Paperclip test?

[Matt in TN]

I started having case head separations on some surplus .308 brass (after multiple firings, the first I assume is machine guns), so now I'm doing the paperclip test as part of brass processing. For now I'm scrapping any cases in which I feel ANYTHING with the paperclip - but I wonder if I'm being too strict.

What is your criteria for scrapping? Feeling just a rough spot? Feeling a very slight and smooth indention? Or only if you feel a pronounced groove? All of this is before I start to see the ring around the outside.

And has anybody come up with a more efficient way to check this? The paperclip takes for ever!!

[RiggerJJ]

Never had one with 308, guess I don't keep it long enough...(knock on wood)

223, have had several, I look inside after decaping by shining a led flashlight thru the primer hole and looking thru the neck. I use the paperclip sometimes to verify, but catch most if not all thru this process.

jj

[tcoz]

I don't cull cases if they feel rough inside, only if I can feel a groove at which time I'll look inside with an LED flashlight to verify. I found this works better for me than a bent paperclip:

https://www.amazon.com/Utopia-Professional-Stainless-Resistant-Disinfect/dp/B00KCXT7RC/ref=sr_1_8_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1466388711&sr=8-8&keywords=Dental+pick

[Matt in TN]

Good idea on the dental pick (pic?) - the paperclip is so flexible it's hard to get a good feel with it. I'll have to pick one of those up.

[tcoz]

Matt, it's a sharper thinner point too, making it easier to feel a groove. Make sure that you get a metal one and not a plastic one.

[perttime]

Excessive resizing for your chamber?

[Matt in TN]

Excessive resizing for your chamber?

Nope. Sized 0.001" under my headspace. But it's machinegun brass and I'm firing it in a FAL (which is hard on brass).

[DEP44]

Using a paperclip (the same one for 5+ years, an unexplainable attachment), doing it directly when coming home from the range and tossing all that feel like they have a thinner spot in the case walls.

[dauntedfuture]

M1As and M14 are also hard on brass. Im not sure about FALs. I might suggest that you load 2x, or third firing of the case, and then recycle the brass. That was a good rule of thumb for most M14s with Mil brass. You could also just section a case or cut one open and see what it looks like. The would all be close, or if you feel a few with a pick then toss them. You can usually also see a shiney ring on the outside of brass that's about to give way.

[bigedp51]

I use my multifunction RCBS Case Mastering Gauge to check for stretching and thinning in the web area.

I think of it as my $100.00 bent paper clip and runout gauge.

Below a good place to buy once fired brass.

http://www.brassbombers.com/308-762_c3.htm

[mic2377]

How many firings are you experiencing this after? The reason I ask is that with my 18" AR I have fired LC/WCC brass many times without a case failure or loose primers (one lot of brass is up to 7x fired!). One caveat is that this rifle has a fairly tight chamber and the gas setting is well-tuned. I imagine your FAL has a more emphatic ejection cycle.

I have putzed around with the paperclip but haven't seen the need to toss any brass yet, so it is tough for me to say if you are tossing it too soon. I would love to see it if you end up sectioning any of this brass.

Have you tried getting any new, unfired LC brass and seeing how many firings you get out of it?

[Matt in TN]

Before I bought several thousand rounds of this brass (WCC10, once fired military) I tested a small batch by loading the same ten rounds through 4 cycles (5 total firings) with no issues in my FAL. I adjust the gas to eject brass VERY vigorously, so I know I'm being hard on brass but willing to do so for greater reliability. Especially if I'll get 4 firings out of it.

But some of these are failing on the 2nd firing (3rd total), which is pretty ridiculous. When sorting with the paperclip test I get (after the 1st FAL firing, 2nd firing overall) roughly 25% with a clear ring I can feel, maybe 40% with a very shallow ring or rough spot, and 30% that I can feel no sign of any ring at all. All brass was sized, processed, and fired with identical bullets and powder charges. The only thing can figure is that it was originally fired in various machine guns with all sorts of headspaces.

It sucks, and I'm really tired of inspecting every single case. But new brass is expensive enough that I'm still doing it. Maybe when I get through all of these I'll try LC brass - but I really liked being able to buy a single headstamp for a good price.

[thermobollocks]

I blow out the primer pocket before the case head.

[DEP44]

I'm not sure if I notice a link between the gas setting in a FAL and the "ring effect"; I have seen first reloads of once fired brass (LC) having a ring when barely pooping the empty case out.

That said I use a SB sizing die and bump shoulders enough to accommodate tight headspaced LR-308 type rifles where the rotating bolt & carrier don't have the force of the FAL to smack an "out-of-spec" round in battery. I even pulled +/- 400 bullets and reloaded with 2 grains (WC846) less (different story - sloppy DPMS firing pin hole causing pierced primers) but still a hit & miss when it comes to the ring. Like you I'm guessing the original firing is the most likely cause.

[Religious Shooter]

I use 1X or new brass for major matches.

For local matches... whatever. I'm not going to use no paperclip. That would suck all the fun out of it.

Also my local match hoser loads are downloaded.

You can try using 1X for your hotter long range loads. Use pick ups for the downloaded hoser loads. Hopefully the downloaded loading is less likely to split the cases.