titandriver Posted February 14, 2017 Share Posted February 14, 2017 Had two cases bulge severely - and blow the primer - yesterday during practice (finally!) with my 320. Targets were 5 to 18 yard partials with the 5 yard target being a full one. All cases were once fired, load was 3.8grs E3, 125 Precision coated bullet, CCI SP primer @ 132 PF. First time through my split on the 5 yard target was .12 and as I was picking up brass I noticed the case was really bulged with no primer and chalked it up to a bad piece of brass and tossed it. Second time through my split was .14 on that target and another bulged primer-less case resulted although not as severe as the first one. I then shot only that target with splits in the .15 - .16 range and cases were normal. I'm using a steel Springer guide rod with 13lb spring. Would I be correct in assuming that it's possible the pistol is firing slightly out of battery? Anyone else experience this? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hi-Power Jack Posted February 14, 2017 Share Posted February 14, 2017 Any photos of "the bulge"? Are cases split? I had three cases split and bulged - but I knew something happened, with a puff of smoke - my gunsmith suggested it was due to firing "out of battery", but I'm not sure about that ... It hasn't happened since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Capizzo Posted February 15, 2017 Share Posted February 15, 2017 I'm hardly an expert as the P320 was the first striker gun I've owned. I did use a 13 lb spring for a while but always felt it was a little to light. Of course I don't have any way to empirically back that up, but I know if I moved the gun forward quickly there was a little feeling of the slide moving backwards. I'd PM someone like Alma Cole or Yong Lee, who have a ton of competition experience with these guns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillGarlandJr Posted February 15, 2017 Share Posted February 15, 2017 We're the bulged cases the same head stamp? I'm wondering if its a brass thing. The reason I say that is I know Yong has run 14# springs with coils cut off (he routinely pulls the kinds of splits you're talking about), and I think Mason Lane has run as light as a 12.5# recoil spring in his P320 (he's damn fast too). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
titandriver Posted February 15, 2017 Author Share Posted February 15, 2017 4 hours ago, BillGarlandJr said: We're the bulged cases the same head stamp? I'm wondering if its a brass thing. The reason I say that is I know Yong has run 14# springs with coils cut off (he routinely pulls the kinds of splits you're talking about), and I think Mason Lane has run as light as a 12.5# recoil spring in his P320 (he's damn fast too). Well, I just tossed the first one chalking it up to bad brass. After it happened the second time I did save that piece and it's WCC-07. After shooting again today I'm pretty certain it was the brass. I pulled three .12's, two .13's, and two .14's and no bulging at all. The ammo was all loaded in one lot in one loading session with various headstamped brass. Thanks for all the replies, I appreciate it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAFO Posted February 15, 2017 Share Posted February 15, 2017 I thought WCC was NATO brass. That shouldn't deform from a regular charge fired in battery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
titandriver Posted February 16, 2017 Author Share Posted February 16, 2017 5 hours ago, JAFO said: I thought WCC was NATO brass. That shouldn't deform from a regular charge fired in battery. Yessir, I believe it is NATO brass and should be a tad thicker near the base - I'm going to weigh the bulged case versus a Win case to see what the difference is. The bulge is perfect around the entire circumference of the case just above the extractor groove - in fact, it looks just like a belted magnum rifle case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAFO Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 Can you launch a pencil or rod out of the barrel when the gun is slightly out of battery? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
titandriver Posted February 18, 2017 Author Share Posted February 18, 2017 10 hours ago, JAFO said: Can you launch a pencil or rod out of the barrel when the gun is slightly out of battery? Thanks JAFO - I never even thought about that! I've done it dozens of times with 1911's - I'll give it a go tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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