Case head separation

bluemike807

bluemike807

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Was shooting my No4. Mk1 alongside a buddy who had a No1. Mk3. We were using his reloads, which seemed to be working well - 30 through mine until I managed to win a case head separation. After taking a look at his spent brass it was immediately clear that his chamber must be huge, as almost all of his brass was ready to come apart. Thats what I get for trusting a buddy's reloads.

I've had the headspace checked on my .303 and its fine, so now what is the best way to get this brass tube out of my bore?
 
Assuming you are no longer on the range, partially chamber a case. The front section may stick to it and be extracted. If you were at the range, the broken case would probably stick on the next cartridge fed.
Or run a brush through from the muzzle; this may pick up the broken case.
Or push a tight fitting bore brush into the broken case and pull it out.
Running a screw or tap into the thing may result in a damaged chamber.
The broken case will not be stuck all that tight. Even bumping the buttplate on the ground might dislodge it.
Headspace may not have much to do with this. Its more about cases stretching and being sized and stretching and being sized..... Use cases fired in your rifle. Only neck size them or partially size them enough to chamber freely.
When getting ready to load .303, particularly if using fired cases about which you know nothing, inspect them carefully and be prepared to cull mercilessly. I have gone through a sandbag full of brass fired in issue Ranger rifles, and culled 20% with incipient case separations.
 
Case Separation is the Ban of Lee Enfield Reloaders !

.. Don't be too quick to condemn your Buddies Reloads ( and his Rifle ! ) out of hand ! Because of the Rifles' design, case separation with reloads is a fact of Life. It can be minimized by neck sizing alone, but that generally means using them in the same rifle. ( A Ridge appears about 1/4" above the rim ) .... Invest in a "Stuck Case remover" if you intend to shoot a Lee Enfield more than just occasionally ! ...... David K
 
"...Headspace may not have much to do with this..." The No. 1's may be bad though. Sometimes a cleaning rod will catch enough of the case mouth to pop it out. A smithy will most likely use a tap. Has to be just the right size though.
A ruptured case extractor is the best thing. Epp's isn't listing any, but try 'em.
 
5440fight said:
Broken case remover. Duhh.

I suppose you could thread a big screw into what you have and tug it out with pliers.
Click to expand...

Well, the Broken Case Remover (extractor) is right. However, the BIG SCREW is a good way to SCREW UP YOUR CHAMBER. There is more than a good chance thay you will cut through the case and into the walls of your chamber. Then your next post will be something along the line of "My rifle will not extract the empty case."

If you have paid attention to the previous posts, you should have learned something. The Lee Enfield is notorious for broken cases when RELOADS ARE FULL LENGTH RESIZED. Full length resizing stretches the brass too much, and starts an internal crack inside the casing, usually about 3/8 inch or so from the base.

For reloading the .303 British. One way for a reloader to check this is take a 4 inch small diameter wire and grind a point on one end. Bend this pointed end over about 1/4 inch from the end (it must be able to go inside the fired case.) Drill a small hole in a short piece of dowel, and epoxy the straight end into the hole, forming a "L" shaped tool.

You can then put the bent end into the case, all the way to the bottom, and slowly move it up and down. Do this in at least 3 different places. The pointed end will catch on any internal cracks.

A word of warning---do not attempt "one last loading" of the case. I keep a pair of pliers handy, and squeeze the case to make sure I don't load it again.
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