Brass questions

[gottarollwithit]

I bought a buncha used brass in .308 from this guy on Craigslist. How do i know if it's safe to use? I know nothing about it's history or origins. It's a buncha Remi, LC, a little bit of Win, and crapload of stuff with an IK headstamp.

I've deprimed/full length sized the Remi stuff and they are about 2.038" long. I think some of them show slight signs of case separation. Then again, the shiny ring about 1/4" from the base of the brass might be the mark left by the sizing die when not much lube was present.
I've read that you can use a bent paperclip to probe the inside the brass to check for gutters and cracks. I didn't feel or see much when looking inside with a light though. I also read that you can kinda gauge case deformity by how easily slides into your shellholder. The Remi stuff slides in just fine. Then again the stuff with the IK headstamp had a heck of a time sliding into the RCBS shell holder, but has no trouble on the Lee one.

There are no cracks or anything blatently unsual about andy of the brass. The primers seat in snugly and don't move. The headstamp is easily readable and doesn't look like it's been melted away.

Should i trim it down and use it? Can anybody reaffirm what i've read and verify it's validity?
I'll be using the stuff in a bolt gun exclusively.

Thanks!

[C.G.]

Difficult to say without pics, but they are definitely way too long.

[gottarollwithit]

It's really slight and i doubt the color change will be picked up by the camera.
I'll try tomorra though just to be sure. There are vertical striations on the brass from the die all the way down to the shiny ring that i suspect is case separation. I've tumbled and polished the brass as well. Can case separation marks be removed by tumbling?

Could the excessive length be attributed to the previous owner exclusively neck sizing the brass and he had a really long chamber?

[C.G.]

Could the excessive length be attributed to the previous owner exclusively neck sizing the brass and he had a really long chamber?

Yes. Or he never trimmed.

[Socal858]

IK= Igman Zavod, Konjic, Yugoslavia

http://cartridgecollectors.org/headstampcodes.htm

[gottarollwithit]

Ok, let's go this way. If the brass suffered from slight case separation, is it unsafe to use in my bolt gun?

Also, the IK brass doesn't slide easily into my RCBS shell holder. Does this indicate something bad?

[rksimple]

Ok, let's go this way. If the brass suffered from slight case separation, is it unsafe to use in my bolt gun?

Also, the IK brass doesn't slide easily into my RCBS shell holder. Does this indicate something bad?

Separation? Are you sure? The shiny ring around the base shows it was sized a bit. Try to feel for bumps or ridges on the inside of the case down by the base. If so, there may be some thinning of the web going on.

[gottarollwithit]

Hmm, ok maybe it's just a sizing mark then. So, if the brass was thinned a bit - enough to cause slight bumps inside the case, does this make it dangerous to use?

What about the IK brass? Anyone reload the stuff before? It doesn't fit well into my shell holder, but from what i can see it's size is within spec. Any thoughts?

[StraightShooter]

If you arent comfortable with feeling for web stretch inside the cse with a paper clip then just take one of cases that you think shown the most sign of head separation and cut it in half with a bandsaw/hacksaw/dremel and then you will easily be able to see if it is thin in the web. If one is thin then be leery of the rest.

[rksimple]

Hmm, ok maybe it's just a sizing mark then. So, if the brass was thinned a bit - enough to cause slight bumps inside the case, does this make it dangerous to use?

What about the IK brass? Anyone reload the stuff before? It doesn't fit well into my shell holder, but from what i can see it's size is within spec. Any thoughts?

All the brass I've had problems with fitting in the shellholder was very soft foreign brass. I chucked it.

[gottarollwithit]

Hmm, good idea. I think i might cut one of these things in half just to be sure.

Also, the IK brass (Yugo surplus) won't fit easily into my RCBS shellholder, but slides fine into my Lee one. Will brass affect feeding or be a safety issue?

[StraightShooter]

All the brass I've had problems with fitting in the shellholder was very soft foreign brass. I chucked it.

This is very good advice. I had some .223 brass that I am almost positive was IK headstamp that no matter how well I lubed them I got 2 of the stuck in my dillon die and both times even my stuck case remover couldnt get them out. I have had to send the die to dillon twice and they fixed one and completely replaced the other one. I chucked all of that headstamped brass. I should have known too because the rims on them were slightly deformed from the extractor. Look at your IK brass and see if there are any deformations on one side of the rim because that would cause the difficulty of them not sliding into the shell holder. I say try using them but be ready for frustration and have a stuck case remover on hand for if they get stuck. Use high quality lube like imperial size wax to minimize the chance of getting a stuck case. "Oneshot" just didnt cut it for me. Also, be as smooth as you can because the rims on the IK brass could be very soft if its anything like what I had.


Also, i was using a lee shelholder with no problem but when I put the cases into a case gauge is when I had problems. They wouldnt drop in all the way because of those slightly deformed case rims.

[gottarollwithit]

No deformed case lips though. I'll try resizing/depriming a few using imperial lube wax then. Aside from the difficulty getting into the shell holder, resistance wise it felt just like the Federal and Remi stuff i did.

[StraightShooter]

Since its .308 you probably dont need to worry too much about ripping the rims off when resizing like you would if it was .223 because .308 has much more surface area for the shellholder to grab onto but you may still want to use Imperial size wax just in case. Stuck cases are royal pain in the butt. Good luck man, i hate to throw away brass so hopefully they are good to go.

[gottarollwithit]

So, how do i know when my brass is no longer safe to use, or that i shouldn't use it anymore?

Am i best off just inspecting it and going by case dimensions/visible damage, or should i toss it after a certain amount of reloads?
I've read that a lotta ppl around here go by either.