Dirty brass

[Tarbooman]

I've been shooting and reloading 204 rugers for past year, never any problems unill today my good shooting buddy went to his range and shot about 30 rounds of 204. About 28 of the 30 rounds came out with black on the case from 1/4" from end of case to the shoulder. He has loaded longer than myself, but either of us has ever seen this happen before. He shot one 3/8" group at 100yds , all seem fine for accuracy . Can anyone give some advise as what would cause the black cases?
Thanks. Fred

[358sta]

Sounds like low pressure - insufficient pressure to fully push the case against the chamber walls allowing gas (carbon) from burning powder into the gap between the case and chamber wall.

Was the load a new one or one that has been fied before?

Kevin

[7stw]

I have seen this before, and sometimes this can be caused from case neck hardening. The brass gets work hardened and looses it's elasticity and doesn't seal to the chamber when fired. You may have to consider annealing, or replace the brass. Hope this helps.7STW

[Tarbooman]

This is a new load for him, it's one of my favorites. 24.5 gr RL10x with 35 gr bergers I told him about it. I've shot over 200 rds of same load groups better than anything I've tried. He thought it mite be because of old brass?

[Gene]

Originally Posted by 7stw

I have seen this before, and sometimes this can be caused from case neck hardening. The brass gets work hardened and looses it's elasticity and doesn't seal to the chamber when fired. You may have to consider annealing, or replace the brass. Hope this helps.7STW

Exactly. And RL10x is a very dirty powder.