chris in va
New member
I guess the bullet got caught on something!
Interesting reloading fail
- Thread starter chris in va
- Start date
Rangerrich99
New member
Convertible brass? Or a bullet that got too big for its britches?
One day I built a bullet seater, I built it without a die body. The plan was to center the bullet with the case neck with support.
And then there are tools that bevel the inside of the case neck and bullets with sharp edges on the base. In the old days Herter made a seating die called 'universal', the die body had a slot cut into the side of the die body; the slot allowed the bullet to be dropped into the bullet guide while it set on the case neck.
And now I have RCBS Competition and Bold Medal seating dies with the same concept.
So what happened? The bullet hung on the neck of the case and pealed it because there is no support for the case body, neck or shoulder when seating a bullet.
Most seating dies are designed to have the bullet placed on the top of the case neck; reloaders assume the bullet aligns with the neck, some bullets tilt and then straighten when the ram is raised.
F. Guffey
And then there are tools that bevel the inside of the case neck and bullets with sharp edges on the base. In the old days Herter made a seating die called 'universal', the die body had a slot cut into the side of the die body; the slot allowed the bullet to be dropped into the bullet guide while it set on the case neck.
And now I have RCBS Competition and Bold Medal seating dies with the same concept.
So what happened? The bullet hung on the neck of the case and pealed it because there is no support for the case body, neck or shoulder when seating a bullet.
Most seating dies are designed to have the bullet placed on the top of the case neck; reloaders assume the bullet aligns with the neck, some bullets tilt and then straighten when the ram is raised.
F. Guffey
FrankenMauser
New member
Needs more cowbell chamfer.
Those burrs in the background tell the story.
Those burrs in the background tell the story.
I stuck the roll eyes thing on the end because I could not find one that sounded like HMMMMM.chris in va
New member
You're right, not deburred.
And if the bullet aligned with the case neck perfectly there is a chance the bullet would not have hung on the case neck or if the reloader had used boat tail bullets or if the bullet had a radius or had the reloader not tilted the bullet on top of the case before raising the ram. Most reloaders depend on the die to straighten the bullet on top of the case.
F. Guffey
F. Guffey
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It could be that the cases were trimmed on a collet type tool and accuracy was poor. That could explain the canalure showing.
As I look at the picture. I think I see some of the case mouths are flat indicating to me that some cases weren't chamfered or the collet held the case farther from the chamfering cutting tool. Some one may be in a hurry and not carefully double checking.
Some flat base bullets have sharp bases that can snag on the slightest tip of the bullet when seating. By taking your time and carefully feeling for bullet to start can help prevent this problem. I have seen this with Hornet cases that have very thin brass.
If the flat base bullets are too difficult to start use a bullet with a beveled base or as most are called boat tail bullets.
I notice that the cases are not of the same lot. Some have crimp witness marks at the out side of the mouth.
All the more to double check length of the cases.
The more I look at the picture the more I see. I don't think the cases were properly chamfered if at all.
As I look at the picture. I think I see some of the case mouths are flat indicating to me that some cases weren't chamfered or the collet held the case farther from the chamfering cutting tool. Some one may be in a hurry and not carefully double checking.
Some flat base bullets have sharp bases that can snag on the slightest tip of the bullet when seating. By taking your time and carefully feeling for bullet to start can help prevent this problem. I have seen this with Hornet cases that have very thin brass.
If the flat base bullets are too difficult to start use a bullet with a beveled base or as most are called boat tail bullets.
I notice that the cases are not of the same lot. Some have crimp witness marks at the out side of the mouth.
All the more to double check length of the cases.
The more I look at the picture the more I see. I don't think the cases were properly chamfered if at all.
I assume the washboard pattern Mr. Guffey noticed means that case was fired in a fluted chamber. You see more of them in 7.62 arms, but they are done in 5.56 as well. This means the brass is either a range foundling or once-fired from a range with a variety of shooters using it. The case may have come from a firearm that scored it badly and encouraged this failure, but the brass looks torn. I can't see the photos clearly enough to be sure there's no chamfer, but if that's the case, the cure is to add one or use a Lyman M die as as an additional operation.
chris in va
New member
They are 55g boat tail, so not quite.
No, the Lee die does that. They told me it's normal.