RWS .380 brass

[Cat-Herder]

I bought 1000 pieces of mixed headstamp .380 range brass, and a lot of the RWS brass, when decapped, loses the whole bottom of the primer well! There's a good one on the left, and one that has disintegrated on the right. I've never seen this happen with anything else I reload.

Anyone else have problems with RWS brass? I think I'm going to pick through the whole lot and scrap them all.

 

[Leo]

I do not think yoiu need to scrap them. I had this problem with .45 Long COLT many years ago. It turned out that the primer punch in my sizer die was just a little too deep, and the thick part was actually punching out the pocket. There is a lot of leverage at that part of the press stroke. I adjusted the punch part back into the die about 1/16th inch and all was well. Good Luck

 

[kludge]

Yup, try that first.

 

[Broom_jm]

Hmm, that's a new one on me, but just thinking about it, if the brass was flawed, you'd know it when you shot the round. Having it come apart in the press suggests an equipment or setup issue. Interesting!

Please let us know if adjusting the die fixes that issue because I JUST starting reloading 380 rounds and would like to avoid a problem before it happens.

 

[Cat-Herder]

I'll adjust the decapping rod tonight, but none of the other headstamps exhibited this problem, just the RWS stuff. I would think if the rod were too far down, I'd have had more of this happen.
I've decapped and resized several thousand Fiocchi and Blazer with the die in the exact same configuration it's in right now....when a decapping rod moves, doesn't it move UP?
Broom, this is range pickup, so I have no idea about it other than I know I didn't shoot any of it.
I'll fiddle with it tonight, and post the results....I'm still gonna segregate this RWS stuff though!

 

[billybob44]

I'll adjust the decapping rod tonight, but none of the other headstamps exhibited this problem, just the RWS stuff. I would think if the rod were too far down, I'd have had more of this happen.
I've decapped and resized several thousand Fiocchi and Blazer with the die in the exact same configuration it's in right now....when a decapping rod moves, doesn't it move UP?
Broom, this is range pickup, so I have no idea about it other than I know I didn't shoot any of it.
I'll fiddle with it tonight, and post the results....I'm still gonna segregate this RWS stuff though!

Doug, just stick a Large Pistol Primer in it and call it DONE!! HA HA.....WAIT A MINUTE, others are reading this.....NO DO NOT stick a LPP in it...Bill..

 

[Cat-Herder]

Doug, just stick a Large Pistol Primer in it and call it DONE!! HA HA.....WAIT A MINUTE, others are reading this.....NO DO NOT stick a LPP in it...Bill..

haha! When I first looked at it, my brain said "So is this like SPP .45 brass? LPP .380????? WHY?????"

Then I realized something was just wrong.

 

[billybob44]

haha! When I first looked at it, my brain said "So is this like SPP .45 brass? LPP .380????? WHY?????"

Then I realized something was just wrong.

Yea, Doug, I thought the same.--Hell, I'm having to sort the SP cases out of my 10MM brass too.

There are some BOZO's that WANT the SP primed 10MM!! They claim that the case head is stronger due to the extra brass around a SP primer??? Each to his own, I guess..Bill.

 

[Cat-Herder]

I hadn't realized they were priming 10mm in SPP now, too. I've taken to marking all my SPP .45 brass with a blue sharpie on the bottom of the case. It makes it a lot easier to sort out. Still, I have to be careful, as I occasionally pick up a piece of range brass and don't notice. Grrr...

Those LPPs really don't like being smashed into the small holes!

 

[kludge]

Must be for all those Blue Press fans that don't want to switch out their priming systems.

 

[billybob44]

Must be for all those Blue Press fans that don't want to switch out their priming systems.

Yup, thats got something to do with it..HA HA...Bill.


Damn, I just noticed my post count---Gotta Go+post again...Bill.

 

[bstewrat3]

If there is enough of a lip left in them use the cases for rubber or wax bullets fired with a primer only.

 

[Cat-Herder]

The RWS brass has a significantly smaller flash hole than any of the other stuff in this mixed bag. I've decided that I just don't trust them , and they're going into the scrap bucket. I finally got all of them decapped and resized, and had two more of the RWS stuff lose the primer pocket. I'm not sure if it was loaded hot, or what, but I'm not going to risk it. There's only about twenty of 'em in this batch of 1100...
From what I've researched though, it's supposed to be some of the best stuff out there for rifle reloading, hmmmm....

My decapping rod was NOT the culprit, FYI.

 

[Cat-Herder]

If there is enough of a lip left in them use the cases for rubber or wax bullets fired with a primer only.

There isn't anything left but a burn marked, ragged edge. I'm thinking I found a rare lot of rejects or something...

 

[kludge]

Good to know. Thanks, I'll keep an eye out for them.