Buckled Case

[Dill45]

Hey guys,

So I was reloading today for my 45-70 and I buckled one case.  It's not terribly buckled, but there is an obvious line in it.  I was wondering if it would be safe to shoot it regardless?  My better judgment says no, but I'd still like to not waste the brass (Hoping it fire forms to the chamber).

Here's how it happened if that helps; I was loading up 300gr Remington JHP's over a load of 57.3grs of H4198 and it ended up being a compressed load (brass is on the shorter side).  I was seating the first bullet and pushed to far down on the hammer and it started to crimp before I could get the bullet seated deep enough to get into the groove, causing the case to buckle slightly.  The bullet ended up being at the proper seating depth, but the case was now buckled and I put it aside.

Any help would be great!
Thanks,
Dillon

[stimpylu32]

Hey guys,

So I was reloading today for my 45-70 and I buckled one case.  It's not terribly buckled, but there is an obvious line in it.  I was wondering if it would be safe to shoot it regardless?  My better judgment says no, but I'd still like to not waste the brass (Hoping it fire forms to the chamber).

Here's how it happened if that helps; I was loading up 300gr Remington JHP's over a load of 57.3grs of H4198 and it ended up being a compressed load (brass is on the shorter side).  I was seating the first bullet and pushed to far down on the hammer and it started to crimp before I could get the bullet seated deep enough to get into the groove, causing the case to buckle slightly.  The bullet ended up being at the proper seating depth, but the case was now buckled and I put it aside.

Any help would be great!
Thanks,
Dillon

Dill

Are you using a press & dies or a Wack-a-mole Lee Loader ? ( see RED above )

If your using a die set you may be able to pull the de-capping pin from the sizing die and run the cartridge carefully up into it to iron out the buckle , two things here , 1 lube the case well ( you don't want a live round stuck in the die = VERY BAD )

2nd and more importantly , was the charge listed as a compressed load ?

If not you may be creating a over pressure issue with that load = VERY , VERY BAD !

stimpy 

[Dill45]

It's a Lee 3 Hole Turret Press.

I could try running it up into the sizing die.  Getting it stuck would be pretty bad. 

The load wasn't listed as compressed, my cases are 2.075 instead of the listed 2.100.  The max load isn't listed as compressed either, but I've filled it up in some 2.120 cases and found that it almost over flows the case, so I'm unsure about that.  The Data is from Hodgdon and is 3 grains under max, and 2 over the starting load.  I've loaded it hotter than this without problems.

[stimpylu32]

Dillon

As for the powder charge , after looking at the data I don't see it being an issue , give the sizing die trick a try , just go slow and easy till it irons out , or atleast enough for it to chamber , the rest will fire-form out .

stimpy

[Dill45]

Alright thanks for the advice!  I will give it a try and see how it goes!

[Autorim]

I would pull the bullet, salvage the powder and toss the case.

[Sweetwater]

Stimpy +1

It will iron out either way. In the die or in the chamber.

Regards,
Sweetwater

[Dill45]

Thanks for the advice all.

I put the shell in the sizing die and it ironed out the sides pretty well, but there is still a slight slight bump.  I'm pretty sure firing it will iron it out.  It wasn't bad to begin with, but this really made it almost perfect.

[Sweetwater]

There ya go! Better than the Discovery channel

Regards,
Sweetwater

[mdi]

If I read your post correctly, you are seating/crimping in the same operation? I seat all bullets then go back, readjust the die, and then crimp.

[Steve P]

If I read your post correctly, you are seating/crimping in the same operation? I seat all bullets then go back, readjust the die, and then crimp.

+1 on comment above.

Another thing you can try is to drop your powder into your cases with a little longer drop tube on your powder measure and/or once you have about 10 cases with powder in a loading block, touch the loading block with a vibration source.  (massage unit, wife's tool, electric tooth brush, tumbler)  The vibration will help settle the powder in the case and will make it easier to seat your bullets.  I have a 7TCU load where the powder is right at the case mouth.  Carefully vibrating (not too harsh) will settle the powder down almost to the shoulder.  If you get too harsh with the vibrator, you will throw powder all over your loading bench.  It doesn't take much and even if your tumbler is sitting on your bench, just turning it on may vibrate the table enough to settle the powder in your cases.

Nickels worth of advise for free.

Steve