First FTE in my M305 - PICS

Mason44

Mason44

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I was at the range on sunday with my 305 and about 30 rounds down the pipe, I noticed that my next round didnt feed, then I noticed the brass that was ejected, or was not in this case:

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only the small end of the brass actually ejected, he rest of the brass was still in the barrel. I was able to remove it and the rest of the day it shot flawlessly.

I was shooting PMC bronze, weird thing is I`ve shot about 200 rounds of this particular ammo in my rifle and this is the first time I have an issue

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The guy at the range said it was probably just a lemon. Anyone else experience this with their ammo?
 
I have never seen a failure exactly like that, but I also don't shoot PMC (not readily available around here). If it was your extractor, I would have expected it to fail at the rim, not up the case like that.

I agree it might just be a bad case, but first, have you verified your headspace?

Excessive headspace can allow the round to "Stretch" lengthwise during obturation, and results like this can occur. I would verify it before shooting again if you haven't already.
 
Had it happen once with a reloaded IVI case.I failed to check them out for incipient case seperation(with the paper clip).Checked the rest and found three more that were starting to let go_Only time I had that problem with the M305/M14S. Now the Lee Enfield is a different story.Before just neck sizing it was fairly common (because of the oversized chamber and continuously full length resizing). Now just neck sizing in the Enfield and haven't had that problem in years. So probably slightly oversized chamber and a piece of bad brass could have been the problem.Take a mic and measure your unfired case and a fired one and see how much the case has grown.
 
The ONLY time I've seen case separation occur is when there was EXCESS headspace when the round was fired. I would check the other fired cases for "incipent case separation" , & have a smith check the gun for proper headspace. The ammo would be the last thing I would blame.
 
thunderflash said:
The ONLY time I've seen case separation occur is when there was EXCESS headspace when the round was fired. I would check the other fired cases for "incipent case separation" , & have a smith check the gun for proper headspace. The ammo would be the last thing I would blame.
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X2, that shouldn't be happening with brand new factory ammo.
 
gallen270 said:
just a head separation. it happens, not a big deal.
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I am glad that it is not a big deal in your mind ????????:rolleyes:.

This is a serious FIALURE

YOU are playing with dynamite if not corrected it will lead to a Catastrophopic Failure the only issue is will you survive the event with out recieving injuries
 
Yeah thats not a FTE, thats case head separation. With new factory ammo, even cheaper stuff, that definitely shouldn't be happening. I would have a smith check the headspace.
 
Savage said:
I am glad that it is not a big deal in your mind ????????:rolleyes:.

This is a serious FIALURE

YOU are playing with dynamite if not corrected it will lead to a Catastrophopic Failure the only issue is will you survive the event with out recieving injuries
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I think he's trying to be sarcastic.

If not... :slap:

Although I am surprised it didn't kaboom on you. Lucky. Have a smith inspect the chamber for head space and roughness. A head separation is a pretty big deal in brand new ammunition. This is the sorta thing you expect outta 3 or 4 time reloaded brass.
 
I have had this same experience and I deemed it to be excessive headspace.
Ammo was winchester .308 supreme ballistic tip with the nickel case.
Happened once and I only noticed because the bolt was not fully cammed shut. The rifle partially chambered the next round.... Very dangerous... As out of battery detonation on the partially chambered round would have been catastrophic.

So I pulled the case using a broken shell extractor and tried again, same ammo. 3 shots in she did it again :eek:
So I switched ammo from .308 to some hirtenberger 7.62 nato and no problems.
Headspace on this rifle was 1.648... 13 thou over nato go.

Long and short, if bad brass can be ruled out... This is a situation where your rifle is telling you NOT to use that ammo
I would personally have your headspace verified before your next trip to the range
 
Thanks for the info guy, I`ll have it looked at before my next range trip.

I do find it weird that it took 200+ rounds of this ammo before there was a failure.

anyone know a good gunsmith in the Montreal area that could check the head-space?
 
Mason44 said:
Thanks for the info guy, I`ll have it looked at before my next range trip.

I do find it weird that it took 200+ rounds of this ammo before there was a failure.

anyone know a good gunsmith in the Montreal area that could check the head-space?
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Maybe the head space opened up over time, owing to some change in the lug(s) on the bolt.
 
Savage said:
I am glad that it is not a big deal in your mind ????????:rolleyes:.

This is a serious FIALURE

YOU are playing with dynamite if not corrected it will lead to a Catastrophopic Failure the only issue is will you survive the event with out recieving injuries
Click to expand...

Hysterical much?

Case head separations are emphatically NOT a big deal. Most of the time people don't even notice them when firing. The only real risk is the bits left in the chamber leading to a firing out of battery on the next round.

That being said, they should not be happening with new, factory ammo. Probably your headspace is excessive and this brass is a little soft, a combination that allows more stretching than is normal.

But "catastrophic"? "...will you survive"? Give me a break.
 
Excessive headspace

Yes headspace should be checked -

However - I have had a case head separation with budget commercial ammo in a Norc M14 and gone on to fire several thousand of the same ammo with no problems.

Sometimes the odd one in the production line has thin brass.
I've even had one that cracked at the case shoulder because the brass was to thin at that spot. It was UMC .223 in a new H+R single shot rifle.

2 bad ones with budget ammo out of many thousands of rounds is still 2 to many.

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Separated casing - saw them often in machine guns. Too much headspace.

Causes - bolt too "short"; weak cartridge wall; sloppy chamber, etc.
 
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i've had it happen with winchester and a REAL M14- a springfield- blew the mag to pieces and split the stock from the drainhole to the pistol grip- couldn't get the bolt open until we stripped it down completely and hammered on the op rod- but subsequent firings proved the rest of the ammo was alright- and that was a new one as well- winchester heard about it and they blamed the rifle- springfield blamed the ammo
 
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