This Has Me Worried. Broken BLK Brass

[Moleman-]

Have you shot any jacketed ammo through the barrel? I wonder if the gas port still has a little burr on it or is still sharp and is shaving off some bullet material. On a 223 any burr doesn't last past the first few shots, but that's not the case with slower bullets. For fun a few years back I made a few 9x19 DI uppers. The first one put lots of lead in the gas system. I tracked it down to a burr on the gas port. Tried shooting some jacketed ammo through it which helped but did not entirely remove it. Ended up using a diamond ball dremel bit by hand to get the last bit of it. I'm shooting Lee 124gr RNTL bullets which leave tons of soft fouling in the carrier, but now there is no lead. The most I've ever shot at one time is between 350-500 rounds.

[popper]

I PC (HF red) both 308 & BO ARs. No problem with the gas system except clogging the gas key. Tube is clean, bolt is clean. GC doesn't make a difference. Turned a DI system into an piston system, sans rod.
I used to anneal the necks, don't do it anymore - 223 is so available and cutting/trimming/turning seems to do the job. I use the Lee dies and (luckily) they don't work the brass much anyway.

[yondering]

I PC (HF red) both 308 & BO ARs. No problem with the gas system except clogging the gas key. Tube is clean, bolt is clean. GC doesn't make a difference.

Yet another example of why not to use Harbor Freight powders.

If you're getting lead in the gas key even with gas checks, your powder coating is failing. Where else would the lead come from?

[BulletFactory]

I think there is a burr in the gas hole on the barrel. I did open it from .094 to .104"

[nrc]

I had a few cases do that (sorry I forget which headstamp it was) when I was forming 300 whisper rounds from brass I picked up at the range. Most of it was likely 1x fired, but some could have been more. Anyway - I never did anneal my necks and I lost a few cases that cracked on initizl resize and a few more that cracked when they bounced off the deflector.

I started making my whisper/blackout/300 fireball brass out of brand new/never fired 223 or 556 brass and never had another problem. Later on I got lazy and started buying formed brass from bradswarehouse (I have no relation to that vendor).

As others have said - bending or sizing the brass makes it harder, annealing makes it softer.

[yondering]

I think there is a burr in the gas hole on the barrel. I did open it from .094 to .104"

If there's a burr, you can usually feel it with a cleaning patch. If it snags fibers off a patch, try shooting a bunch of jacketed bullets through it, then come back to cast.

[BulletFactory]

Good idea on the patch, I'll give it a shot. I have been using a bore snake.

[Texas by God]

I've seen that a handful of times over a long reloading career. I've just chunked that piece and rocked on. I've never found anything wrong with the guns it happened in. IMO Best, Thomas.

[BulletFactory]

Am I doing this right? If not, I will be happy to pull the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmygAz-jySQ

[Yodogsandman]

"I think I found the issue. It wasnt folded in, I would have seen it. Not trying to be bold, but this is a new gun, 250rds, and Im in load development, so I am watching things very carefully at this stage.

The bullet diameter is .312, and after several rounds, a ring of lead forms in the chamber. Every now and then, I had to use the forward assist to get it to fully chamber. I hadnt isolated the problem yet. I think it was self clearing now and then, and would build up again. I was measuring bullets, case dimensions, gas checks, bullets checked, bullets unchecked, neck diameter, chamber diameter, and was even turning the necks in a neck uniforming tool. I had taken the upper off, and checked the bore, anything I could think of.. Well, last night, I was looking into the chamber area, and thought, "this doesnt look right" and ran a brush through from the muzzle first, which I almost never do. And there it was...A lead ring.

That would explain a lot !

A few years ago, I was trying to load for my first gun, an XD.40 sub, and had this problem. I'd started a thread called "Chamber Shearing". I found these little lead rings in the chamber, they were keeping it from going into battery. It was a very in depth thread, you could learn a lot there. Geargnasher really got it figured out, and I still thank him (and others) for their thought, time and input in the thread. I ended up getting a custom expander made from someone here, but I forgot who that was. It goes in the LEE powder through die, and Im still using it. And a custom push through sizing die which came out to .4015, after a little work.

Anyways, the bullets were just a little big and as they were starting to enter the throat area, would shear off just a tiny bit of lead, causing a buildup where the case should rest for correct headspace in a pistol. My blackout is doing this to me now.

I think that getting a LEE custom sizer at .309.

Would clear this up in the blackout?

What do you think?" BulletFactory

THIS^^^^^^ The lead rings caused you to have to jam the case into the chamber. When pressure rose at ignition the case mouth was pinched hard into the chamber. To release the boolit, with all the pressure behind it, it ripped away part of the case neck. It must have been the weakest link.

[BulletFactory]

Thats what I thought as well. Annealing them wouldnt hurt.

[dragon813gt]

I fast forwarded to the middle of the video where you were annealing. The one case I saw was really over heated. The color change was halfway down the case.

I've never seen anyone use a shell holder. Use a deep socket that the case has a slip fit it. It acts a heat sink. You can flick the cases out of the socket easily. I dropped them into a bucket of water but it's not necessary. It was so I could handle them immediately.

Your torch doesn't have a pencil tip. You want a small defined tip that you can place at the neck/shoulder junction. A broader tip is going to spread heat all over the place.

[BulletFactory]

Ok, I will delete the video. I dont want to give bad advice.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Yes Jayhawk, it was just one piece of brass.

Finally the correct answer.

I really don't think you need to worry about this, and I wouldn't change anything about the way you are making them or loading them.

The fact that one piece of brass fails in an odd way is not a cause to be anything but careful, which you should be doing anyway.

Now if a bunch fail,,, you've got a problem.

Randy

[BulletFactory]

I fast forwarded to the middle of the video where you were annealing. The one case I saw was really over heated. The color change was halfway down the case.

I've never seen anyone use a shell holder. Use a deep socket that the case has a slip fit it. It acts a heat sink. You can flick the cases out of the socket easily. I dropped them into a bucket of water but it's not necessary. It was so I could handle them immediately.

Your torch doesn't have a pencil tip. You want a small defined tip that you can place at the neck/shoulder junction. A broader tip is going to spread heat all over the place.

So, should I discard that batch of annealed brass?

[popper]

My blackout is doing this to me now. that long throat before the bore will do that, Size smaller or nose size to eliminate the problem.

[dragon813gt]

So, should I discard that batch of annealed brass?

It's hard to tell from a video and pictures. I have a lot of brass so I would personally scrap the cases. Every case brand will look different when annealed.

[BulletFactory]

Well thats disappointing. I think I'll just leave annealing to those with more experience.

[BulletFactory]

Before I toss the brass, it's about 1/3 of my stock, here's a picture of the average piece of brass. The sharpie line shows how far the rose color can be seen.

Keep them or toss them? Or can I run them through the sizing die a few times to work harden them?

[yondering]

If the brass looks pink, you've gone too far. You may see dark brown patches in it as well, another indication of being way too hot. Try to pinch a case neck with your fingers; if you can deform it, it's too soft, and won't have enough neck tension to hold the bullet securely in an AR15.

You could try work hardening them, might as well if it's worth your time.

Personally I don't bother annealing 300 Blk unless it's been fired a bunch of times. I don't anneal after forming it from 5.56 any more.