Is scratched brass a problem?

A few months back, I had one of those learning moments and scratched about 40 pieces of brand new Starline 223 brass while full length sizing. I corrected the issue with the die and all has been good since then.

The scratches are visible and and some are deep enough to feel when I run a fingernail across them. I have segregated these 40 pieces from the rest and process & shoot them separately.

Does scratched brass pose any potential problems with repeated loadings? What do you do with yours when this occurs at your loading bench?

Bill

Load them and shoot. The scratches probably feel worse than they are.

Would not worry about them;unless they are Major Scratches

If you are worried then pitch them....Starline .223 is pretty cheap.

But I say shoot them as well...

I started wet tumbling with stainless steel media when I got firearms that throw perfectly good brass away and makes you go look for it.

Translation, the brass from my AR15 rifles would hit the ground and picked up dirt and grit and were scratching my dies. And wet tumbling would scrub the cases clean and no more scratched dies.

Bottom line I would reload these scratched cases and they caused no problems. If the case is bad enough and you look in the scratch and see inside the case, then scrap the case.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by varget204

Would not worry about them;unless they are Major Scratches

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Exactly, you don't want to mess with Major Scratches.

send them to me and I will test them for you...

Yes a problem if deep. Brass is always expanding then getting resized. Working the brass will find a weak spot.

Years ago when I wasn't as incredibly smart as I am now, :first: I had a Remington bolt action on the 600 action that would put a sharp, deep scratch on the neck and shoulder of the brass when it was ejected. I ignored it for a while until I started seeing cracks forming in the neck right where that scratch was on my reloaded cases. I rounded the area on the action that was scratching the cases so it was not a problem anymore, but I really should have done that as soon as I noticed it. Based on that experience, I now try to remedy the creation of die or firearm related scratches whenever I notice them.