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223 pressure signs on “once fired brass”

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HottyToddy

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Looking to get learnt.

Against my better judgement, I just bought a lot of "once fired 223 brass from my AR and bolt gun". Just finished sorting it all, and I have a few questions.

1. About 2/3 of it is crimped military stuff. I know you can buy once fired military brass, but can you buy surplus loaded rounds? Stuff that would make sense for him to have fired once and now have the brass for? Forgive my ignorance, I always just buy ammo from the local big box stores. Or maybe catch and release from him on the brass only

2. The non military stuff (the stuff I'm more worried isn't "once fired". Easier reloading due to lack of crimp) shows quite a few signs of over pressure. I've never evaluated my AR brass after firing because I've only ever shot factory stuff and not been worried about it. Can an AR operating system cause flattened primers, cratered primers, or extractor swipes more often just because of the operating system? Just seems odd to me that 1/3 of the non crimped "once fired" stuff has what I would consider signs of pressure if it's truly factory ammo he shot once.

Thanks!
 

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Gas guns can cause all kinds of crazy stuff like that. It can also be hot loads. Since it's not all the same headstamp, I would lean toward it being something with his rifle versus being a hot factory round.
 
nso123 said:
Gas guns can cause all kinds of crazy stuff like that. It can also be hot loads. Since it's not all the same headstamp, I would lean toward it being something with his rifle versus being a hot factory round.
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I'm worried that's it's reloaded mixed headstamps that he says is once fired. Don't want to load it for the Nth time and blow myself up.
 
HottyToddy said:
To me top left looks cratered, top right flattened, bottom 2 extractor swipes
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I agree with the top right. Top right, and the bottom ones look like the firing pin hole is grossly oversized. But I don't consider craters to be pressure signs. I see the nicks in the brass, but I don't know that they're extractor swipes.
 
WestTN2288 said:
If you're that concerned I would gladly take it off your hands and test it for you…

But in all seriousness, it was probably shot from a machine gun or something else with a loose and/or extremely hot chamber. Both of which can add to the oddities you're seeing. Sort it by headstamp, FL resize to the shell holder and build a load for your gun. Should be perfectly fine
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I appreciate the insight. I honestly don't have a great way to deal with the military crimp on 2/3 of it. I'm going to try and remove it with the tools I have, but I won't buy anything to deal with the crimp. If I get sick of it and want to get rid of the crimped stuff I will let you know!
 
HottyToddy said:
I appreciate the insight. I honestly don't have a great way to deal with the military crimp on 2/3 of it. I'm going to try and remove it with the tools I have, but I won't buy anything to deal with the crimp. If I get sick of it and want to get rid of the crimped stuff I will let you know!
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Use an inside case mouth chamfer tool and cut out the crimp. 2-3 spins and the crimp is gone and you can prime as normal.
 
Is why I use small base die for all of my once-fired rounds. And whenever possible I avoid crimped primers because the extra effort to make them non-crimped is just too much for me.

I have found that once-fired rounds is a flexible description for some retail sites. I go with BrassmanBrass now known as 3 Rivers. This site has been a very good place to do business with for quite a few years.

Rifle Brass - Once Fired Archives - Brassman Brass

brassmanbrass.com brassmanbrass.com
 

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