Defective factory Sellier & Bellot ammo

I've never had any problem with Sellier & Bellot in any of the calibers I've used but my ammo is pre-dollar crash and shortages... Same with their primers. The only reloading issue thus far is crimped primer pockets in 6.5X55. This must be the quality issues not uncommon through this peak production during shortage.
 
A Mauser action extractor can hold some cases against the bolt face sufficiently that the only evidence of excessive headspace is the "fire forming" of a new shoulder farther up the case - which is often unnoticed. The quickest way to check your particular rifle would be to take a couple of your cases and slip them into an RCBS precision mic cartridge headspace tool. I am betting that if you do - you will find you have a "long" chamber... (eg excessive headspace)
 
I broke in my .338 with s&b over the past couple weeks. 50 rounds. All felt tight to close & open the bolt, and 3 where outright too long and wouldn't close at all. Laid the calipers on them and found their COAL to be .02 longer than the rest....

Boo.

-J.
 
To all of you, thank you for your input. I've been shooting my reloaded S&B brass, and the vast majority of it holds up OK. The factory ammo mics out at 2.955. According to my Lyman manual, COL should be 3.150. I took a casing and bullet (no powder or primer), just seated the bullet lightly, and inserted it into the rifle. I gently ejected the round and measured the COL. It miced out at 3.130, so I load my rounds to a finished length of 3.124 so it just sits off the lands. I may be getting some PPU brass from a buddy, so I'll see how that holds up. From everything I've seen in my 50 years of shooting, it's a quality control issue with this brass and maybe only with this lot. I've loaded S&B 7.62 X 39 with no problems whatsoever and even the responses to my thread seem to be a lot of mixed reviews regarding S&B brass.
 
Gunneegoogoo said:
I broke in my .338 with s&b over the past couple weeks. 50 rounds. All felt tight to close & open the bolt, and 3 where outright too long and wouldn't close at all. Laid the calipers on them and found their COAL to be .02 longer than the rest....

Boo.

-J.
Click to expand...

thats because .338wm headspaces on the "belted rim" measure the rim thickness
 
LawrenceN said:
To all of you, thank you for your input. I've been shooting my reloaded S&B brass, and the vast majority of it holds up OK. The factory ammo mics out at 2.955. According to my Lyman manual, COL should be 3.150. I took a casing and bullet (no powder or primer), just seated the bullet lightly, and inserted it into the rifle. I gently ejected the round and measured the COL. It miced out at 3.130, so I load my rounds to a finished length of 3.124 so it just sits off the lands. I may be getting some PPU brass from a buddy, so I'll see how that holds up. From everything I've seen in my 50 years of shooting, it's a quality control issue with this brass and maybe only with this lot. I've loaded S&B 7.62 X 39 with no problems whatsoever and even the responses to my thread seem to be a lot of mixed reviews regarding S&B brass.
Click to expand...

well I can see that you have made up your mind so I know I will regret this ... but the "COL" has nothing to do with headspace in a rifle chamber. Before you malign the manufacturer try to understand the relationship between case dimension and the chamber AND what headspace is ... not the COL. Here is a illustration of how (and where) headspace is measured. I am not surprised that your "reloaded" S&B brass holds up as it was likely fireformed to your chamber -- and as long as you didnt change that dimension with your reloading die ... you should be fine. But none of the measurements you speak about here eliminate an overly long chamber (eg incorrect headspace) being the root cause of the case splitting.




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Incipient separations are usually caused by a headspace issue. Or a matter of compatibility of the ammunition and the rifle.

Flattened primers - resembling excessive pressure - happen when headspace is excessive.

Has the rifle been checked with Go, No Go, and Field gauges? If not, explanations are speculation. If it passes, then the ammunition may be the problem. There are gauges to check cartridges. Basically a short cylinder with a chamber cut in it. Drop the round in, and observe where the head is, relative to Max & Min shoulder to head specs.
 
tiriaq said:
Incipient separations are usually caused by a headspace issue. Or a matter of compatibility of the ammunition and the rifle.

Flattened primers - resembling excessive pressure - happen when headspace is excessive.

Has the rifle been checked with Go, No Go, and Field gauges? If not, explanations are speculation. If it passes, then the ammunition may be the problem. There are gauges to check cartridges. Basically a short cylinder with a chamber cut in it. Drop the round in, and observe where the head is, relative to Max & Min shoulder to head specs.
Click to expand...

yes ... and I like the RCBS precision mic cartridge headspace tool to measure a fired cartridge for this purpose as I mentioned in a previous post. Alas - I fear that S&B will get the blame regardless of whether it is rifle problem or a cartridge issue based on "from everything I've seen in my 50 years of shooting, it's a quality control issue with this brass." (and while we are at it ... if the OP can satisfactorily demonstrate that S&B produced a factory loaded case with headspace dimensions short of SAAMI specs ... he would have a pretty good lawsuit in his pocket! - which I very much doubt)
 
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