets with IMR 4895. Any info is greatly appreciated and thank you.
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Chris, I've read that the op rod can strike the spent cartridge. I'll get slightly more pronounced or elongated dents on a few but not many. That may also explain why the ejection pattern ranges, say from 1 o'clock to near 3 o'clock. I'll go thru some of my spent cartridges and see if I can come up with a few and post the pics. -
Chris, looks normal to me as long as the brass you are showing is fired brass. This video from YouTube shows the brass hitting the rod upon ejecting-http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PYfxzrTar0g. Many of my rifles dent the neck more often than the shoulder, but it happens. Your load info looks to be within normal ranges. Your probably aware of this, but excess case lube on brass during resizing can cause similar dents in the brass.Comment
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So here are the pictures of a few of my spent casings with dents on the neck. Of course my memory makes me a liar .. the dents aren't elongated but rather consistent strikes to the top of the neck. I haven't gotten into reloading yet, but b/c I'm a technical type of guy I'm going to do it someday. I suspect resizing may clean these up. These are some of the worst I had on hand and are a small % of my brass. I mainly shoot S&B and PPU.
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Moorem,Originally posted by Moorem1s View Post
I watched the video and I can see where it would ding the brass getting ejected like that. I did some searching and I found another online post where excess lube can cause the "wrinkles" or "dimples" in the shoulder. I believe he said that a clogged air vent could also do this as well. This might be a the problem I am having because I was lubing the entire case before decapping from the neck all the way down. I was using the lube that came with the Lee press, I tried the wax on a bunch, but I do not like it so I am going back to the Lee lube. I took the decapping die apart to clean it and it was all gunked up from me putting way to much lube on the case. So my next batch I will see if this clears it up. Thank you very much for the help!Comment
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Garanitis,Originally posted by Garanditis View Post
Yeah mine come out like those sometimes too. I found the 150 grain commercial bent up like that more than the ones I re loaded. That comes out very easy in the die when you are resizing it. Thank you very much for the help!Comment
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All I see is typical M1 damage to your brass. You'll probably see rim damage, neck dents and various other damage. M1's were never designed to conserve brass condition for reloading. They were over designed to reliably function and eject brass regardless of the damage done. Brass was and expendable item.
What I also seem to see is the typical damage to the shoulders that occurs when too much lube is used and builds up on the die shoulder when sizing. Cut back a bit on the lube and avoid getting lube on the shoulder of the case and minimize it on the neck that will push down to the shoulder. Contrary to what you might assume, too much lube is not better. The body of the case is where it's most needed. You should also clean your dies after about every 200-300 cases sized to prevent internal buildup and remove contaminants that could scratch your die. A good spraying with brake cleaner will general do the trick but I usually pull out the deprime/neck expander rod before spraying. That way I can run a rod into the die with a bit of case lube on it to pre lube the die before the first case is run through after cleaning. I found out the hard way that even with a lubed case, you are more likely to stick a case in the die when that first case is shoved into a dry die than any other time.Last edited by lapriester; 12-08-2016, 07:35 PM.Comment
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You'll generally also see brass marks on the receiver next to or near the rear sight. Any excessive flattened type dents in the neck that could get hung on the neck expander on the way in and ruin the brass or bend the decap rod can be opened up prior to sizing with a tapered punch. Those dents on the neck are very typical and, with ammo that might be a little hotter than Ball, more common and sometimes worse. It's all about bolt speed. Where are you cases ejecting? More toward 3 o'clock or at 1 o'clock.Comment
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I'll have to check those areas next time I take her out to shoot. The majority come out at 1 o'clock some 3 o'clock and the occasional few that spit out at 4-5 o'clock. I have been trying to dial in a good load with the Hornady 3037 and Sierra 2130. I'm juggling between 45-46 grains of IMR 4895 right now with those two. I picked up some Sierra 2125 and the Hornady 155 gr AMAX to try out. I think the 3037 and 2130 are the ones I might stick with though.
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You may not find the A-Max all that great. I never could even in their factory M1 ammo. The Sierra's are expensive. You might look at Shooters Pro Shop (Nosler outlet) for their blem or overrun Custom Competition bullets in 155gr and 168gr. I've had nothing but success with them and, buying 1000, they were recently, and maybe still are, less than $16.00 per 100. Your powder charge looks good. Going as high as 47-48gr 4895 wouldn't be excessive but, if you get good accuracy out of the lower charges there's no reason to waste powder. I run 46gr of IMR 4064 behind a 155gr Nosler CC for my as issued match loads. Unfortunately, I just looked and they are currently out of stock on both.Originally posted by Chris View Post
Shooters Pro Shop: http://www.shootersproshop.com/
It pays to keep an eye on their Site for blems and overruns. Great deals there and, if you are military, retired military, Honorably Discharged or a First Responder you qualify for an additional 10% off. No matter what you buy or how much, shipping is a flat $12.00 and they have free shipping deals and added discounts during the Holidays quite often.Comment
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The AMAX were on sale so I bought a box to give a try. Just experimenting with different bullet types with loads to find the right one for the rifle. I just do target shooting for enjoyment, but I would like a decent performance to keep the groupings pretty tight. I will have to check out that sight and see what comes available as I am always on the hunt for supplies. Being new to reloading has turned into more of a slight addiction rather than a hobby. Thank you for the info!
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