Case head separation

[cameronalbrecht]

Got my first case head separation warning. Federal brass fired 12 times. Out of a batch of 50 3 caught the paperclip. Went back through all 50 with the borescope and the other 47 looked fine, the other 2 that caught the paperclip didn't look quite this bad on the scope. Question is, through out the remaining 47 just to be safe? Seems to me that a few dollars worth of brass isn't worth the potential damage right?

 

[ronsatspokane]

Federal brass? 12 times fired? I'd say you got your money's worth. Why press your luck.

 

[kelbro]

Wow. Good catch. I would toss the whole batch.

 

[LCazador]

Yes you are definitely correct in that it isn't worth money. Do you keep track of head diameter? I would consider this a big signal that my sizing die is not a good match for my chamber. Also I would reevaluate my sizing die set up and keep track of shoulder bump and head expansion.

 

[Doom]

Factory Rifle or Custom? 12 firings isn't bad especially for Federal cases. You get a good amount of brass flow when FLS that comes from case body diameter difference between fired and resized case in addition to the datum dimension (headspace) setback.

 

[Straightshooter1]

Got my first case head separation warning. Federal brass fired 12 times. Out of a batch of 50 3 caught the paperclip. Went back through all 50 with the borescope and the other 47 looked fine, the other 2 that caught the paperclip didn't look quite this bad on the scope. Question is, through out the remaining 47 just to be safe? Seems to me that a few dollars worth of brass isn't worth the potential damage right?
View attachment 1755857

I got 13 firings on my previous batch of Federal .308 cases. . . and I was pushing it as before that I could feel the beginnings of the separation at ~ 8 firings with my paper clip. A couple showed prominent signs on the outside at 9 firings and I ditched them and continued with the others. On the 13th firing, quite a few had prominent signs (see pic) and that's when I ditched that whole batch. My current batch of Federals has 10 firings and no signs yet (probably because I adjusted my sizing die where I'm not bumping the shoulders back much - like only .001 - .0015").

 

[Bat Rastard]

“When in doubt,
I throw it out.”
I think that’s a Ted Nugent quote.
Something like that…

 

[209jones]

I've always figured if I got 10 shots ea out of 100 brass, I got my money's worth, even at 200.00/100 that's 0.20/shot, for 1000 shots. If I can get more, that's just a bonus.

 

[dat]

6x47L, lots of 200, Lapua and peterson brass, never annealed, 20+ firings (the barrels are about done then)
6Bra, Lapua, one set of 200 I shot between 2 barrels, 40 and 41 firings (these were annealed once somewhere in the middle as an experiment) Peterson brass, haven't gotten there yet - only 12 or so firings.

 

[steve210]

A face full of gas, brass, and powder ain't worth getting another firing on a piece of brass. Toss the whole batch and start with fresh brass. I would also check your shoulder bump numbers to make sure it's not excessive.