Pistol cartridges from Marlin rifle

[ballardw]

I picked up some used 41 magnum brass at a gun show for components that the previous owner had marked 'Marlin only'. I am assuming this mean that it was fired in a rifle. I noticed that there seemed to be a slight raised ring around the primer pocket like the brass had flowed back into a recess n the rifle's bolt.

The brass is head-stamped Midway but the ring only appears on about half of the rounds.

Has anyone seen this before? I'm wondering if this is a sign that previous loads may have been too hot and I should consider this brass a likely to fail at any time. Thoughts?

 

[Tom2]

Well at least you did not buy any loaded ammo from him! Yea it might mean that the loads were hot. I would measure the case length and see if they are below max too. Hard to guess how much life is left in the brass from looking. I would inspect the mouths for any cracks or splits starting. Then on the ones that have the ring, I would make sure the primers seat all the way and that there is some friction to the seating process, that is, see if the primer pockets are "loose" or somthing. Otherwise the only way I know to tell how much life they have left is to cut one in half lengthwise and see if there are thin spots. And that all the dimensions are correct. Presuming they have been deprimed and resized. You will know when to quit when they develop splits. I suppose it would be safer to buy "once fired brass" from a supplier or something. Using someone elses recycled brass is a gamble I suppose.

 

[Hook686]

Another possibility:

I load .44 magnum for a S&W 629 and a Marlin 1894. Rifle data often overlaps handgun data, but sometimes I will load a 'hotter' loading for the rifle that exceeds the MAX load data for the revolver. I will mark the 'Hotter' loads 'Rifle only'. If the box of reloads is unmarked, then I know it is OK for either firearm.

The person you bought the cases from might not even know their history. It seems to me it is knida of like picking up unknown range brass. For me it is like being, "Penny wise, and dollar foolish." I avoid using unknown brass for reloading.

If you choose to try it, you might just begin with low end loads. Be careful.