Hunting Forum

I'm new to reloading. I've only been loading for my .357 Mag for about six months and just got into rifle. I over lubed some of my brass and dented them. The dents are below the shoulders and therefore not on any seating servface. I look at it and say that is should make little difference, I know the accurace would be different, but the safety issue is what I'm concerned with. I don't see how it would be unsafe to reload dented brass, but I want to make sure before I unleash a high explosive inches in front of my face.

So, can I reload and fire dented brass?

I'm not a reloader yet, but I would not use, my thinking is that even though not on a sealing surface it still will weaken the case in my mind.

Most of us that reload have had this happen at one time or another, unless the denting is extreme there is no problem reloading and firing the cases.  It sounds like cases were overlubricated, I suggest you clean the resizing die prior to reloading and use less lube.  There may be excess lube at the top of the die that is causing the the dents, remove the decapping stem and swab the die with solvent and patches and dry completely.

When you fire the round you will fire form the case back to the original dimensions, wildcatters fireform cases to modify the shoulder or take some of the taper out of the case.

As Ast.John mentioned, as long as the dents are not extreme, then it should be safe to fire the rounds. Be sure to give your resizing die a good cleaning before you use it again to remove the excessive lube from the die. With bottle neck cartridges, you only need to lube the case wall, keep the lube off the shoulder and neck. Some folks will use a dry lube such as mica to lube the inside of the case neck to help with the removal of the expander ball.

As long as the dents are not extreme all is well. I reload and must form cases for several wildcats i.e. 219 donaldson wasp, 25 souper, and 7mm T&R Mag. I must start with a different case and reform it to the case I need to shoot. This requires for the most part several steps and possible annealing to get what I need to shoot these old calibers. Even normal reloading requires that you squeeze the casing and for the neck you squeeze and then expand the neck. All cartridges are too small for the chamber otherwise they would not easily load into the chamber. When you fire the shot the brass expands to seal the chamber. Those small dents will be ironed out in the shooting process just the same way. There is the possibility of those cases not lasting as long as undented but can be reused till the show signs of possible separation.

Fire them. Good luck.

I used to have this happen when I relubed my pad. Get too much lube and when I resized a case it would dent. I always fired them and never had a problem. As was mentioned wildcaters have to fire form their cases.

Thanks, that's what I was thinking, but wasn't sure. I will make sure to clean everything before I use it again. Thanks again.

Most sizing dies have a bleed hole near the top to allow trapped air to escape. Sometimes it's hiding behind the lock ring. Be sure to clean it out too, they will sometimes get plugged if you've got too much lube.

Dale

I cleaned everything and reloaded the dented brass. I haven't shot them off yet, but they all chamber nicely. I also loaded them to the lowest load in the Nosler reload manual, this is near the mid range in the Hornady manual, but I don't think there will be a problem. I also resized some brass that I hadn't done anything with before. I used less lube and and they all came out great. I picked up some RCBS spray lube (pump spray not the arisol). I haven't used it yet, does anyone have any thoughts on that? Is it easier to get the correct amount of lube on all casings with the spray?

I have a friend that used to fireform cases by first nearly crushing the case and neck sizing it and firing it off to form his brass. He did lose a few but I was amazed at the resilience of brass. The reason brass is used for cartridges is that it has memory. When it is squeezed it tries and succeeds to a little degree at returning to its previous shape, the same for expanding a case. This concept allows you to extract the spent case from the chamber. Ever wonder why when you resize the cartridge case you first squeeze down the neck and then expand it? This is because of brasses memory. If you only squeezed the neck it is trying to expand but if you squeeze the neck a little too far and then expand it now it is trying to contract giving a better grip on the bullet. Do not worry excessivly about the small lube dents as they will iron out nicely. Worry most at what caused the dents and correct it. I have always used the sticky gooy case lube but am interested in trying the spray on type, just haven't done so yet. No one can tell others what the exact amount of lube to use. Use too much and you may get dents but use too little and you get the dreaded stuck case in the resizing die. If you have not yet experienced a stuck case I hope you never do as they are a real bugger.

I haven't had one stick to the point that I couldn't get it out, but I have had to replace the lag screews that came with my press with bolts going through the table. I just resized about 50 brass and used the RCBS pump spray. I put the brass into my reloading tray (contrary to the instructions) and sprayed the whole works from every side. This worked awsume. I haven't had any easier time resizing nor did I dent any. The only problem is that the lube seams more sticky than slick and now I have some on my reloading block. I think that after several rounds of this I will have to soak my block in some hot soapy water for awhile. As for the lube on the cases, I ran them through my tumbler after resizing and trimming and they came out nice.

Posted By LWALTMAN on 20 Jan 2012 08:12 AM
I cleaned everything and reloaded the dented brass. I haven't shot them off yet, but they all chamber nicely. I also loaded them to the lowest load in the Nosler reload manual, this is near the mid range in the Hornady manual, but I don't think there will be a problem. I also resized some brass that I hadn't done anything with before. I used less lube and and they all came out great. I picked up some RCBS spray lube (pump spray not the arisol). I haven't used it yet, does anyone have any thoughts on that? Is it easier to get the correct amount of lube on all casings with the spray?

Good idea on reducing the loads some, because depending on the dent size, the case capacity will be reduced
and using high loads may produce very high pressures.

BE SURE TO CLEAN THE VENT HOLE IN YOU SHOULDER CASE DIE!!! It is small and easily missed. It is in the area of the shoulder and usually plugs up with dirt and lube. WD/40 and a cleaning patch, and maybe a paper clip will do the job.