Are Headstamps Always Correct?

Brass Headstamps Are Sometimes Misleading

Many handloaders take easy to find brass like 30-06, then resize and trim it to make the hard to find, 7.7 Jap (7.7×58mm Arisaka). Although this is not a quick and easy process, many have found this to be an excellent way to use surplus brass to make brass that is in high demand. 308s can be changed to 6.5, 30-06 to 25-06, etc.

Although this is a time proven technique and works well, the problem comes up when these modified cases end up in the public domain. Some handloaders will change the headstamp to ensure that they (and others) are aware that the headstamp is not what the brass really is, however, most do not mark out the headstamp. So the responsibility falls on the reloader to always check their brass to ensure they are really reloading the case they were expecting to.  Cases that have been resized and the headstamps not changed, we see on an almost daily basis.

Additionally, sometimes brass manufacturers mislabel their cases. We’ve seen some come through that said Winchester 6.5 CM, but they were on a 30-06 case. Does this happen often? No, but it does happen on occasion.

Below are pictures of two 30-06s and two 308s that are incorrect as you can tell by the case length and bullet diameter.