380 blazer case bulge - thoughts why it happened

[Grey_Lion]

This came off facebook - see attached pic -

BLAZER ( which I hate & won't reload )

380 -

primers bulging out - 5 cases in total - 2 bulging up beyond the case / headstamp, 3 bulging, but below the case face / headstamp.

Thoughts from our membership as to why....

I have my own ideas but want to hear from y'all -

Not my gun - don't know anything about the weapon.

Some claim it's a weak recoil spring - tell me more about that possibility

 

[Double Naught Spy]

Why not ask the people who are making the claims?

 

[SonOfGun]

I don't see any case bulge. If you are referring to the primers it looks to me like light loads.

If this came off the internet no one knows any history about factory load or handloaded.

 

[MarkCO]

Yeah, I can't see this thread being of any real benefit when the type of firearm and load details are not available.

Kind of like asking why someone only gets 10 mpg in their vehicle.

 

[ciwsguy]

Hmmm. Right off hand I’d say it may be the gun bolt face and not the ammo. It could be the ammo having loose primer pockets. I’ve reloaded Blazer 380 and Blazer brass 9mm without issue.

 

[markr6754]

Without knowing more details I'd refer to my experience to tell me this is a "normal" primer picture from a Beretta. Totally Sonarman's Wild Assed Guess (STS1 (SS)), but I have a Beretta 92FS, and this looks like my 9mm brass, though perhaps a bit exaggerated. The Beretta has a countersunk chamber face surrounding the firing pin, thus the primer expands into this area upon firing, and leaves this distinctive mark.
Okay, I'm overlaying my 9mm experience onto this 380ACP post...but without additional details I'm satisfied with my response.

 

[FrankenMauser]

Why?
Because the case and primer are meant to contain high pressure upon firing.
But something wasn't supporting them properly.


---

If you won't reload Blazer, then you need to stop reloading CCI, Speer, Federal, and FC stamped cases, as well. They are made on the same equipment.

To quote myself from 6 years ago:

Federal uses these, and more, to indicate different manufacture methods and production plants:
FC
FC●
●FC
●FC●
FC●●
Federal●
●Federal
●Federal●
Federal

The dots indicate extruded cases, rather than drawn. The number and location of the dots indicate the production facility.

Other than military brass, they're the only domestic company that I know of, that uses markings in that way.

Occasionally, you'll find the "dot" (●) markings on Speer, Blazer, or CCI brass, as well. ...They're all part of the ATK family, along with Federal.

 

[Unclenick]

Federal and CCI have a parent company in common, but Federal is in Anoka, MN, while CCI is in Lewiston, ID. That's just enough distance to make sharing equipment inefficient. They both have their own staff and facilities because a parent company wants to be able to sell them off as units in the future if their business strategy changes. Their product designs differ, too. For example, when CCI decided to make military sensitivity spec primers, they controlled the sensitivity with anvil geometry. When Federal did it for small rifle primers, they controlled the sensitivity with cup thickness. So these outfits have independent engineering and development departments as well.

Now, would these two outfits make products for each other to each other's specifications? Sure. Everyone in the large-scale commercial ammo industry seems to do that. Norma's manual states they have made Remington brass when Remington was tied up with contracts, and the two aren't even on the same continent.


Grey Lion,

Can you post a photo of the breech face on your slide?

 

[Crankylove]

Looks like it was fired in a 9mm Makarov chamber.

 

[ciwsguy]

The attached photo is of 9mm cartridge casing fired from a S&W M&P 9 EZ. At first, I thought this was an overpressure sign of the primer, but it turned out to be normal for the gun. There is a firing pin relief in the bolt face to prevent broken firing pin, resulting in an impression on the primer face. There was nothing wrong and that may be the case with that 380 in the OP.