Cleaned Cases - Inside

[tchepone]

Not sure if this is the correct forum to post this, if not - Mod please relocate to proper location.

Question for the members:

I found this material in a group of R-P, Rem-Umc brass, 45LC, after cleaning. These were range pickup brass,
This is after brass was cleaned with Lemishine, Dawn, Water & SS Pins.

The stuff is not brittle and comes out easily with a cloth mop or brush. Don't understand why the pins did not remove it.
As they were range pickups, I don't have any idea what type of bullet, powder or lube was used.

Does anyone have any possible idea what it is and cause? Could this possibly be from firing improperly polymer coated bullets?
Thank you.

FOLLOW UP - 4/16/2020
Gentlemen:

I managed to find a few more cases with the same material inside. These had not been cleaned. I have added 2 photo's of what I scrapped out from the inside.
The material is very thin, almost translucent, very soft and light gray in color. It extends about half way into the case. On the first 2 photo's it looked black, I think, because of being tumbled in the dirty black water with the pins.
If anyone has ran into this same thing and has another idea please let us know. Thanks for everyone's reply - that is what makes this forum such a good source of information. GJH

[waksupi]

Can you scrape some out on a paper so we can see what it is?

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I've found some range brass has spider web stuff inside. I don't use pins, but tumbling in fine corncob media doesn't remove that stuff.

[Dapaki]

Paper wasps.

[mdi]

45 Colt? Possibly black powder residue? (is black powder water soluble?). Unless someone has had the exact same problem, it is very difficult to figger out...

[Land Owner]

"Looks like" dry media that was "polluted" with wet polish that got in those cases BEFORE the wet polish had a chance to distribute itself throughout the dry media. I got that when I put brass in dry media and THEN (palm to face) added wet polish. It does come out easily though.

Is EVERY Case so afflicted?

[tchepone]

Can you scrape some out on a paper so we can see what it is?

Will do - if I still have some.

[dondiego]

I have had tumbling media stick in cases like that when I used a liquid polishing media with the walnut but you said that you used wet pins so not likely.

[poppy42]

I’ve had the same thing happen have no idea what it is and I dried tumble

[slim1836]

Paper wasps.

I think you nailed it.

Slim

[higgins]

If it's black could it be asphalt bullet sealant used with jacketed bullets in factory loads?

[mdi]

I'd see what happens if I tumble dry, with no media...

Jes another WAG [smilie=1:

[Dapaki]

I'll still bet its paper wasps that made that mess. Could be Mason bees too, they love tubes!

[tchepone]

I edited the original post of 4/9/2020 and added additional information. Thanks.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I'll still bet its paper wasps that made that mess. Could be Mason bees too, they love tubes!

It is surely some type of insect nesting material. The new pictures make me think it's NOT spider webs, as I originally thought. I have built a house for mason bees, they are technically known as Solitary Wasps, many of them use mud to pack the holes, hence the nickname Mason bee, but some of them will make a paper type nest. I don't think the Colony style Paper Wasps would start a nest in a tube, AKA: brass case.

[bigjake]

Pins would have cleaned that stuff out if it was some sort of bug nest. Could it be glue or something if the guy made snake shot?

[greenjoytj]

I read a post not to long ago where the reloader inserted into the cartridge case a chunk of packing material similar to styrofoam peanuts to keep the powder pressed to the flash hole.

I’ve recently received a package the contained cylinders of a packing material that is very low density puffed material like Cheesies snacks, they did not feel like typical styrofoam.

Maybe the crud found on those range pick ups is fouling residue left over from this type of packing peanuts.

[ACC]

Not sure if this is the correct forum to post this, if not - Mod please relocate to proper location.

Question for the members:

I found this material in a group of R-P, Rem-Umc brass, 45LC, after cleaning. These were range pickup brass,
This is after brass was cleaned with Lemishine, Dawn, Water & SS Pins.

The stuff is not brittle and comes out easily with a cloth mop or brush. Don't understand why the pins did not remove it.
As they were range pickups, I don't have any idea what type of bullet, powder or lube was used.

Does anyone have any possible idea what it is and cause? Could this possibly be from firing improperly polymer coated bullets?
Thank you.

FOLLOW UP - 4/16/2020
Gentlemen:

I managed to find a few more cases with the same material inside. These had not been cleaned. I have added 2 photo's of what I scrapped out from the inside.
The material is very thin, almost translucent, very soft and light gray in color. It extends about half way into the case. On the first 2 photo's it looked black, I think, because of being tumbled in the dirty black water with the pins.
If anyone has ran into this same thing and has another idea please let us know. Thanks for everyone's reply - that is what makes this forum such a good source of information. GJH


Looks like someone was shooting wax bullets. RP loads for those although you have to special order them.

ACC

[44Blam]

Could that be dacron? A lot of people using powders that don't fill a lot of volume of a case use dacron to keep the powder down near the flash hole...

[mehavey]

read a post not to long ago where the reloader inserted into the cartridge case a chunk of packing
material similar to styrofoam peanuts to keep the powder pressed to the flash hole.See https://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=533432
(I'll go drag the photo into another host and upload later)
In any case (pun intended) the corn starch literally turns to dust
-- so that's not problem -- in this case (did I say pun?)
:kidding:

Pure Corn Starch/Turns to Dust on firing
260632

[dondiego]

I read a post not to long ago where the reloader inserted into the cartridge case a chunk of packing material similar to styrofoam peanuts to keep the powder pressed to the flash hole.

I’ve recently received a package the contained cylinders of a packing material that is very low density puffed material like Cheesies snacks, they did not feel like typical styrofoam.

Maybe the crud found on those range pick ups is fouling residue left over from this type of packing peanuts.

That type pf packing material is biodegradable. It is made of starch and will turn to mush in water unlike Styrofoam. It can be eaten.

[bedbugbilly]

If it was BP residue, with hot water, lemon shine, dawn and ss media it should have cleaned them up slick as a whistle. I also have picked up range brass with spiders, spiderwebs. paper wasp, etc. in it that has been laying around for a while - but for the most part, it seems like the ss pins and good tumbling times should clean most of it out. I would wonder about what was stated on possibly someone was using a filler as well.

How well do you rinse after tumbling? I usually do a couple of rinses - put on the tumbler for a few minutes, drain and do it again. If I thought that some had had BP charges, laid around for a while - I would;d tumble longer and possibly rinse more to make sure they were thoroughly rinsed. I lay mine out on a towel to dry an if you rinse still had some dirty fouling in it, I could see the possibility of the water evaporating and leaving spots of fouling inside the case.

[Jayhawkhuntclub]

If it were me, I just load them up and shoot it out. Not like you are losing a lot of case capacity.