PIX ADDED Damascus looking brass case, OK to reload?

[PigPknHeat]

I unloaded some brass PPU ammo yesterday in my mosin to reload them and i was surprised to see a damascus looking pattern on the spent cases.

I thought everything in the chamber and bore looked pretty good but these chamber impressions make me nervous to reload the brass. I used some hoppes and a 20 gauge brass brush on the end of a drill to try and clean up the chamber, im hesitant to use polish in there i might have to though.

Seems to me like chamber marks since I can line them up and see the same pattern... SAFE TO RELOAD?

Any of you see this before?

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Here are a couple after being resized and seated. They look better than I thought they would...

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[Gator9329]

Pics?

 

[peterthefish]

Probably just the powder burn pattern on the cases. If you're used to shooting steel cases ammo you may not have seen it. If it's not that, then pics.

 

[EddieCoyle]

It's tough to imagine what you're seeing without a pic, but you probably shouldn't load it.

During case manufacture, laminations can occur when the drawing process is done incorrectly; and these greatly weaken the part. If this is what you're seeing (as opposed to burn patterns) you're better off erring on the side of caution.

 

[PigPknHeat]

Ill get some pix when i get home tonight

 

[PigPknHeat]

Pics moved to OP

 

[jtnf]

LOOKS to me like process contamination in the deep draw dies - Fluid on the surface of the dies results in localized hydraulic forces that can cause variations in surface finish.
I'm not a stamping engineer, but my shop consumes stamped and drawn commodities and we have access to stamping engineers... If there is no consensus I'll try to reach out to my old friend that does this for a living.


7.62x54R - If this were commonly available brass I'd say "dump it and don't take any chances" - I suspect brass 54R is relatively rare, so I'm torn.

 

[EddieCoyle]

Based on the last pic, I'd be inclined not to load it.

 

[peterthefish]

Based on the last pic, I'd be inclined not to load it.

Meh. I'm assuming the last pic is a reloaded round and the streaking is a result of dirty dies. The change in case color looks like annealing that wasn't polished.

 

[PigPknHeat]

Last two pics are of the same "dummy" round one pic without the flash the other with the flash.

 

[Gammon]

Interesting, I would have reloaded this brass, but I don't know much about rifle brass. Nice to learn something the easy way as opposed to the hard way AKA Kaboom.

 

[noylj]

Look fine to me--I would load them without another thought. If you are concerned, throw them away.

 

[NavelOfficer]

How did they feel while resizing? If your chamber was excessively large, I'd think you would have had some greater resistance as they went into your FL sizer die.
You could use these for gallery or reduced loads, I suppose.
I know it's not often you scrounge boxer-primed 54R brass, but it's not that scarce (simply buy more Prvi ammo).
Your rifle's chamber would contain any ruptured case, but if not desiring potential gas in the face, scrap it and use the next batch of ammo with, hopefully, better results.



FWIW, the Albanian surplus ammo uses a brass case with the .217" diameter berdan primer pocket, but this, along with the inconsistent quality of the brass, makes it less desireable than what you have pictured in the OP.

 

[PigPknHeat]

I dont thinkbthe chamber is oversized but rather its got some imperfections maybe hardened cosmo or rust... ill be polishing it this weekend... trying to find some jb bore cleaner and bore bright.

It was a little tight on the resize, more than i have encountered in the past. I believe that the resistance came from the bumps and impression caused by chamber forming

 

[noylj]

That is not like damascus steel. That is brass that has seen some usage. Looks fine to me.

http://s92.photobucket.com/user/noylj/media/damacus steel.jpg.html

 

[NavelOfficer]

I'm not a metallurgist, but I'd use it for some reduced plinking loads and let it live out its useful life. When you see it split or start to fail, toss it.
In the grand scheme of things, tossing 20 pieces of brass isn't the end of the world.
Heck, you can make some dummy rounds with assorted bullets and use them to adjust your dies as needed.

 

[greencobra]

maybe you could just contact them and see what's what?
http://www.ppu-usa.com/