Beat Up Brass (dents on case sidewall)

[opticsguy]

I was shooting my Aero Precision/BCA Grendel in the woods and I noticed the brass had to dents 90 degrees to each other on the side of the casing. There were also some brass shavings at the base, but I'm guessing that is normal. What could be causing the dents?

grendelbrass.jpg

[37L1]

Your upper deflector is causing the dents.

You can put a piece of the fuzzy sided velcro cut to fit on the deflector or trim the ejector spring. There's a how to on the spring posted on this site.

[Lastrites]

Oh I would say that looks more like the case impacting on the back edge of the ejection port and not the deflector as it appears to be a fairly sharp mark. Check to see if the face of the bolt is just forward of the back edge of ejection port by 1/8" to 1/4" when you manually pull back on the charging handle.

eta: Changing my opinion of the mark, more likely from making contact with one of the lugs.

[GjGary]

To me that looks like that is happening when the round is being chambered. That can be checked easily, slowly manually eject the case and look for damage, if none then lastrites got it.

[s3silver]

Inspect your upper carefully. If the cases are hitting anywhere on the upper you should be able to see the marks. Looks too sharp of a scrape to be the deflector.

[Klem]

That doesn't look like a deflector ding. Too superficial and sharp.

Did you have a feed jam that you needed to clear at any stage? Is this scratch on all of your ejected cases?

[OpFor1]

A wild guess from a 6.5 noob but is it hitting the edge of the ejection port maybe?
A shorter buffer or a slightly weak spring can do something similar.

[jaybee1669]

So, as someone who is looking to get into reloading, would this type of ding the brass make you less likely to reload it or will it just fix itself during the firing process? I've been looking at some videos and seeing people toss aside brass with dings in the shoulders or neck. If the case will chamber, is it OK to reload?

[OpFor1]

As long as it was a small superficial mark, I would shoot it.
I have used other caliber brass with dents, dings and marks and never noticed a problem with them.
Especially brass that was fired out of a fully automatic or belt fed weapon can be all kinds of chewed.

[Klem]

...would this type of ding the brass make you less likely to reload it or will it just fix itself during the firing process? I've been looking at some videos and seeing people toss aside brass with dings in the shoulders or neck. If the case will chamber, is it OK to reload?

Jaybee,

That scratch is fine to reload.

Unless you have unlimited funds there's no reason to discard that. Brass is one element in a two-part process that contains the potentially dangerous pressure that propels the bullet. Cases take some of the pressure as they expand, and the chamber takes the rest. But each one on their own cannot contain all the pressure. The chamber on it's own is strong enough to take all of the pressure but there are too many holes and cracks for gas to escape. The brass on it's own is not strong enough to take all the pressure but is good for sealing it. As soon as brass gets split or develops a hole then it's ability to seal is compromised. What we see here is a scratch, not a split or a hole.

That scratch is now a weak spot that after multiple firings will end up a crack all the way through. Given the case is always supported by the chamber it will not rupture like a gas tank in a movie, but you will be able to see through it and there will be black soot around it. It is not a major problem and likely the OP will have thrown it away long before that happens for some other reason. As soon as there is a crack in the case it is wise to discard it.

That said, I've known more than a few tight-fisted handgunners who keep loading cases long after they have developed and obvious split at the neck. As long as the case still holds the bullet without falling out they will keep firing and reloading it. Pressure leaks out when it's fired but they don't care. It doesn't affect their definition of accuracy shooting at man-shaped targets at 5 metres. With long-gunners however our attitude towards precision is more exacting so some might even throw it away immediately. If it's for an AR and not the world bench rest championships then the OP will be fine reloading it.

[sneaky one]

Klem nailed it.

If the Neck has deep cuts in it- it will fail upon next firing. PPu was known for this failure- due to bad metalurgy.

Main body is thicker, it can take a semi medium scratch for another shot or 2.

Even if a fail occurs- the chamber holds the pressure inside- extraction may suck tho.

[IescapedCali]

Saw a video n YouTube recently, showing bolt carrier speed in slow-mo, with a Grendel and a 5.56. One of the two ejected into the deflector, but the slower BCG motion of the other rifle showed the case impact the rear edge of the ejector port, leaving a mark similar to yours. How’s your brass ejecting?

[rscottb]

IescapedCali , do you have a link for these videos?
Inquiring minds would like to learn something.

[Bronsonburner]

One of my moderately overgassed 5.56 ARs do this. The brass never contacts the deflector it hits the edge of the ejection port. Brass lands forward of the gun at 2 o'clock. I don't sweat it too much.

[A5BLASTER]

One of my moderately overgassed 5.56 ARs do this. The brass never contacts the deflector it hits the edge of the ejection port. Brass lands forward of the gun at 2 o'clock. I don't sweat it too much.

You should your inducing unnecessary wear and tear too your rifle.