damage to brass...NOOB warning

[-JQ-]

OK so I bought a 550 and getting ready to re-load for the first time...and I'm starting to save all my brass.

In my batch of brass each casing has a ding in the side of each one. These have all been fired from my STI Trojan. The dings aren't very deep but they are consistent. They are about midway up the casing and are about the size of a primer strike. I suppose it is from hitting the slide on ejection??

The question is how much is too much damage? Will the sizing die fix this?

As I mentioned this is my first foray into loading so I want to be very careful.

My HK91 and my 51 (7.62) also puts a BIG ding in the case wall and flute marks. I assume these are not reloadable at all? Of course these are the ones I would really like to be able to re-load as these are shot at about 800 rounds per minute...plus or minus.

Sorry about not having pics but I'm at work...shhh...don't tell...

[G-ManBart]

On your pistol brass the resizing die should take out that ding. It should be fine even if it doesn't get it out totally...a shallow mark on the outside of the case shouldn't cause any problems. Split cases are what you really want to look for.

On the rifle brass, it depends on the depth of the flute marks and the size of the ding...try resizing a few and see how they look afterwards. If they look okay, they'll work okay. You may want to consider setting up a single stage press with a resizing die and run those cases through individually (don't forget the case lube!) so they'll work through a progressive (assuming you'd load that on a progressive at that volume). R,

[Helimech]

I reload for my 91 clone all the time. Having said that, once the brass is run through my clone, I only use it in my clone. All the brass is sized separately on a rock chucker with plenty of lube and inspected as I am done sizing it. Then it is cleaned and the primer pockets are checked for media. Then trimmed and deburred and finally tossed into a bin to await reloading. Don't expect anymore than 3 to 4 reloadings. Honestly it is a pain, but still cheaper than buying surplus anymore.

Jim

[sargenv]

I had a friend who had a clone. I'd picked up his fired brass and reloaded it for my model 700 and besides looking bad, it shot just fine and I loaded it three or four times before discarding it. I think I eventually discarded it just because at the time I had enough nice looking stuff and didn't want to answer questions at the range. It always worked just fine.