P.K.
01-11-2013, 11:01 AM
(Dunno if this topic has been covered yet or not, if so, sorry for the waste of bandwidth.)
***This is for informational purposes, follow all instruction in a current and recognized reloading manual at all times!***
I'm sure a few of the other members here have their own methods of what to do with their "damaged" range PU's( Hammering them down, repurposing or Swaging being three.) but, some of the newer folks may just toss or let them go in search of better leavings.
While I have a pretty good supply of my current chamberings and could afford to toss what I considered "damaged" I got to pondering what folks used to do with harder to find cases. At todays prices (((((shudder!))))) it's just not in the budget ( mine or any other reloader just starting out) to order a few hundred new cases. Most of your traditional firearms (bolt, lever or revolver) leave brass in really good shape upon ejecting the case (provided it was loaded correctly in the first place.). The more recent actions are prone to malfunctions from time to time and we end up with stovepipes, misfeeds etc. But probably the biggest culprit to mangled brass is being kicked around and trod under foot. This is fine for the "Blast and Gas" crowd who leave the ranges covered in once fired treasure but, for us we just hope there are plenty of pristene cases at the end of the day for our use.
While I peruse the leavings with a critical eye for the best, same HS's and condition, some others may need, because of a lack of their own, to grab what is to be had. ( Don't get me wrong, if I can shoot it it goes in the bag).
In either case I'm sure you have come across some of these gems:
58153
I had others that were in worse shape, crushed shoulders and cases for example.These are a sample of "salvageable" brass I found for another shooter.
58154
For the most part, deformed necks are the easiest and from a budget reloaders stand point the least time intensive way to save brass. There are other ways mentioned above such as cutting down and swaging but for new guys or old guys like me, lets start here with a Harbor Freight set of $2.00 needle nose pliers. These are a "1/2" round style and the most common. Rounded on top and bottom, flat on the sides. ( You can find some smaller sets geared for instruments and jewlery that are full round around the jaws.)
58155
Insert the pliers flat side to the dimple:
58156
58157
Insert just far enough to contact the case mouth, then turn the pliers to contact the dimple. Then apply more pressure untill the dimple is forced out and even with the rest of the case neck.
58159
58158
When completed the case mouth will look close to round, alot closer than when you started.
58160
58161
Now, in the chance that you used too much force to push the dimple out, your case mouth may be flaired to a certain degree. Not a good thing when your next step is the resizing/decapping process. You are going to need to deburr and lube the outside of your case mouth just a "bit" to give your case a surface to "ride" inside your sizing die.
( The best way to lube the deburred section of your case mouth is with your finger tip. This way you locate any spots you missed and brush any shavings away. A little case lube goes a lonnnng way so don't just dip your finger in the stuff. Just enough to leave a residue on your fingertip should be more than enough to do a few cases. Too much and it ends up in your die collecting everything.)
REMEMBER: Follow all instruction from your reloading manual, if you don't understand something, ask, the only dumb question is the one never asked.;-)
***This is for informational purposes, follow all instruction in a current and recognized reloading manual at all times!***
I'm sure a few of the other members here have their own methods of what to do with their "damaged" range PU's( Hammering them down, repurposing or Swaging being three.) but, some of the newer folks may just toss or let them go in search of better leavings.
While I have a pretty good supply of my current chamberings and could afford to toss what I considered "damaged" I got to pondering what folks used to do with harder to find cases. At todays prices (((((shudder!))))) it's just not in the budget ( mine or any other reloader just starting out) to order a few hundred new cases. Most of your traditional firearms (bolt, lever or revolver) leave brass in really good shape upon ejecting the case (provided it was loaded correctly in the first place.). The more recent actions are prone to malfunctions from time to time and we end up with stovepipes, misfeeds etc. But probably the biggest culprit to mangled brass is being kicked around and trod under foot. This is fine for the "Blast and Gas" crowd who leave the ranges covered in once fired treasure but, for us we just hope there are plenty of pristene cases at the end of the day for our use.
While I peruse the leavings with a critical eye for the best, same HS's and condition, some others may need, because of a lack of their own, to grab what is to be had. ( Don't get me wrong, if I can shoot it it goes in the bag).
In either case I'm sure you have come across some of these gems:
58153
I had others that were in worse shape, crushed shoulders and cases for example.These are a sample of "salvageable" brass I found for another shooter.
58154
For the most part, deformed necks are the easiest and from a budget reloaders stand point the least time intensive way to save brass. There are other ways mentioned above such as cutting down and swaging but for new guys or old guys like me, lets start here with a Harbor Freight set of $2.00 needle nose pliers. These are a "1/2" round style and the most common. Rounded on top and bottom, flat on the sides. ( You can find some smaller sets geared for instruments and jewlery that are full round around the jaws.)
58155
Insert the pliers flat side to the dimple:
58156
58157
Insert just far enough to contact the case mouth, then turn the pliers to contact the dimple. Then apply more pressure untill the dimple is forced out and even with the rest of the case neck.
58159
58158
When completed the case mouth will look close to round, alot closer than when you started.
58160
58161
Now, in the chance that you used too much force to push the dimple out, your case mouth may be flaired to a certain degree. Not a good thing when your next step is the resizing/decapping process. You are going to need to deburr and lube the outside of your case mouth just a "bit" to give your case a surface to "ride" inside your sizing die.
( The best way to lube the deburred section of your case mouth is with your finger tip. This way you locate any spots you missed and brush any shavings away. A little case lube goes a lonnnng way so don't just dip your finger in the stuff. Just enough to leave a residue on your fingertip should be more than enough to do a few cases. Too much and it ends up in your die collecting everything.)
REMEMBER: Follow all instruction from your reloading manual, if you don't understand something, ask, the only dumb question is the one never asked.;-)