Cartridge case head separation

[HI5-O]

I just acquired my brothers S&W 610 with a 6"? barrel.

Newbie with a revolver that needs moon clips. So, was wondering if any of you wheelies experienced case head separation in the .40 S&W like the auto shooters?

Thought I might try and get classified in revolver class. This thing feels heavier than my ltd gun .

thanks,

barry

[hopalong]

Hey Barry, you keeping my buds on the other Islands straight? (Ian O. and Kenneth K.)

If you weigh them, you will find the 610 IS heavier than your Ltd gun.

I have had no case head seperations in either my 610, 646, or the .45 cal guns I shoot.

BUT as is the case with well shot brass.............IT CAN HAPPEN!

Don't worry about it much if at all, and shoot to your hearts content.

Hopalong

Edited May 16, 2007 by hopalong

[HI5-O]

Thanks Hop.

Saw Ian in March but didn't see Ken at our state championship match. Good bunch of guys there.

Ok then, I'll just clean her up and go wheeling Have lots of ammo in .40 (factory stuff) that is not reliable in my otto gunz and a friend gave me some red box Federal 10mm too.

[Carmoney]

My experience has always been that bad brass will split most of the way down the side, but does not seem to separate at the case head.

[shred]

Case head separations are rare in a revo because the barrel isn't busy trying to zoom downrange while the slide is busy trying to return rearward like autos do.

Well, technically, it still sort of is, but everything is much more firmly attached.

[Joe4d]

Case head isnt going anywhere, no extractor trying to pull stuck case, basically what shred said.... splits down the side do happen but will usually come out with a wack.... You are gonna chrono those loads that "dont work" ? No shotgun so be another week or two see you at Koko.

[Viggen]

Generally if the case is old/bad the case splits lengthwise but I do remember one case head seperation on a Smith Model 66. The case was well used. It took a little while to remove the brass without a case head from the cylinder - not a real problem.

Edit: It was a 38 Special case.

Edited May 17, 2007 by Viggen

[styx]

I had a case head separation in 44 Mag a few years ago. That batch of brass had been loaded A LOT. That's the only one I've ever seen in a revolver.

[professor]

When the rules changed to allow major loads in 38 Spl for revolver, I tried to work up a load using 130 gr jacketed round nose bullets with Titegroup at about 6 to 6.5 gr. The speed was just enough to make major, with obvious signs of pressure to the Federal primers. But they flatten with even light loads.

So I loaded up a few by hand to chrono, then I loaded up 1,000 on a Dillon 550. I was shooting these out of a 686, so case pressure was high, but not a safety issue to me or the gun.

I was using these at a local match, and had just ejected a moon clip, and found that I couldn't put in a new one. One of the cases had split circumferentially about 1/2 way up the casing. The case head and half the cylindrical part came out with the moon clip. The other half the casing was still in the cylinder. Guess what, folks. That doesn't push through to come out. I got to the gun handling table and tapped out the remaining half out the same way it went in, using a small screwdriver to catch the end of the casing, and tapping gently around the circumference so it didn't get canted in the bore and require radical surgery.

This happened a few more times during the match. Note, I never got a squib when this happened. But closely examining the empty shells after shooting this match turned up several other shells where you could see the shell was starting to tear. I diagnosed it as partially due to loading the shells using a carbide resizing die that was pushing the shells down with enough force to cause a slight folding effect at the midsection of the shell, and then pulling the bend out when the sizing die retracted. It just weakened the shell around its circumference enough that the higher case pressure of the load literally ripped the shell apart before the bullet could escape the end of the shell.

I never had a problem with sizing using a regular steel die with a lubricant on the casings, but apparently the extra friction of the dry die, even though it was carbide, was what caused the problem. With the mechanical advantage of the Dillon press, it wasn't obvious how much pressure was actually going into the resizing part of the process.

I've since given up on the idea of trying to make major with 130 gr RN plated bullets in 38 Spl shells. Switching to 158 gr RN Raniers and 158 gr RNL takes a lot less powder, with a lot less pressure on the shells. No problems [knock on wood] with those loads. In particular, no shells torn in half.