Once fired brass problems...

[Nessal]

I got a thousand round of once fired brass. I began to prep the brass for reloading when I noticed that some of them have signs of pressure ring near the head. Have anyone ran into this problem? The buldge can be felt when you run your finger over it but it's very minor. I'm pretty surprised because it's once fired brass. So i'm guessing that it's probably not safe to reload these?

[J-cat]

You can't tell by looking on the outside. Take one and section it.

[Texas Boy]

sectioning is a sure way to see what is going on, but it is obviously destructive. Another technique is to use a bent piece of wire (like a paper clip) to feel the inside of the case. From what I've been told, cases that are about to fail will have a sharp ridge inside the case that can be easily felt with the wire.

[J-cat]

They don't have a sharp ridge. They have a "u" shaped groove that is difficult to detect by a novice. He needs to section one case to see, if only for educational purposes.

[J-cat]

[J-cat]

See how the case walls are thinning. Imagine this groove getting deeper and deeper each time the case is fired. At a certain point the case fractures around this groove when the brass becomes too thin.

This is incipient head separation. This is different from a pressure ring. Pressure rings are OK. They are a product of high pressure.

[Texas Boy]

So does the groove broaden out or become more narrow? I ask because I want to know what I am feeling for with my wire test.

Thanks!

[J-cat]

It just gets deeper and deeper and deeper, but remains at about the same width.

[cassius]

You shouldn't be having any such issue like the above with once-fired brass.
What percentage of the brass quatity would you say has this bulge? a few, all of it? MIght have been from a firearm with a bad headspace adjustment.

What happens after you resize the brass properly? Where exactly is the bulge?

[Nessal]

I think about approx 5% that has this issue. After resizing, it's in the same place....essentially like what someone illustrated above.

Now that I go over the brass again, I noticed that I don't have this buldge in any of the Federal or Lake City brass.

[Nessal]

You can't tell by looking on the outside. Take one and section it.

What do you guys section it with? Dremel?

[J-cat]

I use a dremel and a file.

[Beelzy]

I believe the OP is mistaking Chamber Bulge with brass damaged by improper
headspacing.

Some guns like the "GLOCK" leave their cases looking pregnant for lack of a better term.

Section the worst looking one and I'll bet you'll see no case thinning at all.

[ar15barrels]

What do you guys section it with? Dremel?

The one above was done in a milling machine.