Reloading Crimped Brass & Head Stamp question

[Mike027]

A friend of mine dropped off a bunch of once fired Winchester 30-06 brass for me. It appears to be super x brass with the crimp. I resized and trimmed a piece but the crimp is still there. Is this stuff ok to reload or will the crimp ridges inside the neck create tension issues on the bullet?

On a side note my friend also gave me a bunch of fired .270 brass that were from reloads his father-in-law had made for him. The .270 brass is probably 20 yrs old. the head stamp has the initials L.C. along with a number. Examples of numbers include: 42, 67 match, 65, 54, 68. Nowhere on the case does it indicate the caliber. Can anyone tell me what brand of brass this might be? Thanks. Mike

 

[Kevin Thomas]

Mike,

No sweat at all on reloading the 30'06 stuff. The remains of the crimp may look a bit unsightly, but they won't hurt a thing. After a few resizings and a bit of stretching, the trimming process will pretty much make them disappear. Not a big deal, don't sweat it.

As for the 270 brass, it was Lake City (LC) USGI 30'06 ammo that has been reformed into 270 WCF. When LC brass was plentiful and inexpensive, it was often used as the parent case for wildcatters, and even reformed into other cases that could otherwise be purchased commercially. If it was obtained at a good enough price, it was worthwhile to take the time and make it yourself rather than shell out the cash for factory stuff.

Almost forgot, the number listed along with the LC is the year of production. 1942, 1954, 1968, etc, would appear as LC 42, LC 54 or LC 68. There were several other Army Ammo Plants in that period turning out brass as well, St. Louis, Twin Cities, etc., so you may see some other headstamps as well.

Hope that clears it up!

 

[Mike027]

Kevin thanks for that information. The history of the LC brass is quite interesting. Mike

 

[Lefty7mmstw]

Hey Kevin, wasn't that LC '06 a bit heavy on the side walls for handling auto's??? If so he'll have to drop his charge a grain or two to compensate won't he??

 

[Kevin Thomas]

Lefty,

Good catch and something that I clearly forgot to mention. Yes, absolutely. US Military 30-'06, regardless of which plant it came from was decidedly heavier than commercial 30-'06 brass. As a result, the loads must be reduced or serious pressure problems will result. This, of course would apply to 280 Rem, 270 WCF, 25-'06 or any other case that might be made from reformed USGI brass. Same situation applies to 7.62x51/308 Win brass as well; USGI cases must have their loads reduced to compensate for the heavier construction, or problems will result. Oddly enough, this doesn't hold true for 5.56/223 Rem military cases, which are no different than most commercial cases, and even lighter than some.

Good catch, and thanks for pointing that out!