Broken case...

[vegasjeepguy]

Well, it was bound to happen.

Was able to get the broken case out using a 9mm cleaning brush. This was after I went online and ordered a broken case extractor online from Brownells.

 

[aur0ra145]

Was this a reload? Looks like worn out brass.

 

[vegasjeepguy]

It was a reload....I believe it was the 5th for this case. Federal brass, 43.5 g of Varget and 168g SMK. I looked back at another case from this batch and it has a crack but did not fail completely like this one. I will have to track my brass more carefully and call it quits at 4 loads.

 

[aloreman]

Possibly excessive headspace.

 

[andydrose72]

Are you full length sizing every time?

 

[Glockin' Bob]

It was a reload....I believe it was the 5th for this case. Federal brass, 43.5 g of Varget and 168g SMK. I looked back at another case from this batch and it has a crack but did not fail completely like this one. I will have to track my brass more carefully and call it quits at 4 loads.

How many times did you trim them and how much?

 

[vegasjeepguy]

I figure I pushed this to and beyond the limit. Time to be more careful and track my brass better. Had been running moderate loads so I expected a little more life out of the brass. I did FL resize and trim each time. I wish brass wasn't so hard to come by...it's tempting to overuse the brass you have.

 

[andydrose72]

Set your sizing die to only bump the shoulder back .002. I have some Remington 30-06 brass that has made it through 15 firings.

 

[FLIGHT762]

My first question to you is : What kind of shoulder bump/headspace gauge did you use when setting up your dies to bump the shoulders .001"-.002"??? Oh, you didn't use one? Here's a quote from a reloader that didn't use one : "Well, it was bound to happen." Just busting your balls a little.

Unless you're loading for an M1-A, you should get many more loadings out of even Federal brass. If you did use a bump gauge, something else is going on.

 

[vegasjeepguy]

My first question to you is : What kind of shoulder bump/headspace gauge did you use when setting up your dies to bump the shoulders .001"-.002"??? Oh, you didn't use one? Here's a quote from a reloader that didn't use one : "Well, it was bound to happen." Just busting your balls a little.

Unless you're loading for an M1-A, you should get many more loadings out of even Federal brass. If you did use a bump gauge, something else is going on.

Yeah, I know...lesson learned. It was bound to happen because I wasn't careful. I was so concerned about sizing to get the case to fit in the chamber that I set my sizing die too low bumping the shoulder to much creating a headspace issue. As the undersized case expanded in the chamber it failed at the weakest point near the base. Sound about right?