Brass bulge - Chamber danger ?

M

Metal god

New member
I went shooting with a buddy the other day . He brought his new Cimarron arms 357 lever action to shoot for the first time . It seemed to work great and is really a nice looking rifle . As he does he gave me all his brass and while separating all the brass from that day I noticed what looks like a bulge in all his 357 cases . The bulge is about 1/8 to 3/16 up from the head . It does not go all the way around the case . The primers seem fine and the gun shot well and extracted fine . So what do you guys think I don't have any rimed center fire guns so I don't know if this is normal .I'm afraid the gun is unsafe to fire . The ammo used was some type of Hornady

guns177.jpg


in this picture the bottom case seems to have some head separation

guns176.jpg


At the bulge the cases measure 9.85-ish mm the rest of the cese is 9.68-ish mm I say ish cus they are not all the same but the bulge is .10 to .15 bigger then the rest of the case on all that were fired .
 
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Shouldn't be a problem. I have seen worse from a brand new revolver. The brass may be close to or at minimum spec and the chamber closer to max. Either way, that should not cause an issue. FWIW, the bulge on one side only is caused by the brass laying at the bottom of the chamber when fired.
 
It's hard to tell from the pictures, but is the case diameter, right ahead of the rim, the same diameter as the rest of the case in front of the bulge?
 
I have seen worse case bulging, but still I consider that a lot more than there should be. Also, it looks like the cases are split lengthwise (or is it just light reflection?). I would contact the factory/importer and see what they say.

FWIW, I also see signs that the firing pin hole is too large, allowing the primers to flow back into it, something that should not happen to that extent.

Jim
 
is the case diameter, right ahead of the rim, the same diameter as the rest of the case in front of the bulge?
Click to expand...

The diameter of the case is the same in front of and behind the bulge . right around 9.70mm the bulge it self is about 9.85mm . I'm thinking if the bulge went all the way around the case ( it does not ) the diameter would be 10mm
 
Update .

My buddy took it to are local gunsmith and he recommended he send it back for repairs . He sent the rifle back and they replaced the barrel . He should get it back this week . Plan on shooting on wed so I'll update again after . Wednesday is not set in stone but we will shoot it in the next couple weeks for sure
 
cases

Sir;
If you are going to reload these the bulge (which in my opinion is excessive) will be no problem.
This could be the brass brand, a chamber cut with a new reamer, or several other things. I would sent the rifle back to the plant - they'll know it's not right!
Greywolf
 
I'm no expert, but guessing from the pics, that bulging is excessive. Good to hear they are replacing the barrel.
 
" Head separation" means a CRACK , did you see one ?
If I were to use those again I would not size the case below the bulge.Continued full length sizing will shortly cause cracks at the bulge area.
 
I did not see any cracks or head separation . The one I thought may have some head separation .It was really suet that made it look bad . I have no plans to reload those rounds and infact I gave them back so he could show the manufacture
 
Winchester warranty

I will not accept purchasing a rifle that that requires an explanation as in why don't my cases look like cases fired in all the rest of the new rifles. I purchased a Model 70 Winchester chambered in 300 Winchester magnum, it had the ugliest chamber in the world, Winchester instructed me to shoot it more, by the time I contacted them I had shot it 120 times, they wanted to hone, ream and or polish the chamber.


After shooting it 120 rounds nothing got prettier, I took it to the Warranty Smith in the area, I explained to him the problem, he advised me he had talked to Winchester and they had decided on a remedy, they were going to hone, polish and or ream, and I ask, nicely, "How is honing, polishing and or reaming going to make the chamber smaller?

Sure enough, I went to get my rifle back, it was not there, they, the warranty smith/shop had sent it to Winchester, and I ask, "WHY" and the warranty guy said the chamber was too big and nothing they did reduced the diameter and or length, And I ask him if it was his honing and or his polishing and or his reaming that made the chamber get large and he answered "The chamber was too large when it came in".

After that? It did not get better. I got the feeling Winchester was hoping I forgot I owned the rifle. I wanted a chamber that fit my dies, or I wanted a set of Winchester dies to fit their chamber. At about that time they decided I was impossible.

My suggestion to the new owner, return the rifle or remain a victim.


F. Guffey
 
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Well we took it out and shot it last weekend . The brass still bulged but maybe a third less . I think others were right when saying some manufacturers have there chambers a little bigger to help cycling . The gun did not cycle well at first . The bullet would hang up when trying to feed in to the chamber . It got better through out the day so we are hoping it just needs a break in proses . Over all the gun is very accurate and looks great . Only time will tell if it was worth the $1,700.00 prices tag . :eek: As for there CS . I geuss you can't ask for much more then them taking the gun back and replacing the barrel all for free .
 
There's something not right about that spent brass, they're swelled too much. Since you mention that the swell is not all the way around the case, I would say that if you cast the chamber with Cerrosafe, and measured it, you would find its obround, or elliptical, instead of round.

The reason the swelling starts a little past the extractor groove is that the base is solid thick brass around the primer, and then the body starts to form a tube little on up, where it starts to swell.
 
$1,700.00 for a lever action .357? :confused: I sold a NIB Winchester 94 .357 Trapper a few months ago for $800.00 and it took a couple of months to get that. What am I not seeing?
 
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