Reloaded .223 Rem Case Ruptured

K

kevguy

BANNED
BANNED
BANNED
EE Expired
Rating - 100%
4   0   0
Location
Alberta, Canada
Was shooting my .223 rem this evening.

I was using brass that I picked up at the range and reloaded for the first time. The load was:

25.0 gr H4895
52 gr Sierra HPBT
PMC brass with military crimp removed
Case Size 1.750"
OAL 2.200"

This happened with one the rounds:

photo2-1.jpg


photo-1.jpg


It was a good thing I was wearing safety glasses as I got a few powder burns on my face from it.

Any ideas what was wrong with this load?
 
I found some of the Korean PMC had less internal capacity than say Win or Federal and loads had to be reduced somewhat.That looks nasty good thing for the glasses......................try filling an empty case with H2O + a spent primer in it and weigh it on your scale,then one without H2O.......Harold
 
Have any more cases from the same batch? Section a couple and see if there are any signs of incipient separations.
The ammunition could have been fired in a rifle with excess headspace, setting things up for a failure when reloaded. The problem with range pickup brass is that you know nothing about it.
 
"...brass that I picked up at the range..." Like tiriaq says, you have no idea what has been done with that brass or how many times it has been loaded.
Certainly not caused by a starting load.
 
This is not exactly on topic but similar

The Police use oure range once a month normaly the shoot AE or Winchester Ranger but this time there was some Hornady Law Enforcement ammo boxes in the trash cans. I found a dozen or so of brass like this on the ground.

Primer is completely flattened and there is hefty bolt face stamping on the base.
Guess Hornady loads them hot, or could it be a malfunctioning firearm?

hornady002.jpg
 
These cartridges don't break like this from too much pressure. The culpret is too much headspace. Just for a reminder, here is how headspace rupture happens. When a round is chambered, the shoulder will not be hitting the shoulder on the chamber, where it is supposed to rest. When the firing pin strikes, the cartridge is driven forward until it hits the chamber shoulder. Then it fires, the case expands and the chamber walls hold the front of the case forward, but the rear of the case is blown backwards to the bolt face.
This stretches the rearward section of the case and the weak spot is just above the thick web of the case.
Solution 1) Have a gunsmith tighen the barrel threads up to reduce head space. Expensive.
Solution 2) Have the brass fit the chamber and then only neck size.
 
H4831 It's not my firearm breaking the above case it. It is a local police firearm. I hope they have someone who recognizes the failure before the firearm fails when it is needed.

My 223 is a bolt gun so I pretty much only neck size my brass.
 
I picked up a pile of once fired S&B .223 brass a few years ago - it was crap, after the first reload, 3 of the cases split lengthwise. I threw all the rest in my scrap bin.
 
The police likely fired these in a semi-auto, probably an M16 variant. These rifles have notoriously "loose" chamber and do fine firing all new rounds fed through them. Since the police do not reload, the brass get's left behind and you unfortunately have the results of reloding this brass in front of you.

Glad you did not get hurt, but be careful with range brass, especially in semi-auto calibers (that includes .308win which some shoot in M14's).
 
raks said:
I picked up a pile of once fired S&B .223 brass a few years ago - it was crap, after the first reload, 3 of the cases split lengthwise. I threw all the rest in my scrap bin.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I think I'm gonna pitch the PMC stuff away too once it's fired. It's not worth the hassle and risk.
 
Yea incipient case head fracture. I have an enfield that I neck size for just because of this very reason. If you have headspace on the high side and full length size every time this is what can happen.

Use a flattened paperclip bent into an L shape and feel along the inside of the case wall for a section just above the case head. If the brass is starting to thin in this area you should be able to feel it with the paperclip as a groove or ring around the inside of the case.
 
tburdek said:
Yea incipient case head fracture. I have an enfield that I neck size for just because of this very reason. If you have headspace on the high side and full length size every time this is what can happen.

Use a flattened paperclip bent into an L shape and feel along the inside of the case wall for a section just above the case head. If the brass is starting to thin in this area you should be able to feel it with the paperclip as a groove or ring around the inside of the case.
Click to expand...

X2

Brian
 
IMHO range brass belongs right where you found it.

The same thing applys to any nice shiney looking fully loaded rounds you come across at a public range that were "accidently" left behind or dropped on the ground.
I've run into one dickwad that thought stuffing rifle rounds with massive overloads of pistol powder and dropping them on the ground to be picked up and fired by some unsuspecting soul would be a great joke.
 
DOUGLAS D said:
IMHO range brass belongs right where you found it.

The same thing applys to any nice shiney looking fully loaded rounds you come across at a public range that were "accidently" left behind or dropped on the ground.
I've run into one dickwad that thought stuffing rifle rounds with massive overloads of pistol powder and dropping them on the ground to be picked up and fired by some unsuspecting soul would be a great joke.
Click to expand...

There is a 'man' that needs a serious beating. Fricking puke.:mad:
 
He needs to be forced into using those bullets himself, and shooting from the hip, nice and close to his groin.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom