Case exploded today !!!

S

shooter65

Guest
First of all I will start off by saying ALWAYS were eye and ear protection when shooting 100% of the time!!! ( As we all do).

I was shooting in a varmint match today and just got done firing the 600 yd. bank of steel targets. So far all is well the Hornady 75 gr. match ammo. I was using. We then started on the 500 yd string, as I was two rounds into this string and fired on the third shot - BOOM..I was blasted in the face with powder and brass particles. Hoping I was not seriously injured, my spotter who was my shooting partner for the day checked me over and told me I had a few puntcure wounds and a trickle of blood from each hole. Wow was I relieved this is all that I received along with powder burns from this case explosion.


The empty case would not extract from the chamber so it had to be removed with a cleaning rod from the muzzle end. As you can see by the pictures to the extractor my shooting day was over at this point. Primer was never found.


Can anyone tell me why this case failed?
Also if you have any ammo from this lot number this is a caution to you.

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Glad you were not seriously injured. This is just another example of why sufficient eye protection should be worn at all times where firearms are being used. "Joe Kool" plastic sunglasses aren't enough. Always wear glasses with polycarbonate lens and side shields when shooting.

Same advise for you guys learning to run a lathe, doing reloading, etc. It scares me when I see a picture on here, or in a gun mag, of someone not wearing good eye protection.

What does the "remanufactured" on the end of the box mean? Did Hornady reman this ammo?
 
It appears the ammo would be at fault.

That being said it, is this a factory rifle or has this barrel been fitted after market? I am asking because from the "soot" on the blown case, it appears it was hanging out of the chamber more than usual. Maybe it is just the way I am seeing that picture...
 
What Dennis Said

In think I would check to see if your barrel counterbore is not too deep. Remingtons require quite a bit of counterbore to clear everything, go a little too deep and you can uncover the solid portion of the case web.

At least that is something you can physically check........jackie
 
JerrySharrett said:
What does the "remanufactured" on the end of the box mean? Did Hornady reman this ammo?
Click to expand...


Yeah, I get kind of a "hinky" feeling when I see "remanufactured" ammo, possibly based on Lake City brass previous fired from another gun, that has some corrosion spots on the brass walls, firing one of the heaviest .22 caliber bullets= 75 gr. Hornadys, using an unknown powder.

Tell us about/pictures of the previous fired brass from this batch. Primers still tight in these cases? Base diameter between fired and unfired rounds?....................Don
 
ok, the counter bore looks correct for a 223( on the case that is..about .250 on a ar...no idea on the bolt guns).

the failed case is a LC 86........I'M IN THE BRASS BIZ. i scrap any brass older than 05.....86 who knows how many times its been reloaded ?

it would apear that 3d is the manufacturer(commercial reloader). but the grand ilse address make it look like hornady may own them/sell thier product.

its a case failure.......but was it an over load...the primer pocket says yes..

contact hornady and 3d.....keep some of the ammo...furnish them some if the want some. consider taking a few apart and see what you can determine on your own.

think someone owes you....

mike in co
 
That crack almost appears like some kind of previous damage. Possibly
a flaw in material. Cases often will develope a belt when very high pressure
occurs and from this angle, I don't see it. I would wonder that military
brass is as hard in the head area as performance brass needs to be.
Generally its a bit soft.
 
my observations

1. i dont see the usual flattening of the head with over pressure loads.
2. the head appears to be oval shaped with a mark on it, possible an extractor or it may have sustained drop damage before firing.
3. the primer is completely gone.
4. the primer pocket appears enlarged. this would happen if the primer cup failed. possibly a pistol primer cup?
5. the case has a rupture running thru the web area to the outer case wall at the head web juncture.
6. the blackening of the head web area as jackie suggested may be an improper barel job or if it were an AR type rifle may have been a primer hit before it fully chambered.

these were some of the details as i see them. food for thought. actually withought inspection of the rifle we are trying to evaluate the problem with only 1/3 of the data. the missing 2/3 is of course the rifle as 1/3 and the operator as the other 1/3. i know we dont like to think or say it but without witnessing the situation we can not rule out operator error.
just my .02 Fred
PS my intention is not to flame anyone. of course i know nothing of the operaters character. however personally in the past 30 years of reloading my own ammo i have had few problems with components, just operator error.
 
The normal counterbore in a remington, which this appears to be is
about .155 to that we add factory clearance of about .010. The fly in the soup is that some times a very large chamfer is used and this can take
away some much needed support. This cases seems to have failed
in the primer pocket and web area, moreso than a lack of chamber support.
I would question the circular powder lines halfway down the case
 
ok...the primer pocket is excessively large.......the primer did not "fail" the case failed...probably from an over charge.
if the case failed due to excess chamfer/ exposed case, the head of the case would most likely have more seperation, as it is the only real issue is the crack but not much powder burn at that point.

its not an ar...the pic show the bolt.

i'd say the bolt controlled the head expansion, but the primer still blew big time.....

got me ???
thats only .160 or so for a bolt gun, but the mark appears to be about .250..but the case does not seem to fail there....the primer pocket seems to be the big damage.......


inquiring minds want to know...

mike in co
 
I have shot hundred's of Black Hills red and blue box through this rifle with zero problems The rifle haa a Shilen 8 twist on it. I purchased this ammo about a month ago and decided tp try it today. The first 50 rounds performed flawlessly and then the first round out of the 2 nd box was the failure. The guys I was shooting with also said case failure.
 
IMO that is a serious over-pressure failure. IF it was from any of the other causes mentioned, then HOW could the primer pocket look like that?

Just be glad that was a Rem, not one of the Mauser designs or others with a less well contained boltface........ I maintain that the blowout was contained rather well!

Glad you weren't badly hurt.

al
 
You and me both !!
It sure will get your attention though.
 
More information is needed to make complete determination.

No matter the cause, case failure was the result.

The carbon ring around the case between the web and the case head is suspect. The gasses have to go some where.

Lake City brass is much harder and tougher than standard factory brass.

If this had been a softer factory brass the catistrophic failure would most likely been complete head seperation.

My thoughts are a combination of factors.

Excessive pressure due to over load, or powder mix-up.

Excessive presure due to bore obstruction or fouling.

Excessive preasure due to bullet being oversized.

Weak case due to manufacture or metalurlogy problem.

Rifle has too much counter bore and not supporting case.

Rifle is chamfered to much and not supporting the case.

Combination of the last two.

Case shoulder bumped back too much causing headspacing issue.

This is due to Lake City Brass not being as ductile and not springing back as much as factory brass.

Lots of possibilities. they all should be checked out.

I would not blame anyone until the culprit was identified.


Nat Lambeth
 
It might be nothing but are those brown spots on the brass the dreaded "brass cancer" that we heard about? It doesn't appear on other cases that I can see.

Concho Bill
 
It's certainly an overpressure situation, for whatever reason or combination of reasons. If it was simply a bad case, the primer pocket wouldn't be expanded.

3D was/is an ammunition company in Grand Island, Ne. I don't beleieve they had any affiliation with Hornady other than using Hornady components. I didn't think they were still in business?

Looks like you got by pretty lucky....a new extractor and ejector and you should be back in biz.
 
The off color on the brass is just a relection. Brass is in excellent condition.
( color wise)
 
I'll add my 2 cents worth.

I don't see an ejector pin mark on the casehead. It should be there shining like a new penny. I don't see the smear you would get on the case head when you open the bolt. Puzzling.
I see very little brass in/on the bolt face. I would expect more if it was pressure related. Also looks like a hell of a chamfer on the firing pin hole.

My guess is a case failure, probably not due to excessive pressure. probably brass related. The expansion of the rim came from the crack running back into the primer pocket area. In fact all the way to the rim. Case ruptures usually don't run length wise up and down the case. They are normally just a pucker that opens up. On a Remington it's usually right at the end on the bolt nose to the end of the barrel. That's wear the case is unsupported and the brass is the thinnest.

I don't think it was pressure related.

Question Did the bullet go into the group?

Dave
 
A lot of good opinions have been offered. I'll add mine to the mix.

Overpressure for whatever reason.
Way too much unsupported case sticking out of the chamber.

If the case were deeper in the chamber as is should have been, pressure would have continued rising and the case head would have expanded to fill the bolt counterbore. That means that one would have probably had to remove the barrel to allow the bolt to open. The case failed before pressure could reach maximum. I'd surely inform the person that installed the barrel if his name is known.
I removed a barrel from a Rem 700 .17 Remington (factory gun) that had been fired with a reload with extreme pressure. Luckily, the case contained the pressure seal but the brass did completely fill the counterbore. Action was not hurt, in this case. I've seen three 700s with this condition.
Gotta love those Remington 700s. Hooray for Mike Walker and the "three rings of steel".

Jay, Idaho
 
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