Would you scrap these?

[Pheroze]

I am wondering if this fine line near the belt is a warning sign or an artifact.

308 Norma Mag reloaded about 8x. I resize to about 0.03 and use the Larry Willis collet to reform the brass around the belt. It definitely bulges in that area and goes back to spec after the collet. I can't feel any distinct bump inside the case when probed with a bent paperclip. If I concentrate there may be a slight slope?? Is it better to scrap or is it fine to keep going?

 

[Edge]

Do you think its from the Willis die resizing the base area pushing the brass towards the base, hence the slope? You definitely got your use out of the brass with them being reused eight times.

My rule, if in doubt, it goes to the scrap bin!

 

[Boyd Brooks]

I would lean to the side of caution, if I was in doubt. It would really suck if one separated at the belt.
I have never reloaded my 308 Norma that many times. I think 4 is the most on a box of cartridges. It’s good to know I could get a few more reloads on my brass if they are not to hot.

 

[Daveboone]

I was getting similar marks on .308s from a rifle with headspace problems. I would scrap them...and have your rifle checked. That said though....any cartridge reloaded eight times has given you great service and is due for replacement.

 

[Pheroze]

Thanks, I really like these Larry Willis dies and collet. This will be my first lot of brass going in the bin since I got the rifle. Really impressed with his stuff.

 

[shootist~]

What brand of brass (assume Norma)? WW or Federal would have been tossed after three or four.

I might go once more if I had a fairly light practice load. But eight is probably good enough.

OT: How do you like the Norma Mag? It a Caliber I've often considered for rebarreling my 338 WinMag.

 

[gbflyer]

I guess I’ll be the lone dissenter here. I’d cut one and take a look. That section of brass is super thick. If all looks well inside and they still hold a primer I’d shoot them. I’ve used practice brass for bench rest with 30-40 firings on them. Lapua brand. 60K psi.

 

[Pheroze]

What brand of brass (assume Norma)? WW or Federal would have been tossed after three or four.

I might go once more if I had a fairly light practice load. But eight is probably good enough.

OT: How do you like the Norma Mag? It a Caliber I've often considered for rebarreling my 338 WinMag.

Yes it's Norma brass. Now, I wonder if I accidently did a good thing for a while. After a bunch of reloads I rechecked the headspacing. I had made an error with the die at some point and actually was not bumping back the shoulders at all. I don't know if the die shift or what but I could feel the tightness with some loads. So maybe the brass went through several reloads with resizing except the collet!

If I focus on the cartridge, rather than the rifle (which I love) I think I like it a lot. For a general purpose cartridge it is fine I think. Easy to reload, not crazy powerful. Sometime I wonder if I should have left it as a '06 but then I am taking it hunting this year where I am told 300 or 400 yards may be possible. So, it just flattens things a little and gives me confidence. I have often thought about a 338WM or 358 of some form, but I think the 30cal was a reasonable choice and less recoil. I don't know, everything it a tradeoff anyways.

 

[Pheroze]

I guess I’ll be the lone dissenter here. I’d cut one and take a look. That section of brass is super thick. If all looks well inside and they still hold a primer I’d shoot them. I’ve used practice brass for bench rest with 30-40 firings on them. Lapua brand. 60K psi.

That's a great idea. Why not just look?

 

[Boyd Brooks]

What brand of brass (assume Norma)? WW or Federal would have been tossed after three or four.

I might go once more if I had a fairly light practice load. But eight is probably good enough.

OT: How do you like the Norma Mag? It a Caliber I've often considered for rebarreling my 338 WinMag.

I don’t want to high jack Pheroze thread, but I did the same as he did. Re-chambered a Husqvarna 30-06 into a 308 Norma Mag and don’t regret it for a minute. I also have a 358 Norma Mag which I also really like shooting.
I you reload you can use some of your 338 brass to get started in either direction down to 30 or up to 35.

 

[Shootist43]

Pheroze, I too think the idea of sectioning a piece of brass and having a look is an excellent idea. The investment and time and brass is almost negligible. Especially if it results in being able to continue reloading your current supply of brass.

I have a related question, how often, if ever have you annealed your 308 Norma brass?

 

[JG870]

Are your loads running close to max or loaded down 2 or 3 hundred fps?

 

[TucsonFX4]

This is first I’ve heard of the Larry Willis dies and collet. I’m just starting to reload for my 300wm, I will in the near future for my 7mmRM. Is there much of a following here for their dies?
Pheroze, nice pictures of your brass. I appreciate seeing details of things I need to make sure I keep an eye on as I am firing the brass.

 

[Pheroze]

Pheroze, I too think the idea of sectioning a piece of brass and having a look is an excellent idea. The investment and time and brass is almost negligible. Especially if it results in being able to continue reloading your current supply of brass.

I have a related question, how often, if ever have you annealed your 308 Norma brass?

I have never annealed. I considered it and looked at various machines but the expense is a hurdle.

 

[Pheroze]

Are your loads running close to max or loaded down 2 or 3 hundred fps?

I have found my best loads are maybe 50 to 100 fps off max

 

[Pheroze]

I

This is first I’ve heard of the Larry Willis dies and collet. I’m just starting to reload for my 300wm, I will in the near future for my 7mmRM. Is there much of a following here for their dies?
Pheroze, nice pictures of your brass. I appreciate seeing details of things I need to make sure I keep an eye on as I am firing the brass.

Misspoke about the dies. But I highly recommend the head space measuring tool and that collet. The collet is really good.

 

[fourfive8]

I don’t see anything abnormal in that brass. I don’t know what anyone else is seeing? Compare those to some non belted brass that have been resized a similar number of times.. with the same level of photo resolution.

Use a little rotary tool with a cutoff disk to section then file to clean up burrs. Inspect.

The only reason to pitch those cases would be precautionary considering the basic life expectancy of high pressure rifle cases and not from anything I see on the outside. Yes, properly used, those Willis dies are excellent tools.

 

[gbflyer]

I really like the 308 Norma/30-338 win mag. It’s what the 300WM should have been. I get 2850 out of 212gr Eldx without issue with a 26” barrel and IMR4350. Great classic cartridge.

 

[Shootist43]

Pheroze, I've never annealed any brass either and was concerned about the cost. There are several "methods" one can use to anneal brass. I asked our friend Von Gruff about it and he sent me an email containing a video of how he does it. Surprisingly I already have all of the necessary "tools" for his simple process. Hopefully Von Gruff will see his name being mentioned and post his video for everyone to see.

 

[Pheroze]

The only reason to pitch those cases would be precautionary considering the basic life expectancy of high pressure rifle cases

I figure I am safe until the weekend before I leave for Africa