[mdj696]

I have never reloaded .223 before. I've set up reloading press for friend of mine. I went to range yesterday and picked up a handful of .223 brass to dry run it through his Lee press. Most of cases I picked up found to have a small ding on side of case. Kind of like 30/06 brass fired out of a Browning BAR. Upon ejecting the case would strike the back of ejecting port causing ding on side of cases. Does this affect resizing and functioning ?

 

[jerry]

I have a dent limitation in my head that’s hard to explain. I don’t toss every dented case, albeit by the book, and some purist would.

 

[tnmedic]

If you neck sizing die fits through the neck it is okay, shoulder dents and case mouth dents happen with a lot of ar type rifles. My sig556 dents either place every round fired from it and some it dents both. I haven't had a case failure yet from dented shoulders or case mouths. And reloading and shooting them pushes the shoulder dents out and if you neck sizing die fits it fixes the case mouth.

 

[BigEd63]

Warning: Rant Ahead & Not Directed At Anyone On This Forum

Nope non whatsoever. I've shot and reloaded for AR type rifles for roughly 35years and it's a non-issue from safety reloading, reliability and accuracy standpoints.
I know, and by that I mean a person I know locally, people who get all anal retentive about this and think fired cases ought to look like new after processed during reloading.
Nope sorry good luck with that with a self loading rifle.
This guy even ground and debured the back of the ejection port on the family AR.
I almost told him why don't you just cut the brass deflector off the receiver as well.
But he'd probably do it!🙄

Maybe either one of the 5.56 Mossberg MVP rifles that take AR mags or a .223 NEF/H&R single shot Walter Mitty'ed up to look like a AR might be better for those types who want to reload for their fighting rifle/MSR.

I mean are sub 1MOA groups from a semi auto DMR type firearm that bad with brass like that?!

 

[Kmcdowell]

I have reloaded a few thousand 5.56/.223 rounds and have had no trouble with minor dents. Some of the more severe I toss.

 

[blaster]

I too have never had a problem with those kind of dents on .223 brass.

 

[mdj696]

This buddy I'm teaching reloading shoots them in his Mini 14. With my experience with poodle shooters in Viet Nam, small arms repairman, I don't ever care to own one.

 

[RetiredFreedomfighter]

No small dents are meangingless. On the 223/5/56, if you are shooting them in any semi auto be sure to full length size them and trim them. My first 223 was a mini 14, if you are using only brass fired in the gun no big deal, but there is so much difference is 223 chambers that my Mini 14 had lots of problems if we did not trim them and size them fully. Other than that they are easy. Range brass that you are picking up may be from all different chamber sizes, so just go ahead and do it right the first time. If you are new to reloading them then do not forget that the military cases have the little primer ring to be removed.

 

[mdj696]

My friends Lee 5 stage press, I've finally got it figured out. I took the range brass I picked up and dry ran them through the press and everything is working fine. I always full length and trim. All my reloading life I've used RCBS and Lee single stage presses. Its time consuming but gets the job done.

 

[Jack Ryan]

Piece of stick on velcro cut and fit to the brass deflector stopped those dents for me.

 

[BigEd63]

Piece of stick on velcro cut and fit to the brass deflector stopped those dents for me.

Yep, good idea and why I didn't mention it to my friend's father. As he would have ground it off. That father/son rifle project is a pet peeve. As they asked for advice and did the opposite. Plus, it reminds me of a government project that grew bigger, more expensive and opposite of the original intent.
Which was to provide the father who is elderly with either a lightweight AR carbine or pistol. And then it morphed into a DMR so called by them Prairie Dog rifle.🙄
Which might at best slay paper ones. But knowing both probably will never happen.

 

[AK Hunter]

Small dings & dents don’t hurt anything. What you need to watch for is heavy creases. Because when they fold back open it makes a crack.

 

[RetiredFreedomfighter]

Small dings & dents don’t hurt anything. What you need to watch for is heavy creases. Because when they fold back open it makes a crack.

I think most people forget that the major purpose of the brass is to just keep the powder from running out on the ground in most calibers. On super high pressure rounds a case can be a part of the pressure curve. Elmer Kieth once said that if somebody could invent a steel case to replace the weak brass ones that he could dramatically increase the power of his 44 special. Now everybody uses steel cases, or even aluminum ones and we expect the military to eventually go to plastic brass, seems like a conflict in terms. Anyway you look at it a ding, a dent or even a crack poses very little risk if any to the shooter if the powder charge is correct.

I am reminded of people who routinely get cracks in 357 or 45 Colt and just trim them and load the shorter case. We then have 38 special, 38 short, 44 special, 45 special or cowboy and all types of gallery loads made from cases that split and then were just chopped off.
My 2 cents.

 

[AK Hunter]

I think most people forget that the major purpose of the brass is to just keep the powder from running out on the ground in most calibers. On super high pressure rounds a case can be a part of the pressure curve. Elmer Kieth once said that if somebody could invent a steel case to replace the weak brass ones that he could dramatically increase the power of his 44 special. Now everybody uses steel cases, or even aluminum ones and we expect the military to eventually go to plastic brass, seems like a conflict in terms. Anyway you look at it a ding, a dent or even a crack poses very little risk if any to the shooter if the powder charge is correct.

I am reminded of people who routinely get cracks in 357 or 45 Colt and just trim them and load the shorter case. We then have 38 special, 38 short, 44 special, 45 special or cowboy and all types of gallery loads made from cases that split and then were just chopped off.
My 2 cents.

A damaged case will most likely result in a jam or misfire or damage to the firearm before it could ever blow up like everyone thinks. But I don't want to take a chance of any damage to my firearms that I paid good money for, so I go through & inspect the cases I reload. I just have a lot of experience of pushing the limits of the brass, I have tested it & know what it will & won't do.

 

[Mindy up North]

I swaged about 2000 primer pockets on some once fired military brass and I don't think there was a single piece that didn't have a dent. It's to be expected and nothing to worry about as long as all other aspects of the case are fine.

 

[quavodus]

I've had cases with small dents and just loaded them as usual. I don't load "hot" rounds and haven't ever had a problem with dented cases. It blows the dent out when fired.

 

[AK Hunter]

Dents in cases are nothing to worry about, heavy creases are different. If you have a crease or fold in the case when it folds back it will create a crack.

 

[jerry]

The only dents I don’t care for are hydraulic dents, because I did something wrong and there is no good excuse for it to be there.

 

[Moroco Mole]

I Just load a double charge in the dented ones it straightens them right back out.

Actually my rifle dents every case it fires on the shoulder. They hit my 45 degree back up sight. the mount for it sticks out past my brass deflector a tad. Probably could file it down a tad or pad it, but , you know.
I have had some cartridges that have been reloaded 6 times. Still no issues. 3/4-1 moa all day. I loose cartridges to a split neck at the mouth before the ever fail from denting.
I have stepped on the necks, straighten them out good enough to size, then ran thru the neck sizer....like new!