[machine shop tom]

Here are some of a bunch of Norma 7x57 cases I've had for years. Upon cleaning them, I notice that there is a ring near the base where the diameter of the case changes. Is this a case of case head separation. These are Norma reloader cases that have been loaded 2 or three times. I got these and some other reloads (these don't show the case thing) and some Norma 150gr. SPs along with a set of Herter's dies.

Are these cases any good or should I scrap them?

 

[Guest]

Make a feeler gauge with a bent paperclip and see if you can feel a ridge or lip on the inside of the case at the ring. A dental pick works better but a paperclip will do. If in doubt scrap them or use them as test cases for setting your bullet seating depth and/or crimp. I had some 357 cases like that and decided to scrap them instead of risking it.

Jim

 

[smlekid]

from what I can see I would say they are OK I would expect to see a line a little higher up for a case head seperation

 

[cosmoline 1]

I just want to add to what godsey5 said:sharpen the point of your paper clip & it'll be easier to feel the indentation.

 

[JeepsAndGuns]

Yep, friend at the range showed me the paperclip trick. Pretty neat idea.

 

[tump]

has this brass been resized? i have 308 that looks like that after resizing. i think the brass does not expand in the bolt head(or is just thicker in this area) like it does in the chamber, so when you resize, this part gets glossed over because it never expanded like the rest of the case.i have never had a seperation fron my cases that look like this. hope you understand what i mean. and the paperclip trick works great.

 

[machine shop tom]

has this brass been resized? i have 308 that looks like that after resizing. i think the brass does not expand in the bolt head(or is just thicker in this area) like it does in the chamber, so when you resize, this part gets glossed over because it never expanded like the rest of the case.i have never had a seperation fron my cases that look like this. hope you understand what i mean. and the paperclip trick works great.

I am leaning toward what you describe in this post. I have tried the sharpened wire thing and they seem ok. They have been re-sized (2-3 firings on each case going by the notes on the boxes).

Now I need a good 7x57 rifle to go along with them. I once had a Spanish Short Rifle (Oviedo), but it had extraction problem and would split cases. Turns out it had some sort of chamber insert. I ended up throwing it away (didn't think to save the action, it was over 25 years ago). Anyway, I'd love to find another one like it or a Chilean Mauser.

tom

 

[WVchuck]

This is a case head separation!

Had this happen to one round last September.
It was the second reloading of that brass.

 

[RJSBONJR56]

.303 case head seperation

The chambers on most Enfield .303s are known for being oversized and it is best if you only neck size those cases if you are only using one gun. This may or may not work but the life span of most .303 is quite short compared with other brass. i have had a bit more luck but never go to the range with a 303 without a stuck case tool.

 

[mukluk]

Just a bit of info, but S&B 303 brass generally has a rather bad reputation for seperating when reloaded.

 

[WVchuck]

I'd heard about S&B .303 being problematic in reloading, but had never experienced it until last September. I've culled those reloads out of the ammo box, pulled the bullets and dumped the powder and reseated the bullets into some PMP brass.

 

[machine shop tom]

Had this happen to one round last September.
It was the second reloading of that brass.

I have some 303 British brass that I picked up on a firing range. The cases are a gnat's hair from separating like yours. I wish I could have caught the owner of that gun to warn him to have it checked and repaired.


tom

 

[WVchuck]

It isn't the rifle, it's the brass. Winchester and PMP reloads show no sign of any issues what so ever and they are 2nd & third reloadings.
No more S&B .303 reloading for me.

 

[Son of the Gun]

MachineShopTom, I've noticed the exact issue you've had with your 7x57 cases with some of my 7.5x55 brass. If you run your thumbnail over the ring on the outside, you can feel a slight ridge, but if I run a paperclip (sharpened point) on the inside, I find no irregularity. It is my opinion that his has happened because these are full-power loads, and the case has fully expanded in that area. I have not had any case failures with my reloads in these brass, and I'm currently on the third loading.

I guess I'll just keep my eyes peeled with them.

 

[machine shop tom]

Case separation, part deux.

On a hunch, I cut apart 4 cases that exhibited the condition I described in my first post. Sure enough, I detected cracks in two of them. The cracks appear at the point the inside bottom of the case curves to make the case side. This point is actually farther toward the bottom than what can be felt with the bent paper clip. Because of this, I don't feel the paper clip method is reliable when checking cases for separation. I'm glad I sacrificed what I thought were good cases to find I was wrong. From now on, if I have some cases that look suspicious, I'll cut them apart to check them.

Since I can't think of anyone I dislike enough to unload these cases on, I'll do a tap dance on them and discard them.


tom