Always inspect your cases!

[soam]

I always give my cases a quick glance before I put them through the press. I saw an unfamiliar headstamp, so I took a quick look inside the case, and lo and behold I found this:

That would have slowed me down if I'd put it through my sizing/decapping die!

 

[M1911]

Berdan primed pistol brass? That's a first.

 

[bigblue]

Please share that head stamp: Color me curious!

(It's probably bc your kool aid is red instead of blue)

 

[soam]

Here's a picture of the headstamps. They all are some variation on "DAG[2 digit number][letter][4 digit number]"

 

[white feather]

Quick Google of 9mm "DAG headstamp" finds a lot of discussion on other forums.
Made by Dynamit Nobel A-G, Troisdorf, Germany, (previously Geco and DNG Gustav Genchow, Karlsruhe).
Primers only part of the problem. Thick brass on the side of the case too...

 

[NavelOfficer]

Lots of the foreign fodder is berdan primed. If picking up unknown brass, you'd better give it a once over before sending it through the press. Seems I found some .38 Special (not Blazer aluminum) that was berdan primed some time back.
Some berdan primed cases have a dimple where the anvil is formed and at a casual glance appear to be boxer primed; you can barely see the flash holes (sometimes 1, 2 or 3 of them), but they'll still snap your decapping pin just as easily.

 

[ruebarb]

I pick up lots of brass at MFS, of Berdian 9mm, usually 3-4 per a thousand

 

[beaker]

Not a happy Surprise!

Today I was loading 9mm in the 650 and as always looked down into the case on the way to the bullet load station and it looked overcharged, but not overflowing, which is what it would look like if it was a double. I weighed the powder and it was right on the money at 6.2grains. WTF. I looked into the case and there was a frigging moth cocoon in the bottom of the case! I'm not sure how that would have gone, but I don't want to find out first hand. I visually inspected every case when I cleaned them about a year ago too!

 

[jtnf]

That would have been a very fast first, and last, flight for that moth!

Not a happy Surprise!

Today I was loading 9mm in the 650 and as always looked down into the case on the way to the bullet load station and it looked overcharged, but not overflowing, which is what it would look like if it was a double. I weighed the powder and it was right on the money at 6.2grains. WTF. I looked into the case and there was a frigging moth cocoon in the bottom of the case! I'm not sure how that would have gone, but I don't want to find out first hand. I visually inspected every case when I cleaned them about a year ago too!

 

[noylj]

My procedure is to inspect, sort, and deprime before cleaning. Been doing that for at least 30 years now.
The only thing that really got by me were the first .45 Auto cases with small primers...

 

[dcmdon]

Uh, lots of pistol brass is berdan primed now.

Although most of it is not really brass. Its brass washed steel. I run into them all the time.

Its very obvious and not at all destructive. The press stops HARD on the down stroke. Its not like if the case is extra big and just resisting the resizing die. Its a very sharp stop. I don't even look anymore. I just remove the case and keep going.

I'm not very thorough inspecting my 9mm brass. Although if its going to be used in a match, all the finished rounds get very thoroughly inspected.