How to read your ammo, (pressure signs)

What about the neck of the brass I’m getting a black smoke mark running back up the slope of the brass that seems to me to be to much.

Доходчиво изложен материал.

Had to comeback and revisit this one. Great content as always my friend. Thanks for leaving it in its original form.

thanks

Thanks, Great information

Thanks Mark. You are a great ambassador and teacher. I enjoy your videos a ton.

might have saved my rifle; i was having failure to extract issues with my remington 700. would have to knock the back after every shot. i took some of thr casings home and watch this video. something is def off with the pressure. ty

Thanks

Thanks

A great refresher for experienced hand loaders and a must-see for the beginner. Everyone should have the utmost respect for pressure!

The best video I have found on pressure signs in reloading!

I bet you check sparkplugs in the same manner, as you said it's not one size fits all. Very informative video...... Thanks for all you do

Thanks Mark. I've been reloading my own ammo for 67 years and am always open to more/varying sources of expertise. A specific issue I've been dealing with for decades concerns my modernized 1903 Springfield. I'm now on my 3rd barrel with this weapon, first was the original 30/06, then a .240 Weatherby and now a 6.5/06 Ackley Improved. My primers consistently protrude/crater into the firing pin hole without any other apparent (to me) pressure signs. My bolt lift is easy etc. My case life with this new chambering seems adequate albeit I've not shot a lot of rounds through the weapon at this time. My .240 Weatherby cratered primers also. I'm wondering if you can advise me about the recommended difference between my firing pin outside diameter versus the firing pin hole diameter in the bolt face. What gap is acceptable? Or are my chamber pressures excessive? Thanks. I hope I've explained my issue adequately.

Very good information!

Awesome video Mark! I have an interesting pressure sign that I'm trying to decipher on factory ammunition (Federal 170gr SP 8mm Mauser ). The bolt unlocked and extracted smoothly, but it looks like the primers backed out a fraction of a millimetre on most of the cases, the primer's edges are still rounded, no cratering around the firing pin strike (it is slightly off-centre though) , no other pressure signs than the primers backing out. It was my first time firing the rifle since I bought it, the dealer said it had its headspace checked and it was ok. Any clues why it could be doing this?

Another awesome video, after shooting for 50 years and reloading on and off for over 40 years Mark articulates things that I kind of knew but had never put words to. Many thanks, wonderful content.

As somebody who’s only been handloading for a short time I greatly appreciate this info. This is an extremely valuable reference.

There's only one area I've found this to not be true. That's the AR-10/LR-308 platform. Man, when those things are over-gassed it will knock out primers, make extractor marks, and blacken the entire case. For bolt action, when I can taste brass shavings, I back her down a 1/10 grain...sometimes 1/5 grain, that's 2/10 for you Northern states folks. :)
Great presentation and discussion Mark!! I often read about pressure signs, but if you haven't seen it or seen how it can mess up your brass and gun it's difficult to get a good idea of what is just soft alloy vs actual pressure signs.

Thank you, I am new to reloading and this is precious information👍

Flattened primers get my attention.

I've had .22 mag cartridges split right down the side. Very difficult to remove.

Thanks for the great info Mark. I'm heading up the range tomorrow to test some reloads a lot wiser thanks to this video. Cheers

I'm new at this and as always, If you know what you're talking about, you can explain it in simple terms. Mark does just that. I love this channel.

Great info.!

New to reloading fantastic video like them all fantastic guys thanks

👍 thanks Mark.
Came back to this one for a second viewing. Going to the range this evening to find my safe max load for a new rifle, hopefully it will group acceptably at that point.

Great intro to reading brass

Your component remark is right on the mark with some chambers. I have one rifle that is extremely sensitive to brass choice. No other signs of pressure except difficult extraction on some brass. After weighing different brands of brass and measuring before and after firing, I found one brand that worked without any issues. Be it different alloy that rebounded back after pressure or I found that brand of brass by in large weighed less than more troublesome brands. To me meaning alloy and amount of metal actually in the case. A simple change to a different brand of brass completely solved the issue.

Thank you for what you do.

Well done, thank you both. Best info vid on pressure signs I've seen.

Thanks for the sharing and enjoyed it,I was subscribed but then not, trying again.

Thank you, I did after 43 years of handloading learn somethings from your video.

Your tips in the videos are very detailed and instructive! Thanks for the info!

Very insightful. I have a Remington 700 in 7mmRemMag I have struggled with extraction issues since day 1...used only factory loads. Had issues with brass sticking after 3 rounds regardless of brand of ammo. Now I have something else to look at. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Cheers

Well done 👍

Great info. Thanks

A great video. Thank you for being very clear in what you were describing. It sure made things clearer for me!

Another timely utterly informative video - with clear and easy to understand examples. Thank you. Like most, in the process of finding loads during reloading - powder nodes at the moment vs stable velocities / ES etc... bit concerning is the compressed loads ADI powder asks for giving good results ( Looking at you .223 Rem and ADI 2208) - a little flattening but not excessive.

On a side note with regard to brass metallurgy - having built a home made induction annealer - its astounding in the different timings that the same calibre brass requires, vs differing manufacturers of centrefire brass. Brass is not brass!
Finding it hard to find metal makeups vs differing manufacturers. I read a forum made a few years back where spectrometry was used to determine the values of each metal used in brass cases. I learnt there is a tiny %age of lead in brass too.

No 375 H&H, in the cases out the front?!!! Was there a 270W? Regards, adam.

Great video, thanks for sharing

I like your work. Since you were reading brass. I thought you could mention dangers of case separation do to over sizing or pushing the shoulder back (excessive head space). Seeing a light color brass ring above base webbing. This being case stretch and weakening. In that case discards the case.

Well Said man, this is great info for those who are unsure or new to reloading!!

New to the channel, enjoying your work!
Curious where you are, New Zealand I'm guessing? Just guessing at your accent... Is there an about us video I can check out? Sorry for all the questions, I noticed you tend to respond to comments so figured I'd give it a shot 🤠

after seeing Kentucky ballistics almost die from over pressured 50 cal round... I kno its extreme but it made me nervous about reloading which I'm still very interested in wether it's sub sonic rounds for my suppressors or custom prs loads

Thanks Mark
Cheers
Rob

Need advice? Just click on this channel. 👍

It’s worth to mention that excessive head space will result in flat primers as well. If you have a loose chamber and fully calibrate your brass the primers will look terrible.

This is one of the better videos that I’ve seen on the subject, keep up the good work brother

Using factory .308 Wolf steel cased rounds appeared to create pressure issues including difficult bolt lift and two cases of split rims. No issues with different brands of factory ammunition. Thank you for a great video.

Interesting you mention Lapua brass with the 338 LM. I have found that exact thing with brass from about 2 years ago. Older brass was fine.

Excellent info