Wrong case/case failure

Status
Not open for further replies.

GilesG

CGN Regular
Rating - 100%
94   0   1
Check your headstamps! I had a loaded 38 super case in my western metal 9mm box chamber and fire in my cx4. Super loud bang and it blew apart my feed ramp, nothing past that though.

LYSRzSb.jpg


UcDMXC3.jpg


5PkLK3J.jpg


KiylqMb.jpg
 
I did not think that a 38 super case would allow the action to close up enough to even allow it to fire. Quite a bit longer than 9mm and it headspaces on the case mouth. Strange stuff. Hope it all works out okay.
 
Good to check. Sorry it happened, but thanks for sharing. There's a saying "learn from the mistakes of others, you won't live long enough to make them all yourself"
 
This was in a factory sealed box from Western Metal, I didn't mix in any other cartridges. I wouldn't have thought it would have chambered either, but here we are. Must have been just enough to allow the hammer to drop. Other than the feed ramp (that is integral to the trigger housing) being destroyed and the mag/mag sleeve being blown out of the firearm, all is well.

Appears to have been necked down in the firing process?

jjq5jAd.jpg
 
This is really interesting because 38 super, despite shooting the same bullet and having the same case diameter as 9mm is actually a rimmed cartridge. The case should not have even fit in the shell holder when it was reloaded. The rim in 38 super is approx. .403 " while the case rim on 9mm is approx. .39"

My only guess involves 38 super, rimless. An uncommon caliber used in IPSC. The theory was if they machined the rim off of the case, the cartridge would headspace off of the case mouth instead of the rim. They would get better case life and it was believed to be more accurate.
One of those cases will fit in a 9mm shell holder.
I accidentally ran one through my 9mm dies and it came out looking like the end of a trombone.
If I were to have seated a bullet in there, all that extra brass would have made one h€!! Of a crimp.

But, just a guess on my part.
I may be completely wrong.
 
Last edited:
My guess is that it was loaded as a 9mm, and you simply had an out of battery.
This is why I only buy reloads from companies who case gauge every round. I only know of one company in Canada that does this as it's very labor intensive, but it does guarantee that every round will properly chamber and that every primer is not upside down. Also nice to know that they powder check each case to prevent squibs and double charges..

Just my 2 cents
 
My guess is that it was loaded as a 9mm, and you simply had an out of battery.
This is why I only buy reloads from companies who case gauge every round. I only know of one company in Canada that does this as it's very labor intensive, but it does guarantee that every round will properly chamber and that every primer is not upside down. Also nice to know that they powder check each case to prevent squibs and double charges..

Just my 2 cents

Which company is this?
 
I had a commercial reload that was a .40 in a .357 Sig case.Round fired funny, sort of a soft pop. It was a FTE and I had to remove the case and ring of the case that sheared at the shoulder that had been forced open during reloading. I was super lucky nothing happened to me or the gun.
 
I had a 22 cal case that looked similar to the one pictured. It was caused by a Ruger Mk 1 firing "out of battery." My guess is that a similar thing happened in this instance.
 
The case length difference between a 9x19 mm and a .38 Super is 4 mm. The rifle actually fired out of battery and this should not have happened. The cartridge is not at fault, the operating pressures of the 9 mm and the .38 Super are the same so this is a classic case of unsupported case rupture. I would seriously check the gun because if it fires out of battery it can also do it with a 9 mm if it's not sized properly or for whatever reason it does not chamber all the way in. By the way, no modern barrel chambered for .38 Super headspaces on the tiny rim of the case, the change to headspring on the case mouth has taken place long ago. The .38 Super is not considered rimmed but semi-rimmed.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom