• If you enjoy the forum please consider supporting it by signing up for a NES Membership  The benefits pay for the membership many times over.

Brass shavings scattered through lower.

Joined
Nov 3, 2017
Messages
1,688
Likes
3,003
Feedback: 0 / 0 / 0
I was cleaning my Bren 2 today and noticed a number of small brass shavings scattered through the lower. There didn't seem to be any pattern as to the location, as there were bits everywhere from behind the trigger to forward of the magwell. There were also a few bits in random places in the upper. Didn't see any around the chamber or the bolt face. No apparent effect on function and no apparent rub marks on any of the internals.

Next time I go shooting, I'll take a look at the ejected brass and see if I can find any hint as to where it's coming from.


IMG_2063.jpg


IMG_2065.JPG

IMG_2070.jpg
 
Last edited:
shit, those are serious shavings. i was going to suggest you look at the magazines if you're using steel mags but i dunno after looking at the shavings.
 
I have a bren2 as well but haven’t noticed the brass shavings. I’ll pop off the lower when I get home from work and take a looksie
 
I was cleaning my Bren 2 today and noticed a number of small brass shavings scattered through the lower. There didn't seem to be any pattern as to the location, as there were bits everywhere from behind the trigger to forward of the magwell. There were also a few bits in random places in the upper. Didn't see any around the chamber or the bolt face. No apparent effect on function and no apparent rub marks on any of the internals.

Next time I go shooting, I'll take a look at the ejected brass and see if I can find any hint as to where it's coming from.

View attachment 629326

View attachment 629327

View attachment 629328
I’m surprised the big one that looks like a toothpick didn’t affect function.
 
shit, those are serious shavings. i was going to suggest you look at the magazines if you're using steel mags but i dunno after looking at the shavings.
I have some metal mags, but I haven't run them in this one.

Look closer... you may have struck gold! Is that the Bren 2 'Alchemist'?
I used to work in a metal finishing shop. When I first saw them, gold fines was the first thought through my head.

What do your fired cases look like?
I haven't noticed anything at the range in the past. All the fired brass I have at home is mixed from two different rifles. I'll need to take it down to the range this week and specifically look at the brass.
 
I wouldn’t worry about that. Probably just pieces of case rims being ripped off by the extractor.

I only shoot steel case out of my Bren 2Ms (in 7.62), so can’t add any real world experience or anything, but I’ve had AR’s and even Garands shave off some brass here and there and it’s never caused a problem.

YMMV, but I’d just flush w/mineral spirits/diesel fuel in a parts washer or maybe even a brake cleaner if you don’t want to disassemble all the way and then oil as normal.

Bren 2’s (at least the Ms’s in 7.62) are notoriously over gassed, and I actually had to have a special port drilled on my gas plug so I could just run w/ a suppressor and not cause damage to my buffer.
 
Last edited:
Baggie up the shavings, deep clean the gun, put another 20 rounds through her, inspect for shavings and send the gun as-is, fired un-cleaned back under an RMA for a full inspection.send any/all shavings and casings back with rifle.
 
Baggie up the shavings, deep clean the gun, put another 20 rounds through her, inspect for shavings and send the gun as-is, fired un-cleaned back under an RMA for a full inspection.send any/all shavings and casings back with rifle.
If the next pass of shooting results in enough shavings, it might be the way to go.

[sarc]Of course, there's always the chance that CZ will pass on warranty service as the gun has been "modified" (Massified). [/sarc]
 
Looking at how long some of those are , if it were me I would check the bottom of the feed ramp for a burr or sharp edge.
You might be getting a shave at the bottom of the case neck as the bolt rams home.
If there is it's a quick fix with a jewelry file (gently ).
 
If the next pass of shooting results in enough shavings, it might be the way to go.

[sarc]Of course, there's always the chance that CZ will pass on warranty service as the gun has been "modified" (Massified). [/sarc]
CZ warranty isn’t worth a shit. They’re lucky their guns are so cool I literally can’t resist them. Otherwise, they’d go the way of Ruger to me (and f*** ruger)
 
is your extractor moving freely? if it is, I wouldnt worry about it unless you're ripping the cases apart and leaving half in the chamber
 
I tend to look at fired cases when shooting a new-to-me gun. Overall, primer, any dimples, neck or mouth. After a while without any issues, I stop and then check periodically. I'm... odd.

Did you inspect your fired cases for missing brass?

I also tend to smell things I randomly pick up... YMMV
 
I was cleaning my Bren 2 today and noticed a number of small brass shavings scattered through the lower. There didn't seem to be any pattern as to the location, as there were bits everywhere from behind the trigger to forward of the magwell. There were also a few bits in random places in the upper. Didn't see any around the chamber or the bolt face. No apparent effect on function and no apparent rub marks on any of the internals.

Next time I go shooting, I'll take a look at the ejected brass and see if I can find any hint as to where it's coming from.

View attachment 629326

View attachment 629327

View attachment 629328
1. Please post pics of cases.
2. How many rounds did you shoot before cleaning?
 
Glad the shavings didn’t result in a failure.

During an AR class I took, a fired primer broke off before case ejection. It lodged under the safety selector and prevented the safety to engage in the middle of a drill.

The drill had to stop and the instructor could not get the safety to engage either.

It was a broken and unsafe gun at that point.

We took it offline and swung open the upper to look inside to inspect the safety selector to see why it could not move.

I then discovered the fired primer caught underneath and kept it for a souvenir.

The gun went back to the class without incident.

With that Remington ammo case, there were additional loose primers that detached from case after firing. None managed to cause a failure though.

OP - I’ve had tiny specks of brass left in my guns but nothing as large as yours.

If all different ammo does this to you it must be your gun. Not sure if worth sending to manufacturer.

I complained to Remington about my ammo and they looked up the lot number. They didn’t do anything or offer to replace it.

I shot the rest of it but after using different ammo the problem never returned.

I was prepared for another freak failure and always used good safety practices.

It was a good test of employing proper gun handling. It could have resulted in a useless gun a real life defense scenario.

If your shards are big enough it could happen to you.
 
Are they reloads?
No, new factory ammo.

2. How many rounds did you shoot before cleaning?
320

Did you inspect your fired cases for missing brass?
1. Please post pics of cases.
Take a black sharpie to a couple live rounds and run them through the gun , then you might be able to see the shaved portion on the case. As others said, maybe the feed ramp , mag lip, extractor , or ???

Post your results too.

So I went back and found a box from the last time out at the range and lined them up. Does look like it's smacking the case mouths around a bit, but there's no apparent removal of material in the dents.
IMG_2071.jpg


First pass looking at the cases and I noticed that many of them had a scratch in the same place. Didn't seem big enough for the shavings I was seeing.
IMG_2072.jpg


And then I found this guy. When I picked it up, I could see the shaving still attached to the divot. It came off when I slid my finger over it, but it was clearly adherent enough to survive ejection, bouncing around on the ground, getting collected, boxed, and driven home.
IMG_2073.jpg


Which led me to looking in that location on the cases. Came up with five that had similar marks. All of the marked cases had dented mouths. However, not all of the dented cases had the divot. As can be seen in the picture below, the divots are in the same relative position to the dents on all 5 cases.
IMG_2074.jpg
Seems to be that the denting and shavings are related. Not sure of the cause, though.
 
Last edited:
Notice the mouth dent and the base chip are perfectly aligned.

1656002195104.png

my guess is this IS the cause of the shavings.

Load a round and hand eject. You may see where it is being gouged.

The Mouth dent though may just be a characteristic of YOUR gun. I have a couple that operate perfectly & accurately but are abusive to cases...
 
Use your phone to take a slow mo video of firing a round with the ejection port filling the frame. This will show you how it's happening. If you don't have a good phone, ask someone with a newer IPhone or Samsung S20 or newer to take the video for you
 
Probably just pieces of case rims being ripped off by the extractor.
that was my thought, any brass missing on the rim at the edge to the groove were the extractor pulls on it.
interesting the little dents gouges a few mm from rim, from the end , due to the extractor sometime after it does its job????
how are the dents made on case mouth, the case not clearing fully and bolt is coming back and it hits some part of the receiver?
 
how are the dents made on case mouth, the case not clearing fully and bolt is coming back and it hits some part of the receiver?
Sometimes it has to do with case length and ejection angle. M1 Garands can do this...

1656017503229.png
1656017545894.png
 
If it’s not affecting the function I don’t see the problem.

Looks like a shavings are coming off during extraction.

I don’t have experience with your particular firearm but HK’s murder cases
 
Back
Top Bottom