SmallCaliberCentral

hi guys i ordered my first batch of hornady 204 brass ,to date i have been reloading factory ammo.in the first box opened i was just tacking the thick part out of the neck ( outside neck turning) removing hardly any material when one of the cases was very hard to turn.i stopped to look and the brand new un fired case had a pit and the whole neck was split down to the shoulder.bit of an eye opener,if i was not neck turning would i have spotted it.i always inspect my fired brass but expected better quality than this on brand new brass.if one can slip through on qc can it happen to factory ammo and how many people sit and check factory ammo that carefully?what would happen if i fired it? have many of you found things like this? would appreciate your thoughts.


thanks mike

Sitting on my reloading bench right now is a factory loaded Remington .220 Swift 50gr. PSP round with box flap & Lot No. with it, that has a split all the way down the neck. It's waiting on me to write the letter to the Remington Cust. Svc Dept asking if their entire QC Dept is on vacation there......

I'm sorry to say what you've found is getting more typical every year. Always be vigilant when handloading, you've now proven it to yourself why this is so.

I also had one case, brand new factory loaded ammo, with a crack down the neck.. I just side pulled the bullet, threw the powder away and reloaded the bullet into another case. One out of Sooo many cases, just was not worth the bother of calling/complaining about, that is my opinion anyway.. 204 Hornady 32gr v-max was the factory ammo/box. Probably should report it to them, but as I said one in hundreds.. We all
make mistakes. Bill K

Lately, it seems the QA dept of various companies is on vacation. I've opened up one box of 6mm bullets only to find a few 358 cal pills. Quite noticable so no harm other than shorted bulllet count. On another outfit, opened up some bullets labled 107SMK (6mm), only to find 142 SMK (6.5mm). That was-not so obvious.

Be careful out there...

Jim White wrote:Lately, it seems the QA dept of various companies is on vacation. I've opened up one box of 6mm bullets only to find a few 358 cal pills. Quite noticable so no harm other than shorted bulllet count. On another outfit, opened up some bullets labled 107SMK (6mm), only to find 142 SMK (6.5mm). That was-not so obvious.

Be careful out there...

Wow.

I am somewhat lackadaisical when it comes to new components. I think I will be a little more skeptical when inspecting new stuff from now on. So far I have had no damaged/mismarked components. I'll keep my eyes peeled though.

I recently had a 39 grain SBK that had a deep groove in the bullet. I pulled it out of the box and was going to seat it in the case, but I felt the deformity with my fingers. Definately makes me check each individual component every time. The deformity in this bullet was so large that even if I had not felt it, I certainly would have seen it, however the "smaller issues may be harder to detect, which could cause a bigger issue.

thanks for chipping in chaps.hope it makes people more aware.