I was asked this question just the other day and the short answer is no – it’s just fine. The reason it is discolored is that the brass is annealed in that area. This means the brass is heated and allowed to cool to remove stresses when it is being formed. If you’ve ever heated up a metal really hot with a blow torch, you may have seen it change color.
Want to know the funny part? All ammo that is necked down is annealed in that area.
Commercial ammo is polished to be nice and shiny as buyers think that discoloration means it is defective or cheap. Military inspectors want the discoloration there so they know the cases were properly annealed during forming and aren’t going to crack.
Removing a process step should lower the cost and thus the price — but who knows how effective governments really are at negotiating pricing.
Summary
I shoot a lot of surplus 5.56 NATO ammo and find it just fine for my needs at the range. I don’t shoot it in my target rifles but it’s very cost effective otherwise.
If you’ve been on the fence because of that discoloration, don’t be. It’s just fine. The ammo is just fine — assuming it is a reputable brand and vendor of course.
I hope this helps you out.
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