Another page from SS's Little Shop of Horrors

[Seismic Sam]

As usual, was out at Oakdale scrounging, and got a pretty good haul of .223 cases, and as I was sorting them I came across this headstamp, and these particular cases:



And here's the wonderful side view:


The case on the left of the top picture still had a primer half stuck in it, and it fell out while I was handling the cases. Note the bright marks on the cases head at the extractor and ejector locations, which also indicate very high pressures, as if blowing out the primers wasn't evidence enough!! The SADU headstamp does not appear in the headstamp encyclopedia, but the 08 date cote indicates the is recent S***, and I use that term advisedly...

Next, in both the Uh-Oh! and WTF?? category are these two cases:



NEVER seen knurling on case bodies before, and you would think that this might the case weaker at this point. The case necks are split, so that's obviously a problem, but they don't look like blanks, because generally the case neck is longer to permit the case neck to be crimped down and closed. The primers show no signs of high pressure, and this is plain old Lake City brass, so it's not like the **** above that came out of some third world ****hole ammo plant.



If you have seen knurled cases before and know what the deal is, please feel free to post it!!

[bulletproof]

TGH456E on AR15.com

Wow,

Ok, I'll offer another explanation. The cases that you have, do have a cannelure around them. The LC Match ammo you are getting the cases from are from the M852 ammunition. It was loaded with the Sierra 168 MK bullet and at the time, the DOJ lawyers thought it illegal for combat use (Due to the open tip bullet design) and so put the cannelure on them to distinguish them from regular cartridges. Later (in the late 80's?) the DOJ said it was ok to use those bullets and so did away with the cannelure.
I have shot them and reloaded them. And while they didn't fail, I only loaded them a couple of times before the cannelure made me nervous and so I recycled them.

[usnret]

I wonder if the 223 cases were Blanks that someone redid and reloaded. If I remember correctly, I think that 223 blanks have that cannalure on them.

[promod1385]

Sam, what range did these come from? I was out on the 100 the other day and saw a few primers laying on the concrete, this intrigued me so I looked around a bit but was unable to locate any casings. Perhaps you got them before I got there.

[Seismic Sam]

Sorry I can't say for sure. I picked up .223 brass from the 25, 50, and 100 that day. I think the SADU cases came from the 50 right after they graded over the area by the old short target stand bases..

[Seismic Sam]

I wonder if the 223 cases were Blanks that someone redid and reloaded. If I remember correctly, I think that 223 blanks have that cannalure on them.

You appear to be correct, and here's a thread about somebody doing just that. Included is the comment that a couple of his "converted" cases had neck splits after firing. That cannelure would still make me nervous as hell...

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_6_42/362105_Can_5_56_M200_blanks_be_reloaded_as_live_ammo__Update__on_3rd_firing__56k_do_not_click_.html