Manlicher Schoenauer M1903 need help

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blake.b

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So I went out to shoot my newly acquired manlicher m1903 today and quickly realized I had a problem I got three shots off and the first two seemed fine but on the third shot pieces of powder or the case im not sure hit me in the face I ejected the third spent case and found that it had split almost all the way around and there were two holes in the case as well.After looking at the other cases there was a noticeable bulge in the other two cases just above the rim. So I'm wondering if someone could recommend a experienced gunsmith in the central Alberta area and also what would cause this. Thank you for any info in advance.

Blake.
 
Caliber? 6.5x54?
Make of ammunition? Age?
The case failures could have resulted from old brass cracking, excess headspace.

I've worked on a number of these rifles. Tolerances can be approximate.
 
The Dominion ammunition will be elderly - you can guess the vintage by the packaging.
An expansion ring is normal on all fired cases. The size of the ring depends on the difference in case and chamber diameter. I suspect that you have a rifle with a generous chamber. It would be worth checking headspace. As I mentioned, tolerances can be inconsistent.
One 1903 I worked on would not chamber cases just fired if they were rotated slightly. The boltface was out of square with the bore axis. I had this one in for a new barrel. Before fitting the barrel, I squared up the boltface. It was .007" out across its face; visibly crooked. Another sweet little full stocked carbine had so much headspace that every fired case had an incipient separation. Cases were fireformed for this one, the shoulders blown forward, and then carefully handloaded.
For a really rough and ready check, fire an empty case with a live primer. See how far the primer backs out. If the fired primer protrudes dramatically, the headspace does need to be checked.
 
There's a term for it, forget what it's called, but fairly common with SMLE and etc where the friction of the cord getting dragged off center through the chamber results in the chamber being dug out on one side at the breech end of the chamber, thus resulting in this sort of thing.
 
DC Co would be over 60 years old. Maybe that's why the case failed, particularly if the chamber is a bit large.
Encouraging that the primers look like that.
The failed case might have been just a fluke.
 
Wouldn't hurt.
I've got the gauge, because I've rebarrelled these, but I'm a long ways away from AB.
Check the intact fired cases for internal incipient separations.
 
I always thought that the 1903 extractor held the case pretty tight against the face of the bolt when in battery in order to facilitate the camming action of the right/lower beveled lug... if so then that might preclude the primer from backing out .. and providing any helpful indication...
 
I had the exact same experience with a 1903 and old dominion ammo. Still have a couple of the failed casings somewhere. As I guess you found out the action doesnt really do a good job containing the failure, in my case I was thankful I wore glasses. I only had these failures with the old dominion stuff, which seemed to brittle to expand on firing.
 
I have had that exact same experience when shooting old Dominion and Super X ammo in a perfectly sound 7x57 with good headspace. Very old ammo can split because the brass loses its normal strength somehow with age. It may be due to powder deteriorating within the case and turning acidic, but in any case don't use more of that ammo. Trade Ex sells modern ammo for your rifle.

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I have had that exact same experience when shooting old Dominion and Super X ammo in a perfectly sound 7x57 with good headspace. Very old ammo can split because the brass loses its normal strength somehow with age. It may be due to powder deteriorating within the case and turning acidic, but in any case don't use more of that ammo.
Click to expand...

Thats interesting... have you seen any published information (or links) on that possibility and the 'chemistry' involved? Certainly not challenging the comment .. but genuinely curious as it would add to the things to be aware of in older ammo. Thanks
 
Case failure in old ammunition is typically caused by stress corrosion cracking. The combination of residual stress from the manufacturing process plus a corrosive environment promote cracking. A few different things that could cause a corrosive environment are:

-Temperature and humidity cycling
-Contaminants (both acids and bases)
-Impurities in the brass

Decomposition of the powder could potentially be a cause. Nitrocellulose has residual acid in it from the manufacturing process, so powder has stabilizers added to keep the acid from breaking down the powder. If the stabilizer is completely consumed, there would be an acidic environment inside the case, which would attack the metal and decompose the powder. Hodgdon explains it here:
http://www.hodgdonreloading.com/reloading-education/safety/gunpowder-stability
 
I had similar failures with some 30/40 ammunition in a chamber which is far from generous. The old brass was just too brittle.
 
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