Case head separation- who has experienced this?

[muncie21]

Went to the range today with the intent of sighting in my c-more on my new'ish PSA 9mm upper w/factory AR lower.  I've put several hundred rounds through this lower without issue, today just wasn't  my day.  On round 13, the bullet wouldn't fully feed, preventing the bolt from fully closing.  After I racked the round out and the next one did the same thing, I got  a clue.....maybe there's another issue?  Looking more closely at the chamber, I see the remains of the previous 9mm case still in the barrel.  With no tools I'm done for the day.

 

Take it home and was able to get the case out relatively easily with a dental pick.

 

wondering if this was a fluke or did the factory 3oz buffer (bolt extracts case too quickly while fired brass has not contracted) contribute to the demise of the case? 

[Xanatos903]

You might have reloaded some stepped brass- the stuff is notorious for separating at the step. I look down the mouth of every 9mm case I load just to make sure one doesn't slip in and ruin my day. 

 

Was the piece of brass that you extracted just a short ring? 

Edited December 17, 2017 by Xanatos903

[M1A4ME]

Bad piece of brass?  I had some 115 grain hollowpoints (same load I've used for years in all my 9MM pistols) do something similar in my Pre B CZ 85 one day at the range.  It was around the 7th or 8th round in the magazines.  It went bang, the pistol failed to chamber the next round (never happened before but nothing is perfect).  I grabbed the slide, racked it to the rear and let it go and it did it again.  I dropped magazine, locked the slide back and I could see the brass stuck in the chamber and that is when I noticed the base of the brass case lying on the bench.  Field stripped it and the brass walls of the case pulled out with my fingernail.  The top round in the magazine was pretty dirty, the inside of the pistol was pretty dirty.  No damage at all to the CZ or the magazine.  At the time one or two other people said they'd had the same thing happen to them over the years.  The consensus was that it was just a defective piece of brass.  That load is right at 10% under the max. load and even the max load with that powder is not close to the maximum pressure loads for a 9MM.

 

base of the cartridge

 

 

you can see the case walls sticking out of the chamber, just a tad, but I had to take the barrel out to get it out

 

 

 

dirty top round that failed to chamber

 

[mahamoti]

You can thank Freedom Munitions for that stepped brass atrocity.

 

When you're reloading, especially for PCC or 9mm Major, you'll want to discard cases with FM, IMT, and AMMOLOAD headstamps.

[Flatland Shooter]

Add MAXX TECH to the list.  Found one earlier this week.

[L9X25]

I purchased a large box of once fired and was really happy with the price.  As I have been loading, I notice that I have a lot of .380 and 9x18 brass in there mucking up my press.  

I finally got all of that out and find I have some of the FM, IMT trash as well.  This cheap buy is becoming a PITA!

[Blue Jacket]

I just look at the head stamps when loading. Drop the junk right in a bucket for scrap. Makes it less painful 

[tyler2you]

A bore snake will usually pull those right out.  

Edited December 18, 2017 by tyler2you

[Aircooled6racer]

1 hour ago, tyler2you said:

A bore snake will usually pull those right out.  

Hello: Unless they try to load another one or two in there peening the sleeve into the throat. I have had to remove a couple of those that were hammered in there. Take all your brass and put them on a table open end up. Then take a flashlight and look for the step inside the case. That is the easiest way to sort the bad ones out. I think IMT makes all that type of brass and puts the headstamp on for the different companies. Thanks, Eric

[mahamoti]

My process now includes filling a 45ACP 50rd tray from my 9mm brass bucket, then flipping that over onto my bench top.  Let’s me weed out stepped brass and crimped primers in one go.

[3GLewie]

I had very similar issue with my PSA rifle recently. Had a separated case, with a blown primer. My assumption is that when the round fed into the chamber it was hitting bottom of the feed ramp/barrel and pushing the bullet back into the case, causing an over pressure. Tested it with a loaded 48 round magazine with a Taccom coupler and found a few times it would push the bullet back in the case. (Charged it, then unloaded without firing a round)Just not much of a feed ramp on the PSA. Didn't happen with a factory Glock 33 or 17 round magazine or the ETS 31 round mag, or at least I couldn't get it to duplicate it. Going to install a Taccom feed ramp on my PSA upper to eliminate the feeding issue.

 

 

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[muncie21]

Here's some pictures of the separated case.  Looks to me like it was just an old case and its time was up.

 

Since I use these bullets in my CZ pistol, they are loaded short, to the tune of 1.080-1.090.  I checked the barrel of the PCC, I was able to plunk/spin a 1.15 OAL round.  I'm going to keep an eye on things in the short term to see if loading short in a barrel that doesn't require it could somehow be contributing towards the case failure.

[BlackBuzzard]

Maxxtech is the worst with an enormous internal step.

 

Fortunately the step is so severe, my 650 was unable to deprime and I caught it.

 

Thread below covers it well.

 

 

[Sarge]

1 hour ago, muncie21 said:

Here's some pictures of the separated case.  Looks to me like it was just an old case and its time was up.

 

Since I use these bullets in my CZ pistol, they are loaded short, to the tune of 1.080-1.090.  I checked the barrel of the PCC, I was able to plunk/spin a 1.15 OAL round.  I'm going to keep an eye on things in the short term to see if loading short in a barrel that doesn't require it could somehow be contributing towards the case failure.

Yep junk Freedom munitions stepped case. Throw that crap away

[mahamoti]

4 hours ago, muncie21 said:

Looks to me like it was just an old case and its time was up.

 

No, that was definitely a failure caused directly by Freedom Munitions stepped brass.  Besides the FM headstamp, you can clearly see the step, exactly where the case fractured.

 

The fact that they as a company put this shit out in the wild, while claiming to be supporters of competitive shooting sports, pisses me off so damn much.

[MikieM]

I can't thank you guys enough. I was just now loading up a hundred and found this. Head stamped FC 9 Luger. 

You saved my life. 

 

 

[Sarge]

41 minutes ago, MikieM said:

I can't thank you guys enough. I was just now loading up a hundred and found this. Head stamped FC 9 Luger. 

You saved my life. 

 

 

Thats just a canalure. I load those in 9MAJOR all the time. The stepped cases have an obvious ledge inside with virtually no marking on the outside.

[MikieM]

Well then I take back the hero status I bestowed. 

[1911luvr]

Don’t shoot Federal Aluminum Case 9mm either. I’ve had 3 of the cases grenade inside my PCC. Little pieces everywhere.


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[bladewurk]

Yep and a case head separation will destroy an expensive Hahn conversion block, warped the heck outta the thin walls!

[Nemesis Lead]

I had one of these just today.  Freedom Munitions stepped brass was the culprit.

[BlackBuzzard]

Whats the best tool to keep in range bag that will quickly/easily pop out that piece of brass?

 

Have not had a separation yet, but its just a matter of time.

 

I assume the brass ring remaining in chamber is stuck in there pretty good?

[noexcuses]

3 hours ago, BlackBuzzard said:

Whats the best tool to keep in range bag that will quickly/easily pop out that piece of brass?

 

Have not had a separation yet, but its just a matter of time.

 

I assume the brass ring remaining in chamber is stuck in there pretty good?

Dental pick or squib rod I think should work

[kneelingatlas]

Boresnake has worked for me

[wheelie]

A .45 bristle brush (or a 9mm/38 if that's all you have with you) on a cleaning rod inserted from the breech end. Push the brush in just far enough that the mouth of the case is about midway up the brush. You might want to hold the barrel in a vise when you try this (or find a helper).

Edited December 24, 2017 by wheelie