LC Brass 308 extractor dings
- Thread starter Cecil S.
- Start date
Shynloco
You can lead a horse to water, but ........
By all means ANNEAL the brass. That will help alleviate the stress of the Necking Down process. And it's not a bad idea to run it first through the .308 die, then the 7-08 die and finally the .260 Rem die. I've done that after annealing and never had a problem (or anything remotely like your pictures) with LC. Match , LC National Match and regular LC for breaking in a new barrel/new chamber. Good luck and hope that cures the issue. But preserver as I'm sure you'll get it.
Alex
Cecil S.
Gold $$ Contributor
KMart, yes I know this but I have been purchasing equipment for years to get to this point. Crazy I know but this is the learning process for other projects I have in mind. I did wonder if the LC cases needed to be returned to spec. I know the necks need to be turned 21 century lathe will take care of that. Its hot here in South Florida so time pulling the press handle is good learning time for me and LC brass is not that expensive. I admire all the experience on this site. Thank you for any advice. Ken Sommerville
That brass is certainly yielding at the new shoulder and trying to fold into itself. It is the case wall that you are forming that new shoulder from. Annealing way down into the case wall is something i have never done. I would certainly put a band of 425 degree tempilaq below the new shoulder location and make sure you don't heat the case head too.much.
Fun experiment but be careful.
Fun experiment but be careful.
KMart
Gold $$ Contributor
Enjoying yourself, having fun in the reloading room and at the range, and learning something is what this sport is about. If it makes you happy, I'm happy for you. I know it keeps me occupied and happy.
I am confused...the first two photos posted appear to me that the left photo brass has NO dents...the right photo brass all appear to have pretty large shoulder neck dents. The OP is saying the dents are there from the start??? So, why cant I see them in the "before" photo??? If they are in fact not there from the start as the photos suggest and the dents are happening as a result of resizing.....why is the OP calling them "extractor dents"???? Previously asked but not answered, how does an extractor contact the shoulder?????
Forget about all of the above if you just cant answer, it appears this is happening because the case length of a 308 is 2.015" and the case length of the 6.5 Creedmore is 1.920". Failing to first trim the cases will cause the mouth to jam or crash into the finish {6.5} die and crush/dent something...in this case the shoulder area. Annealing is always good, but it will not solve anything if trimming is the real answer.
I form a lot of brass when I already have the dies, but if you have to buy four sets of dies {308, 7mm-08, 260, 6.5} to form your brass, why not just buy the right brass to begin with????
Now, all that said, a little bit of crushing wont hurt anything if you can get them to chamber you can get them to fire and they will fire form the dents out. If you really want to add more steps....load them with 25 or 30 grains of shotgun powder and cream of wheat with a little cotton to hold it all in and fireform them back out that way, again IF you can get them to chamber.
Don't get me wrong, Lake City IS good brass, but it is absolutely not good enough to cause any one to reasonably believe that all these steps are worth it just to be using LC cases as opposed to buying 6.5 Creedmore brass of any brand...well, I don't think the Russians are making steel 6.5 cases yet.
Forget about all of the above if you just cant answer, it appears this is happening because the case length of a 308 is 2.015" and the case length of the 6.5 Creedmore is 1.920". Failing to first trim the cases will cause the mouth to jam or crash into the finish {6.5} die and crush/dent something...in this case the shoulder area. Annealing is always good, but it will not solve anything if trimming is the real answer.
I form a lot of brass when I already have the dies, but if you have to buy four sets of dies {308, 7mm-08, 260, 6.5} to form your brass, why not just buy the right brass to begin with????
Now, all that said, a little bit of crushing wont hurt anything if you can get them to chamber you can get them to fire and they will fire form the dents out. If you really want to add more steps....load them with 25 or 30 grains of shotgun powder and cream of wheat with a little cotton to hold it all in and fireform them back out that way, again IF you can get them to chamber.
Don't get me wrong, Lake City IS good brass, but it is absolutely not good enough to cause any one to reasonably believe that all these steps are worth it just to be using LC cases as opposed to buying 6.5 Creedmore brass of any brand...well, I don't think the Russians are making steel 6.5 cases yet.
Last edited:
I purchased a lot of military 308 earlier this year. Most of mine is LC07 and LC11. I have zero that have come out with marks like yours. I am not familiar with the short name "6.5CM". I probably know it, just not by that name. As stated before, by another responder, use a .308 die to size the brass first. I use an RCBS small base sizer die for mine. I have made several hundred 7-08 and 260 rem. All sized 7-08, then for the 260, down one more time.
It appears that you die is trying to close the neck AND re-angle the shoulder a little. Have you checked the gas port in your die? Is it clean? Have you tried resizing these brass without the decapping pin in the die? When I form brass from a .308 parent case, the decapping pin is only in the .308 die. When I start forming brass with other dies, I remove the decapping pin. Another option is to use the seating die to form the brass before using the final full length sizer die.
Military brass is not real expensive and it is good brass to use when you want to learn the technique of making wildcat brass before spending the bigger dollars for better brass. You do NOT have to do all of the sizing at one time. What happens if you turn your die out one full turn....or two full turns? Still get the dent? Try taking your sizing down in several steps. The easier the brass flows up into the neck of the die, the better it will form that shoulder. Here is an example of what I am leading to. Taking the .223 brass down to .221 fireball is too much all at once. It is easier to take a couple of extra steps, let the brass relax, and then start into a sizing die again. I double checked brass length and made sure I had clearance before going on to the next die. You do not want to swage your brass up into a die and bottom out without space for the brass to flow.
Just a few more comments that may help out.
It appears that you die is trying to close the neck AND re-angle the shoulder a little. Have you checked the gas port in your die? Is it clean? Have you tried resizing these brass without the decapping pin in the die? When I form brass from a .308 parent case, the decapping pin is only in the .308 die. When I start forming brass with other dies, I remove the decapping pin. Another option is to use the seating die to form the brass before using the final full length sizer die.
Military brass is not real expensive and it is good brass to use when you want to learn the technique of making wildcat brass before spending the bigger dollars for better brass. You do NOT have to do all of the sizing at one time. What happens if you turn your die out one full turn....or two full turns? Still get the dent? Try taking your sizing down in several steps. The easier the brass flows up into the neck of the die, the better it will form that shoulder. Here is an example of what I am leading to. Taking the .223 brass down to .221 fireball is too much all at once. It is easier to take a couple of extra steps, let the brass relax, and then start into a sizing die again. I double checked brass length and made sure I had clearance before going on to the next die. You do not want to swage your brass up into a die and bottom out without space for the brass to flow.
Just a few more comments that may help out.
Attachments
Upgrades & Donations
This Forum's expenses are primarily paid by member contributions. You can upgrade your Forum membership in seconds. Gold and Silver members get unlimited FREE classifieds for one year. Gold members can upload custom avatars.
Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.
You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.
To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.
Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.
You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.
To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.