Case head separation fairly soon.

[Charlie]

I have a batch of FC 338 Federal cases thatva friend gave me. I turned them into 308 cases and shot a few yesterday. I have had separation problems in the past and now always look down into the case with a light to see if I can see the shadow caused by a ring of thin brass forming near the base. These that I shot out of a Ruger bolt action looked as if a ring was forming, so I cut open two to get a better look. You can see the shadow in the picture. The cases in that batch will not be reloaded.

 

[Charlie]

 

[DickFord]

That sucks. Those are unknown round count?


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[Charlie]

That sucks. Those are unknown round count?


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Shot once as 338 Federal and once as 308. Perhaps I pushed back the shoulders a bit too far when converting them to 308 although some from that same batch I shot in an M&P 10 did not show the same thinned area. Perhaps the Ruger chamber is longer.

 

[rufrdr]

Instead of a light, try a paperclip with one end bent into a short hook. You can feel the thin part of a case that will separate. I use that tool for my .303 cases.

 

[Charlie]

Instead of a light, try a paperclip with one end bent into a short hook. You can feel the thin part of a case that will separate. I use that tool for my .303 cases.

That works too.

 

[LinuxGuru]

Thanks for showing this. Always helps us less experienced reloaders know what these kind of problems look like in real life.