mikeinctown Posted August 26, 2015 Share Posted August 26, 2015 I saw that Ballistic Tools was selling unprocessed brass at a phenominal price. However when I looked closer I saw that they say 35-40% of the brass has dented mouths with the included photo. (for some reason my browser won't let me paste the web address) I'm wondering if brass as shown in the photo can be processed and used as normal, and if so how much extra work will it take? I'm just looking at building up some brass stock right now so time to process isn't really an issue. I just want to make sure I can use it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fdbyrne79 Posted August 26, 2015 Share Posted August 26, 2015 I've processed a lot of 223 cases with dented mouths without a problem. It likely won't be a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DWFAN Posted August 26, 2015 Share Posted August 26, 2015 (edited) Some of that brass would be tough to make useable unless you cut it down to blackout. Making a pass through an expander and then sizing might work, but it looks like a pita to me. .223 brass is pretty easy to find for $50-60k right now and probably in better shape than what youre looking at. The Facebook groups The Brass Bank and Reloaders Anonymous are good places to find it. Edited August 26, 2015 by DWFAN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKT1106 Posted August 26, 2015 Share Posted August 26, 2015 If it is the picture of the brass on the page here: http://ballistictools.com/store/556-brass/unprocessed-military-556 It is fine. Clean with walnut and then size and you should be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wgj3 Posted August 26, 2015 Share Posted August 26, 2015 Agree with above post that the majority of that brass should process just like normal. Not big enough problems to worry about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeinctown Posted August 26, 2015 Author Share Posted August 26, 2015 Yes, PKT1106, that is the page and photo I am referring to. Just wan't sure how much work would be involved and if the brass shown as typical was ok. I've watched a couple vids since my last post and saw a typical method of fixing things quick with a small tapered punch before moving on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fdbyrne79 Posted August 26, 2015 Share Posted August 26, 2015 You shouldn't need to "fix" them. The decapping pin and sizing button inside your sizing die should take care of most, if not all, of them during the normal sizing process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKT1106 Posted August 27, 2015 Share Posted August 27, 2015 Yes, PKT1106, that is the page and photo I am referring to. Just wan't sure how much work would be involved and if the brass shown as typical was ok. I've watched a couple vids since my last post and saw a typical method of fixing things quick with a small tapered punch before moving on. On very, very few occasions, I have used a pair of needle-nose pliers to rectify some very badly dented mouths. I am talking dented and touching the other side of the mouth wall. After pulling them out a bit and running them through the die, couldn't even tell they were dented at all. The only one in that picture I would have even the slightest concern with is the one that is one down from the top right corner. It looks like a tiny bit of curl is starting. I would use the needle-nose pliers to straighten it out and use it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeinctown Posted August 27, 2015 Author Share Posted August 27, 2015 Thanks for clearing things up for me guys. Much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaldor Posted August 27, 2015 Share Posted August 27, 2015 Id buy it. Like some of the other guys said, you may need to fix a few with a pliers. If they are too far gone, recycle them. Looks like a majority is LC, with TAA coming in second. Good stuff either way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigedp51 Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 Neck expander work well for ironing out the necks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfalcon00 Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 Yeah I would just clean them and run them as normal. I'm willing to bet most of the problems will just disappear. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RPatton Posted September 14, 2015 Share Posted September 14, 2015 Those pictured are not usually a problem. If the brass has been dented to the point of being crimped it would need to go in the scrap brass bucket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfilbey Posted September 20, 2015 Share Posted September 20, 2015 The brass in that picture looks fine to me, pretty normal range pich-up. The worst ones I might push a nail set into to round them out a bit but they look pretty good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don_B Posted September 21, 2015 Share Posted September 21, 2015 Just a FYI. I have gotten once fired military that was in the same condition and the ones that required additional work to straighten the case mouth were apparently fired in a full auto. If that is the case (in my experience anyway) you will have case seperations. I scraped all badly deformed case necks and no more seperations with that brass. Yes I understand that your results may vary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
choppe Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 I wouldn't be too worried about those small dings in the neck or shoulder. The neck dings will be fixed with the sizing die. Depending how large, those shoulder dings sometimes come out after they're fired. The shoulder will fire-form to your camber and sometimes fix the "ding". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRM83 Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 The Lee collet die also does a very good job of fixing case necks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glenr Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 Since I do 9mm and 5.56/.223 only and bought a lot of military range brass. This is how I handle the bent necks. they are a cheap pair of the slipt ring pliers. I just slide down the cartridge and spin it around till most of the dent or ding is gone the the sizing die takes care of the rest. I use a harvey depriming tool,so I am inspecting each brass and do them as needed. With a a plastic tray I do them while watching the tube, it holds everything and keeps the mess contained. Harvey deprimer Buy a couple of extra primer pusher rods, as you can break them when you aren't paying attenion I did but only one so far. 14,000 plus .556's around 12,000 9mm car6tridges. Works great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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