.45acp brass w/ bluge in case

[Clay]

At the Hush shoot there was a guy shooting a full auto MAC10. At the end of the day when we got ready to leave, he said if we wanted his brass we could have it, BUT there might be a problem with it. About 1/3 of the way up the case from the rim there is a bulge in pretty much every piece of brass. Its a noticeable bulge. You can see it and feel it, and some are worse than others.

So, we have over 500 rounds of this stuff that we aren't sure if it can be reloaded. I dont personally reload (yet), and my friend that came with me is the one who wanted it, so Im just curious if this is scrap or usable.

thanks,
Clay

 

[TREETOP]

Full auto MACs fire from an open bolt, chances are it was igniting primers before the bolt was completely into battery. I wouldn't bother trying to reshape the bulged brass myself, I'd consider their integrity to be compromised. Some other more "adventurous" people than me would probably try to salvage them, but it's not like there's a huge shortage of good .45 brass around.

 

[red_zr24x4]

Resize a couple and see what they look like. Do a good visual inspection and try a few.
Most military surplus brass was fired out of machine guns and they work fine.

 

[forkliftdave]

Will they chamber? I don't know if I would use them in my gun

 

[Kingpin]

Lee makes a buldge buster kit that works with the right size factory crimp die to get the cases back in spec.

 

[Aszerigan]

Some other more "adventurous" people than me would probably try to salvage them, but it's not like there's a huge shortage of good .45 brass around.

Actually, for anyone that buys brass in quantity, there IS a huge shortage of 45ACP brass right now. I used to buy it at $25/1k, but right now it's selling for between $50-$80/1k.

The open bolt theory is probably correct. The primers may have been seated a little high, causing ignition before the bolt was fully closed.

Good news though - 45ACP is a low pressure round compared to 40 S&W or 9mm, so the chance of the brass being dangerously deformed is pretty low. Have a reloader run it through a full length resize, and shoot a few. I'd put money on it that it's fine.

 

[Clay]

Will they chamber? I don't know if I would use them in my gun

No, they will go about 1/2" into the chamber then lock up tight.

 

[Kingpin]

Clay the lee kit is made to run the case all the way into the die and push it into a container on top of the die that way the whole case is resized a full lenght die cannot do what the lee buldge buster die does.hate to see you toss out that many cases if you dont have to.If you decide not to use them I would pay the shipping and handling to me send a pm if interested.

 

[Clay]

ok, thanks everyone! Lots of good info. We will hold onto the brass and make sure it through the Lee die you guys are talking about.

thanks!
clay