What's wrong with this picture?

ebruder

ebruder

CGN Regular
Rating - 99.5%
217   1   1
Location
Kingston
Hi,

So I was at the range today... and had some interesting trouble with my brass

The brass came to me as a once fired factory brass, that was FL sized, and has since been fired 3 more times with only neck sizing in between... I separate my brass and re-use each batch of brass in the same rifle each time...

Only 2 out of 100 pieces did this... one (with the deep split) in a 1950 LB No4MkI*... and one (partial split) in a MkIII Ross... only one per rifle...

Both happened WELL below the max load...

Here are the pictures:

This is the one from the No4 (deep crack)
IMG_0877-1.jpg


And this is the one from the Ross
IMG_0878-1.jpg


Is it time for new brass?

Is there too much pressure?

Thoughts?

EB
 
Incipient case separations.
Check all your cases, using a little hooked probe (made from a paper clip) and see if you can feel grooves running round the inside in that area. Or, take a few cases and section the heads.
I bet you find a lot more cases that would separate on the next firing.
The cases you bought were likely fired in Lee Enfield, and sometimes the first firing is enough to start the process.
I suspect that you will have to ditch the entire batch of cases.
This is primarily a Lee Enfield problem. I doubt that your Ross will produce separated cases if the cases are fired only in the Ross.
This is not a pressure related issue.
 
That is a case head separation. The ammo should be loaded to headspace off the shoulder not the rim. Being a flexable Lee Enfield, you won't get many firings out of brass anyway. Take some time and read a good reloading manual, case head sepatations are covered in detail. Toss all that 3 times fired brass.
 
Yes. Bang on same time.
I have sorted a fair number of cases fired in different Gov't. property No. 4 rifles. Generally speaking, I assume that at least 20% will need to be culled, because they would fail on first reload.
Lee Enfields tend to be loosely breeched, and have springy actions. This results in cases that are going to separate.
 
The Enfield headspaces off the rim gents, but neck sizing will achieve the "shoulder" headspace and possibly extend brass life. The brass has been fired in another gun, therefore it was already weakened before you got it.
 
SMLEs headspace on the rim, like the 303 man stated. They also develope excessive headspace, just like any other rifle. That is why they were designed with different heads on the bolt, to get the headspace right.
I don't know why I am saying this, when we have 303 carbine and others on here who know much more about it than I do.
 
Start by having the No. 4 Rifle's headspace checked. Doesn't matter if the serial numbers match either. Mind you, since it's happening in two rifles, I'd suspect the brass may not have been 'once fired'.
 
Consider this ...

The cracked case in your picture shows that your headspace was not correct for your rifle. You can avoid ever getting a headspace separation by comparing your handloads to a case that was fired in your rifle. That's how our Digital Headspace Gauge displays the exact clearance that YOUR handloads will have in YOUR particular chamber.


After measuring you can set your seating die perfectly, and our Digital Headspace Gauge also works on ALL different calibers. This will extend the life of your brass. Rimmed and belted cases usually have the most clearance in your chamber, because factory loads are headspaced on the rim or the belt. However, all handloads should always be headspaced on the case shoulder. Visit our website http://www.larrywillis.com and check this out. It's pretty easy to have your cases last for 20 reloadings.

- Innovative
 
Innovative said:
The cracked case in your picture shows that your headspace was not correct for your rifle. You can avoid ever getting a headspace separation by comparing your handloads to a case that was fired in your rifle. That's how our Digital Headspace Gauge displays the exact clearance that YOUR handloads will have in YOUR particular chamber.


After measuring you can set your seating die perfectly, and our Digital Headspace Gauge also works on ALL different calibers. This will extend the life of your brass. Rimmed and belted cases usually have the most clearance in your chamber, because factory loads are headspaced on the rim or the belt. However, all handloads should always be headspaced on the case shoulder. Visit our website http://www.larrywillis.com and check this out. It's pretty easy to have your cases last for 20 reloadings.

- Innovative
Click to expand...

Most reloaders on here are aware of how to not push the shoulder back, thus creating headspace on their handloads.
However, some problems arrise with the subject calibre. The 303 Lee Enfield military rifles are notorious for having large, loose chambers. So many of the ones on the market have a lot of excess headspace. Thus, the firing of a factory load in them can ruin, or badly damage, the case on the original firing. I'm not sure how you could fire a factory load in such a rifle with excess head space, and preseve the case in good condition.
Starting out with new brass, one could load the bullet of the first loading to make hard contact with the lands. Thus, the firing pin wouldn't drive the case forward and it would be fire formed to fit the chamber. Neck sizing from then on, or have the die just barely touch the shoulder, would greatly lengthen the life of the brass.
 
This is likely also true of the Ross, but only if it appears on cases solely fired in the Ross.
When the military Ross rifles first came out, they were bad for jamming partly due to their tight tolerances, and the British ammo's loose tolerances.
To fix this, (or so I've read) most of them had their chambers reamed, many in the field, to very much looser specs.
The fix for the Ross, if this is the case, is either neck size the case, or set the barrel back and re-chamber.
Most of the Ross rifles I understand that were reamed had the letters 'LC' stamped on them.
Some of these have very crude dimensioned chambers, and fired cases have quite rounded shoulders, looking quite different from the parent case. Others are not bad at all, with only slight dimensional differences.

You'll not that a couple of times I said 'most'. Many rifles were missed (I believe I have one). Many were given rube goldberg (IMO) smithing jobs, and many were treated very well.
I had one Ross a while back with a chamber that produced fired cases with shoulders that were actually rounded. Case life if full length resized was about three moderate shots. neck sizing got normal case life for a 303. But you had to be careful not to hit the shoulder at all.
 
Thanks for the info guys...

I'll start by checking the head space... I've also ordered some new brass to try...

How many loads are you typically getting out of your Enfields using Winchester brass?

EB
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom