Case necks nicked

[bow shot]

Anyone finding scratches/nicks in their ejected cases? I'm shooting a brand new RRA .204 varminter. These are not "dents", they are small, and fairly sharp, and look to me on first pass like they could be from the feed ramps.

Dang... wish I had pics ready to go! I'll try when I gt home tonight....

[ryutzy]

Yes I have those on every case. After playing with it I've discovered it happens during extraction/ejection. I would love to find a cure for it. I had my gunsmith lightly polish the edges of the feed ramps, but that didn't seem to help.

[bow shot]

Thanks ryutzy, I see that my son's and his friend's do the same with their .223 rounds. Its a mark of the beast, I assume... But I don't like it...

[204 AR]

Guys, are these nicks on the junction of the shoulder/body of the case? If so it is from the bottom 2 lugs on the bolt, nicking the next case in the mag as the bolt goes back. Mine did it too. The cure is to very slightly bevel the corner of the 2 bottom lugs.

[ryutzy]

No mine is nicked on the neck about halfway to the shoulder/neck junction. The shoulders of my cases are fine.

[204 AR]

No mine is nicked on the neck about halfway to the shoulder/neck junction. The shoulders of my cases are fine.

Ok, in that case check the top edge/corner of the locking lug on the barrel extension that's at the 3 o'clock position. I think what happens is that the neck scrapes there as the case is being extracted and the ejector pushes the front of the case to the right. Hopefully I explained that right.

HTH

[ryutzy]

204 AR I do believe you are probably correct. I wonder if I could have that slightly filed down/adjusted?

[bow shot]

The scratches are on the case neck itself (only) and are pretty much uniform in that they have the same "pattern" case-to-case. They do vary in degrees of severity from barely visible to easy to see.

There are usually 1-2 of 'em on each case, they are very light, and are on the case neck only. I'll have to look again, but I believe they were parallel with the axis of the case, ie., no "twist" pattern.

I tried to get pics, but just couldn't get the focus and flash to come together...

I've been single-feeding, and it makes no difference if the magizine is in or out.

[204 AR]

Sounds like exactly what I'm describing. If the 3 o'clock lug on the barrel extension is scratching them, you would have scratches parallel to the case on the neck like you describe.

Are these fairly new rifles, not a lot of rounds yet?

And I know what I'd do to fix it, (very) lightly sand then polish the edges and corners of that lug.

To test, drop an empty resized case into the chamber, then drop the bolt on it. (make sure the case is scratchless, or mark existing scratches with a marker.) Withdraw it slowly, trying to grab it before it is flung clear of the action. See if there are any new scratches, and where they are. You can do this with the upper separated from the lower, it's easier to control the bolt that way.

[bow shot]

Yup, mine is a brand new RRA, and I've just got 50 rounds through it so far.

I'll give your experiment a wack if I can get some time to myself...

[bow shot]

huh... just posted a reply adn it vanished... I wonder where it went? PITA website I hope, LOL!!

[bow shot]

To clarify.. I made the mistke, I'm sure, not the '204 site...

[bow shot]

Anyway.. yes the cases are nicked if ejected live. I think you have it identified 204 AR.

Busy shooting day, dropped another 50 rounds down the tube. Looking pretty good so far, 300y groups are hovering around 1" for 4 shots, and opening up to 2" with a 5th.

Once I get satisfied w/ the groups, I'll pay attention to getting rid of the nick...

[Valar]

I was getting nicks around the neck from insertion from the mags.I lessened this with a small file and emery paper. I am wondering if some of the newer Poly mags would be gentler on the cases. Has anyone tried the plastic mags?

[ryutzy]

Valar--Yes I have tried the plastic mags and dont think of wasting your money. I tried two different brands (forget which but they were popular brands) and I could not put very many rounds into the mag before the mag was "squashed out" and I could not properely insert the mag to my gun. Hope can explain this right. The mag sides were flexing outward too much to properely function. Somehow the 204 case is different enough from the 223 that it will not function with more that about 6 rounds in the mag. I tried 223 ammo in the mag and it worked properely. I forget what the cause was since it's been a while since I tried it. I did like you did, and filed my mag down to give proper clearance the the casing upon chambering.