Help please

6MT

6MT

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So I picked up what I think, were a few once fired .357 magnum cases at the range today. After cleaning, I noticed two of the cases have quite a bulge above the rim. I found these on a 50 metre range, which tells me that these might have been shot in a hand gun (?). They looked shiny when I picked them up and besides the bulges, they cleaned up very nice.

Here’s a couple of pictures. I hope you can see the disformaties.

IMG-2706.jpg

IMG-2707.jpg


So I’d like to ask everyone’s opinion. What do you think these were fired through? With that kind of a bulge, extraction was probably an issue. Whether it be a revolver or a pistol caliber rifle. I’ve never seen a straight walled case with this type of bulge.
 
I had a Winchester 94 once in 32 WS. It was "really" old. The loser who owned it before me had chopped the end off the stock, and had installed a recoil pad, destroying any antique value. The barrel was stamped "made for smokeless powder", indicating it was manufactured sometime during the switchover from black powder to smokeless powder. The chamber was definitely shot out. The once fired cases were always bulged. Full length resizing very often resulted in the Head separating from the case. 95%+, the case was stuck in the die, and had to be laboriously removed manually. Yes, it would shoot brand new factory ammo fine, but reloading with full length resizing "always" (the ones that didn't have head separation) resulted in problems. Once, I had some serious blowback from shooting reloaded ammo. Really glad I was always into the habit of always wearing shooting glasses when shooting. Sold that rifle "CHEAP" but I did warn the buyer that the rifle was shot out. At a minimum, the chamber had to be re-chambered in order to shoot without the possibly of danger.
 
6MT:
Those cases look like they were fired out of battery. Most likely a lever action rifle. In other words, the bolt was not fully locked into firing position when the trigger was pulled. Happens occasionally with toggle link actions like the 1860/1866 Winchester...which lack a lever safety** ( Will not fire unless bolt fully closed...as in the later 1873 model)). Or in the case of an 1873 rifle, the lever safety was removed. This was a fairly common practice among cowboy action competitors, at one time. To speed up cycling time.
Lacking the means to prevent the firing pin from being released before the bolt is fully locked, the rifle can and will fire with the bolt still partially open. Resulting in the bulged cases you found. I suspect these were the last two of a fired string.
This usually occurs by trying to cycle the rifle's lever action too fast and poorly timed. I suspect the rifle will be damaged somewhat, now. Often, the lever itself will end up bent. Have seen this happen a few times. Sometimes resulting in injury to the shooter.
The bulged cases themselves should iron out when re-sized.
Al
ps: **Actually, it's more accurate to call the lever safety an interlock. This interlock blocks the trigger from being pulled, until the bolt is locked fully forward.
 
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Actually, I won’t size the two that are bulged. They’ve made it to my “wall of fame” where cases of note end up. Failures, AMP test cases, rare cases, etc..

IMG-2711.jpg
 
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6MT: A wise move. Also a good visual reminder of how easy it can be at times, to run into problems with any firearm. I'd imagine that the shooter was pretty shook up, after the event. Can be spectacular.
 
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I shot a Desert Eagle semi auto pistol, chambered in 357mag, which did exactly what your pics show.

It happened to every case fired out of that behemoth of a handgun.

I've shot other Desert Eagles, but the fired cases from them couldn't be distinguished from any other chamber.

The owner didn't shoot it much and never used handloads.

I picked up the cases and took them home to resize and reload for my wheelguns.

They worked just fine.

They're still in the mix of 357 mag brass I have on hand and use regularly.
 
Bearhunter: I suspect that the Desert Eagle you fired...like some Glock pistols, did not have a fully supported chamber. Anyone familiar with the infamous term: "Glock bulge", being equally familiar with the annoying case bulges so common to the brand.
Those bulged cases I've encountered along the way ironed out just fine when re-sized, too.
 
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