Dented cases?

[JWFilips]

Hi Folks,
A few months ago I was fortunate to find 80 pieces of once shot RP 30-06 brass on our range. So I brought them home thinking I could use them for making 7 x57 and 8x57 cases. They appear to have been shot in some type of auto loading weapon and each one has a dent below the shoulder that is almost identical on each case.
I tried to make some 7x57 today out of them and I get an ugly crease in the shoulder! See Photo below. The 30-06 case is on the left showing the dent and on the right is what happens when I reform the cases to 7x57. Outside of fire-forming them in a 30-06 ( which I do not have) is there any way to fix these dents so I can reform without the crease happening?
Jim

 

[Eutectic]

JW,

To form cases as you want to which sizes the shoulder back some in the dent area; the dent has to go first.

I think the dent can be removed a couple ways. First ask yourself if it's worth the trouble though

You could reload and fire first as a .30-06...... Then do your forming.

Or.... you could remove the dents hydraulically. Use your full length .30-06 die with the expander rod removed. You'll need a blind shell holder (no hole).. Run the case (still with fired primer in it) into the die. Use or make a snug fitting rod for the neck I.D while it's in the die. Eyedropper water into it almost to the top of the case. Install rod... tap a couple times with a small hammer and the dent will be removed.

I have used the FL die on the anvil of the vise without the press. Here you will need to make a spacer washer to hole case to the right depth for the shoulder position. I move shoulders forward this way as well (like .30 Gibbs)

Lots of work for '06 JW. Now if they were .25-20 Single Shot cases or a similar "rare bird" I would go for it!

Pete

 

[JSH]

Another way and it will require work as well. Try and neck it all the way up to 444 and see if that takes the dent out.
The dent is just in the wrong place for where your moving brass.
Jeff

 

[Ben]

Jim,

Looks a lot like grease dents to me ? ? ?
Did you clean your dies well before these photos were taken ?
Did you anneal the brass prior to resizing ? ?
I've seen brass that is TOO SOFT act this way.

Ben

 

[KHornet]

Ben and I are on same wave length I believe?

Paul

 

[Rick]

Most lube dents I've seen were on the shoulder, not on the side of the case under the shoulder. From the way Jim wrote the OP I take it he picked these cases up with the dent already installed.

 

[fiver]

they are good cases they just need the dent removed.
I have seen that dent formed in the firing process before.
they have plenty of anneal [probably a little too much actually] so a little working won't hurt them.
the hydraulic method would be best.

your gonna make a mess with the water so have some towels handy.

if you don't have an 0-6 die then necking the case up to 44 and pushing it in over the expander to iron out the dent would work.
you could also partially run them into the 7mm die and water bump the dent then finish forming them.
or use some JB weld and/or a wooden dowell to block up a shell holder.

 

[Ian]

looks like a BAR ate those. Definitely not a lube dent.

you could also partially run them into the 7mm die and water bump the dent then finish forming them.

This is what I would try if I didn't have an '06 or dies for one. Masking tape could be used to bush a rod or 1/4" straight punch to fit the neck.

 

[freebullet]

I find x39 from ak's like that, I just fire them. Quite a predicament concerning conversion. Nice solutions offered.

 

[RBHarter]

I'd use the 8x57 die to flatten the dent . Might even be able to go to 8×57 without making a crease .

 

[popper]

I got a dent in same place on some 308MX from too much lube. Plugged bleed hole. Maybe some left from that annealing Utube vid?

 

[fiver]

I would bet the cases are factory one fires.
they are just a touch soft and were fired in a semi auto of some sort.
many times a dent like that is from being fired and not from hitting something.
I see many moisin nagants suck such a dent in their cases.

 

[JSH]

Comes from low pressure from what I have been told by industry folks. Not enough pressure to make brass expand and do its job.
If it is "sucking" that is one fast SOB.
I have seen dents like this in some foreign semi autos, never seen an 06 case do this on ejection.
Formed some 35 Whelan and had that happen, not enough powder or pressure.

Low pressure can be just as dangerous as high pressure.

 

[JWFilips]

Well guys there is a lot of info here but I will tell you what I started doing. I have done 25 so far but it is a bit of work and hard on the hand.
First off I want to say that those 30-06 cases were found on the range like that with that dent. There were 80 of them scattered on the ground in one area ( That is why I thought I hit a gold mine!) Also after inspection I noticed a dent in the rim which created a bump on its edge and directly opposite there was another nick. All the cases were like this so it had to be from the weapon. Actual had to take them down lightly with a file to fit in the shell holder across those areas.
Yes I had annealed the cases back since I knew I was going to reform them. This got me thinking so I shaped the end of a steel rod to have a ball like end …Layed the case on my anvil and proceeded to iron out the dent ( like doing body work on a car) A bit hard on the fingers and wrist but it worked! I have been able to now resize to 7x57 with no nasty crease in the worked area! Actually now I found that trying to trim the cases to length became a bigger problem because of the rim nicks and bumps.
My Forster collet will not hold them until I refiled them round again…..Yes way too much work! But I just must be a glutton for punishment!

 

[Ian]

I thought about that, having rubbed dents and creases out of many a horn with a drumstick in high school band, but didn't realize you had re-annealed the cases so I figured it wouldn't be worthwhile. I've tried taking dents out of hard brass with a mandrel before and it's a tough job.

 

[JWFilips]

Yes It is a tough job. I stopped at 30 pieces because my hand and wrist gave out. Out of those 30 I still lost 5 pieces because there still was a crease at the shoulder neck junction that I wasn't happy with after reforming. Amazingly the others turned out well and you almost can't tell there was an issue.
Just too many hours for only 25 cases.

 

[fiver]

I would be real tempted to just cut them off and make some 7.65 argie or 308 cases out of them.

 

[Brad]

Buy an 06, problem solved.

 

[JWFilips]

 

[Brad]

It would solve the issue. It is what most of us would do. Practical? No way. But any excuse for a new rifle is valid around here.