So I am spending a morning at the range to sight in a couple of rifles.
I brought along my Marlin 1893 that Ron Smith rebored to 38-55 a year
or so ago.
I had developed a nice shooting load for this older lever gun, a 255 grain Jacketed
bullet, .377" diameter, Winchester cases, and a Federal 210, firing 28 grains of
Norma 200. [clocks at 1650 out of a 22" barrel]
I have shot this load a fair bit, and it groups about 1½ moa if I do my part. Never had any issues
whatsoever with it.
Some time ago, I acquired about 75 new Starline 38-55 cases. I noticed that they were a
bit lighter than the WW cases, and the brass thickness at the mouth of the case was about .003"
thinner than the WW cases. I loaded up 10 rounds of the same components in these cases.
But, between loading them and shooting them, about 6 months had gone by. I decided to
see if anything was different with the lighter brass. So, I proceeded to shoot away.
The first 3 shots worked perfectly, bullets were landing where they should, cases looked perfectly
normal. Let the rifle cool, and set up to shoot another group. First shot...good, second shot, I immediately
knew something was amiss. Harder recoil, louder, and when I open the action, clear evidence of gas
leakage around the primer. Then came the realization that part of the front of the case was missing.
On inspection, I also noted that there was a bright ring [like an incipient separation ring] around the case
just ahead of the web. Since I double and triple check powder charges when loading, I know this is not
the result of an overload. Something else is responsible.
I take the remaining 5 rounds home and disassemble them with an inertia puller, since I have no collet
for this bullet diameter. 4 came apart normally, but one was very difficult to pull, with many hard blows
required. On inspection, I find that the bullet had left some of it's jacket material on the inside of the case
neck, as if it had bonded to the case metal while sitting loaded.
I'm thinking that this is what happened to the round that tore the case...it was bonded to the brass case,
and did not release on firing.
On the positive side, no harm came to the rifle or shooter, and the piece of brass case must have left with the bullet,
since it was not in the throat or bore of the rifle when I cleaned it up. Borescope shows no damage at all.
Headspace is fine.
I welcome all comments, experiences, etc on this strange occurrence. Not blaming Starline here, just mentioning
the fact that these were brand new cases. Dave.
I brought along my Marlin 1893 that Ron Smith rebored to 38-55 a year
or so ago.
I had developed a nice shooting load for this older lever gun, a 255 grain Jacketed
bullet, .377" diameter, Winchester cases, and a Federal 210, firing 28 grains of
Norma 200. [clocks at 1650 out of a 22" barrel]
I have shot this load a fair bit, and it groups about 1½ moa if I do my part. Never had any issues
whatsoever with it.
Some time ago, I acquired about 75 new Starline 38-55 cases. I noticed that they were a
bit lighter than the WW cases, and the brass thickness at the mouth of the case was about .003"
thinner than the WW cases. I loaded up 10 rounds of the same components in these cases.
But, between loading them and shooting them, about 6 months had gone by. I decided to
see if anything was different with the lighter brass. So, I proceeded to shoot away.
The first 3 shots worked perfectly, bullets were landing where they should, cases looked perfectly
normal. Let the rifle cool, and set up to shoot another group. First shot...good, second shot, I immediately
knew something was amiss. Harder recoil, louder, and when I open the action, clear evidence of gas
leakage around the primer. Then came the realization that part of the front of the case was missing.
On inspection, I also noted that there was a bright ring [like an incipient separation ring] around the case
just ahead of the web. Since I double and triple check powder charges when loading, I know this is not
the result of an overload. Something else is responsible.
I take the remaining 5 rounds home and disassemble them with an inertia puller, since I have no collet
for this bullet diameter. 4 came apart normally, but one was very difficult to pull, with many hard blows
required. On inspection, I find that the bullet had left some of it's jacket material on the inside of the case
neck, as if it had bonded to the case metal while sitting loaded.
I'm thinking that this is what happened to the round that tore the case...it was bonded to the brass case,
and did not release on firing.
On the positive side, no harm came to the rifle or shooter, and the piece of brass case must have left with the bullet,
since it was not in the throat or bore of the rifle when I cleaned it up. Borescope shows no damage at all.
Headspace is fine.
I welcome all comments, experiences, etc on this strange occurrence. Not blaming Starline here, just mentioning
the fact that these were brand new cases. Dave.
There's something we don't hear much these days, huh?
