Dogman,

I don't recommend you reload those cases that have that ring. While they may take another reload or two or five, having a case head separation can be a pain in the ass. And with brass being so cheap these days I wouldn't chance it. However, if you have access to a bandsaw or similar it would be interesting to cut them length wise to see how thin the walls of the case have thinned in that area. Old timers sometimes use a paper clip or similar to feel for a bulge in the brass. But putting a caliper on it would be more telling.

It honestly doesn't look bad but safety is always ones biggest concern so consider not reloading them.

Dogman,

I don't recommend you reload those cases that have that ring. While they may take another reload or two or five, having a case head separation can be a pain in the ass. And with brass being so cheap these days I wouldn't chance it. However, if you have access to a bandsaw or similar it would be interesting to cut them length wise to see how thin the walls of the case have thinned in that area. Old timers sometimes use a paper clip or similar to feel for a bulge in the brass. But putting a caliper on it would be more telling.

It honestly doesn't look bad but safety is always ones biggest concern so consider not reloading them.

Wise words!!

This is only my third batch of loading 308. The only 308 die I have is the Redding seater die, so the only prepped cases I have are from Kaleo Arms with no checking measurements or resizing by me.
Lesson learned, due diligence.
I did not organize the fired cases in firing order but I will next time.
I loaded one round...shot one round...about one round a minute as I got off about 15 to 20 rounds between cease fires.
The bolt was harder to close in some rounds and I looked at the primers on those and they looked okay, however I need reading glasses, which I didn't use, so maybe not, next time I will bring a magnifying glass.
I load a lot of revolver rounds, just started loading 9mm coated bullets, only shot ten and just loaded 50 more.
I have only done a few 223 rounds with Kaleo Arms brass with no issues.
So were the rounds in question damaging or dangerous? I will not reuse those cases.
Lots more to learn.

Dogman,

if you have access to a bandsaw or similar

i'm pretty sure he has "or similar" taken care of
 

I do want to say that even though the issue is obvious as to what happened here, that the brass that Kaleo sells is good brass. I have a friend that buys and uses their brass a lot. If I needed brass I wouldn't hesitate to buy from them. No one can sell a product to work perfectly in every firearm. Which is why us reloaders set up our equipment specifically for our firearms.

i'm pretty sure he has "or similar" taken care of
 

I'm pretty sure I am not on the inside as they say on this one...

Maybe someone will enlighten me?

I'm pretty sure I am not on the inside as they say on this one...

Maybe someone will enlighten me?

LOL
more amps...

I do want to say that even though the issue is obvious as to what happened here, that the brass that Kaleo sells is good brass. I have a friend that buys and uses their brass a lot. If I needed brass I wouldn't hesitate to buy from them. No one can sell a product to work perfectly in every firearm. Which is why us reloaders set up our equipment specifically for our firearms.

agreed
kaleo makes great brass at very reasonable prices

But putting a caliper on it would be more telling.

i'd bet he has a caliper "or similar" too
 

Dogman have you measured any of the cases that you have? if not it would be good to know the measurements of the kaleo prepped brass and your already fired brass.

Dogman have you measured any of the cases that you have? if not it would be good to know the measurements of the kaleo prepped brass and your already fired brass.

You mean the overall length of the cases? I have the brass at work, I will measure some tomorrow.

No from the base of the case to the shoulder datum line

No from the base of the case to the shoulder datum line

New to this, google here I come.

The datum line is a diameter on the shoulder .308 is .400" which you can determine the case head space . So by measuring from the base of the case to  the datum line on the shoulder you can determine the case headspace for your rifle. Finding this out will let you know if the cases that you have are size down to much for your rifle (excessive headspace) possibly causing your primer issues

The datum line is a diameter on the shoulder .308 is .400" which you can determine the case head space . So by measuring from the base of the case to  the datum line on the shoulder you can determine the case headspace for your rifle. Finding this out will let you know if the cases that you have are size down to much for your rifle (excessive headspace) possibly causing your primer issues

Mahalo, things are starting to make more sense to me now. Just watched the video again that Heavies posted earlier "Measure Headspace" and it's easier to relate to it now, since it matters to what I am doing.

The datum line is a diameter on the shoulder .308 is .400" which you can determine the case head space . So by measuring from the base of the case to  the datum line on the shoulder you can determine the case headspace for your rifle. Finding this out will let you know if the cases that you have are size down to much for your rifle (excessive headspace) possibly causing your primer issues

This

Mahalo, things are starting to make more sense to me now. Just watched the video again that Heavies posted earlier "Measure Headspace" and it's easier to relate to it now, since it matters to what I am doing.

Was going to mention that.   

Wow, I have a few things to address here. Thanks for the thoughts guys. Lets start with this.The cases with the flattened primers do have a ring approximately 3/8" from the case head. This is only on the cases with the flattened primers. The photo on the right has cases with flattened primer on the right and good primers on the left. Significant?

Ohh, the close ups with the four cases, the case on the right does not have a flattened primer...for comparison.

Looking at the photos, it looks like incipient case head separation on those cases.  Looks like you can see some spots on the brass where hot gas has created pin holes through the case.  Those cases are suspect, IMHO, don't reuse them for sure. You could take a small paperclip and bend it into a "L" shape to fit into the case mouth and feel the inside wall of the case.  You may feel a thinning of the brass in that area.




My theory of what is happening.

Kaleo brass, being prepossessed, is probably sized to maximum, allowing them to fit most chambers.  Some cases, may or may not be sized a little too much.  Possibly because application of too much lube can push the case shoulder back further than spec.  Or the might be just sized to the max allowable, yet still within spec.

As mentioned earlier, Remington chambers are know to be generous.  Stacking of tolerances may be contributing to the problem.  Everything on it's own is per spec, but if you add maximum sized cases plus a generous chamber might be causing the problem of excessive headspacing.


Try and measure a bunch of the cases and see where they fall within that correct spec.  If there is a discrepancy with those numbers, the shortest of the cases might just be the problem.   
If you find that the cases are real short in headspace I'd recommend a easier tool to check the cases prior to reloading them

 Wilson headspace gage in .308, is a good tool for this,  you can just plop the cases into the gage  and quickly see if the case is sized too much, too little, or just right.  You could then easily weed out those short cases and still use the other brass.

So I did some relaoding today so while at it, i brought out those Kaleo Arm's brass that I bought at the gun show.  Granted these are 556 and not 762 like Dogman's so take it for what it's worth. I measured the shoulder bump, most were in the .009" range but some were as much as .012". This is measured from the 223 rem spec of 1.4636/1.4736 using an RCBS Precision Mic. I bump my shoulders back .002" on my bolt gun and .005" on my ARs and semi autos. I have never had the need to use small base dies so my chambers may be considered "not tight". I can see why some brass processors would do this to accomodate any chamber that their customer may have.

The ID of the neck was averaging about .215". Not sure why they size this small but I will just run them over my FL sizing die's expanding ball before loading. I'm usually around .003" neck tension.

With that said, I would buy again if the need arises.

if it is stretching around that external ring get a paper clip and feel on the inside of the case if there is a depression

Did this, yep very obvious depression, I didn't think it would be that drastic.

Did this, yep very obvious depression, I didn't think it would be that drastic.

The stretching on an over sized case will most times be in the area where Heavies highlighted.  Right above the head. Over working brass will severely shorten the life.

Dogman have you measured any of the cases that you have? if not it would be good to know the measurements of the kaleo prepped brass and your already fired brass.

No from the base of the case to the shoulder datum line

So I whipped up a quick "gauge" so if the data seems off, thats why, should be consistent though. The datum diameter ended up at .401". I measured 30 processed unfired cases, 23 measured 1.640" +/-.002 and seven cases were 1.625"+/- .002. The fired cases measure 1.640" +/- regardless of the primer condition. BTW I will be getting a real headspace gauge.