My AR dents my brass......

[Mikej]

Yep, what to do about this, if anything? The dent is small and just below the shoulder. My concern is that it will affect the reloading of said brass.



I get a dent in my .45 brass from my full size Kimber buy after sizing/decapping you can hardly see it and it doesn't seem to affect the reloads.

I was impressed with this AR from Curt's because it throws the brass slightly back and in a real small area. Small especially compared to my hand guns. Thinking of putting a piece of mole skin on the little deflector nub on the upper.

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[Cameron72]

A piece of adhesive backed Velcro (the soft fuzzy side) on the brass deflector can help.

 

[erudne]

The only cure is to buy a second AR

 

[Caveman Jim]

I have the same problem Mike (but I have an Adams Arms piston kit installed in my AR) I PMed a member about it from another thread (can't find it), I have not had time nor the funds to go the way of the intended fix but will soon as I want to reload all my once fired .223 brass.

<broken link removed>

 

[ZA_Survivalist]

My M85 bolt rams the heck out if my brass, as well as the dust cover kisses it gives each case.

 

[ZA_Survivalist]

A piece of adhesive backed Velcro (the soft fuzzy side) on the brass deflector can help.

+1 to this, pretty much any soft material you can adhere to that deflector.

 

[Mikej]

Perhaps the little fuzz ball off my beanie hat.....But the other ARs/guys might laugh at me?

 

[OutlawHoss]

I get minor (<10% of rounds fired) deflector marks in my DPMS LR308. The pad on the deflector sounds like a good idea. If you're really needing to make sure the brass has a decent life-span, you could anneal it, which would mitigate the negative effect of the dings and allow the brass to not be excessively worn. It's a lot of work for a gas gun brass, and more useful in bolt gun brass life, but it's an option. A friend does a really low-tech, low cost, but effective brass annealing: He picks a ratchet socket that allows the brass to sit in it, attaches it to a variable speed drill, gets out his torch (one that goes on a coleman can) and slowly spins while heating the brass until he gets the right color, and drops it in a prepared area; repeat. A lot of work for quantity shooting rig, not necessarily a quality shooting rig, like a bolt action, but a good skill to have if someday one has to take extensive measures to preserve brass life and performance, for instance a shortage on brass.
You could let the dings build up until you can't stand it, then do a session of annealing. Or you could buy new brass

 

[Cameron72]

Won't the dent be removed with firing and be replaced with a new dent so there is only one dent?

 

[OutlawHoss]

Won't the dent be removed with firing and be replaced with a new dent so there is only one dent?

Could be. In my edu-macated theorizing, the brass may form back to chamber dimensions a bit (as in chamber fire-forming but not as thoroughly as a bolt gun) and get a new ding subsequently, but the the irregular increase in brittleness below the shoulder will only increase over time, creating another wear point to monitor in reloading your brass. I haven't seen (in my own LC brass that I load for my AR-10) the deflector dings just go away, but they don't seem to increase either, so that tells me they could be coming and going, and that means the brass is 'flexing' which means it increases brittleness.

In overall performance it may be a minor change/factor, but at some point the brass will have to be discarded no matter what, so the whole annealing may be overkill for this kind of round.
But it's a good skill to have, which I think in itself has its own merits.

Another over-wrought idea from yours truly

 

[Boboclown]

Try replacing the ejector spring.

Also, where's the brass landing? 3 o'clock? 4? Just curious.

 

[308]

You should see what my Tavor does to the brass

 

[Libertas7]

Perhaps the little fuzz ball off my beanie hat.....But the other ARs/guys might laugh at me?

As long as the ARs laugh facing down range it's all good.

 

[coop44]

OH MY GAWD!!!!!! DENTED BRASS!!! what ever shall we do? I think suicide will be your only way out! I'll bet you haven't had a BM in a week, after all AR does stand for Anal Retentive.The zombies will laugh at you, and your reloads will explode!! Bullets will be flying willy nilly allover the place, you can't get accuracy with dented brass. Yep you're a goner for sure.

 

[PaulB47]

Ooh, I like the idea about the pad of velcro. Definitely giving that a try.

I'd have some concern about the reloaded round chambering properly, with a dent like that. I liked another suggestion someone made about case guages, to take care of that problem.

 

[OutlawHoss]

Ooh, I like the idea about the pad of velcro. Definitely giving that a try.

I'd have some concern about the reloaded round chambering properly, with a dent like that. I liked another suggestion someone made about case guages, to take care of that problem.

That is definitely something to watch. Resizing LC brass, I have on more than one occasion put too much lube and had the little dents that can happen. I've hemmed and hawed over the possible issues that might create, yet those rounds chamber fine. I think as long as the outside dimensions are the same (as the dent is concave) the brass is usable.

 

[Mikej]

OH MY GAWD!!!!!! DENTED BRASS!!! what ever shall we do? I think suicide will be your only way out! I'll bet you haven't had a BM in a week, after all AR does stand for Anal Retentive.The zombies will laugh at you, and your reloads will explode!! Bullets will be flying willy nilly allover the place, you can't get accuracy with dented brass. Yep you're a goner for sure.

I'm guessing there's a couple of to go with that response? I'm a hand gun shooter and re-loader. Long guns are a different animal so I'm just wondering. Loading shouldered brass, as far as I know, is somewhat different as far as reloading goes.

My M85 bolt rams the heck out if my brass, as well as the dust cover kisses it gives each case.

View attachment 281085

Now those dents look to cause problems maybe, being into the shoulder?

Try replacing the ejector spring.

Also, where's the brass landing? 3 o'clock? 4? Just curious.

Like I said, it throws the brass in a small area 3:30-4:00 about 8'-10' away. I considered that a pretty good sign of consistency.

 

[OutlawHoss]

I'm guessing there's a couple of to go with that response? I'm a hand gun shooter and re-loader. Long guns are a different animal so I'm just wondering. Loading shouldered brass, as far as I know, is somewhat different as far as reloading goes.



Now those dents look to cause problems maybe, being into the shoulder?



Like I said, it throws the brass in a small area 3:30-4:00 about 8'-10' away. I considered that a pretty good sign of consistency.

Definitely, consistency is directly linked to accuracy. It may be the dent issue is minor, but it's a good thing that a person notices and monitors these things, as they could indicate another issue, a developing issue, and generally makes one a better reloader, so it's not wasted time to at least ponder. I treat every round like it could be the one makes the difference in winning a competition, puts meat on the table, or saves a life. I think that is an appropriate mindset as people do get complacent, even the most experienced and wise among us.

 

[Boboclown]

Like I said, it throws the brass in a small area 3:30-4:00 about 8'-10' away. I considered that a pretty good sign of consistency.

In that case, just try a new ejector spring.

 

[Velzey]

Do you have an adjustable gas block?

I know how to make those dents disappear, but its a trade secret!!