Quote:
Originally Posted by sheepherder
Oh, so these are reloads???  By some factory or business??? |
OK, from the top. Some company, apparently in Turkey, makes this brass for other companies to load into ammunition. They make this brass in an unconventional way, with a step on the inside instead of a taper to the case wall thickness (see photo). The companies that buy the brass load it with initial first loadings, like Remington, Winchester, Fiocchi, or PMC would do if they didn't make their own brass. There does not appear to be a problem with firing this commercial ammunition. The Turkish company will headstamp this virgin brass to order, IMT or AMMOLOAD that I know of.
The problem arises when people like me handload this particular brass. It is apparently not designed to be used more than once (reloaded). In that respect it's like Blazer aluminum cases: OK to shoot, not designed to be reloaded.
I've never seen a new box of this ammo as far as I know. I picked up some once fired cases of it at a local commercial range, along with a lot of other normal once fired brass. I noticed the difference right away as I was running it through the Dillon, but did not realize there would be a problem until there was one. Then I looked it up on the Internet and discovered that others had had the same issue.
I was not able to find the ejected case head of the case that failed. I was shooting at the same commercial range, it was busy at the time, and there was just too much brass lying around.
Sometimes, when shooting at that facility, I pick up a lot of other people's cases, (hundreds of cases at a time) after asking of course. Most people don't handload, so they don't mind. That's where I get most of the semi-auto cases that I reload. I always ask the people whose cases I'm scrounging if they handload. I only want once fired cases. With semi-auto cases (9mm and 45 ACP), I only reload it once and then recycle it. So far I've been able to scrounge a lot more once fire brass in this way than I've been able to handload. I shoot about half handloads (mine only!) and half known commercial brands like Blazer Brass and Federal American Eagle.
Does that make it all clear?