I got a little powder in the face

[ole farmerbuck]

Yep. I was shooting my 92fs yesterday evening and the third shot sent some powder back at me. Startled me a little. I've never had one of my reloads do anything like this. Anyone tell me what happened? Sorry but its a cell phone pic.

 

[ole farmerbuck]

The case has wcc 88 on it.

 

[mdguy90]

I had this problem when I first started to reload, I believe it is caused by undercharged loads. I increased my loads a bit(still within safe levels) and it went away

 

[ole farmerbuck]

I guess anything is possible but it sure shouldnt be undercharged. I use the new Hornady load manual and usually back off from max some. I'd have to check the box but its not in the house to see just how they were loaded.

 

[The Bushmaster]

Defective case. It happens once in a great while. any idea how many times it has been reloaded? Surplus ammunition? 21 years old...It's the reason you wear safety glasses at the range...

mdguy90 is thinking of "detination". This has not been proven with under charged ammunition and should be discounted...

 

[ole farmerbuck]

I bought the brass from the sheriff here in town. It's suppose to be once fired.

 

[The Bushmaster]

How many did you reload of these cases from the sheriff and you only had one fail? One other thing. the police departments are struggling to find ammunition right along with us and may have gotten ahold of some ('88) old stuff...Or the sheriff uses Glocks. Check to see it any that you haven't resized/decapped have a "pot belly" near the web.;

If it's the only one in that batch I would still log it as case failure and go about your life...If it's several that failed...Dump the batch and continue on your trek through life.

 

[ole farmerbuck]

These guys shoot 40's. I dont know where he came up with the brass. Its mixed brass. I only shot 45 rounds and will continue shooting the rest.

 

[The Bushmaster]

One failure in 45 rounds? Case failure...

 

[ole farmerbuck]

I didnt think there should be any reason to worry about it.

 

[The Bushmaster]

I've been reloading for around 23 years now and I have had, maybe, one or two that have ruptured at the web. I do a very careful inspection of all once fired cases. Those that have that tel-tale "pot belly" are tossed. Brass is easy to get and cheap. Fingers, hands and face parts are a bit difficult to locate let alone replace. Some say I'm anal about it (I even weigh every powder charge and clean all primer pockets), but...rcmodel (hollow be thy name) should be along in the morning to shed some of his light on this...He's worth reading...

 

[rcmodel]

I can't see the picture well enough to be positive, but it looks like a little possum belly bulge in addition to the blown out case.

Are any of your other empties showing possum belly bulges right in front of the case web where the feed ramp is located?

If so, it is not the brass, it is your load.
It is too hot.

rc

 

[ole farmerbuck]

I looked at the rest of them but didnt notice anything. I checked earlier today to be able to tell you just what i have them loaded at but guess what? I cant remember! I'm sure it should be about in the middle of the start and max. I'll go recheck. Right back

 

[ole farmerbuck]

4.9g of 231 115g fmj Should be ok?

 

[rcmodel]

Unless seated excessivly short, your load should be right in the middle according to Hodgdon, with a plated jacket Speer Gold-Dot bullet.

Lyman #49 shows 4.9 to be a max load with a 115 Hornady XTP JHP.

What exact brand & type of bullet are you using?

rc

 

[ole farmerbuck]

Cang guarnatee the brand. Seems like the guy told me they are Speer brand. Pretty well pointed. Not flat nosed for sure. The bullets have a few years on them but they are nice and clean.

 

[ole farmerbuck]

I just reread your last post. I'll try to call the guy i got the bullets from and make sure of the brand. I do know the rifle bullets are Sierra.

 

[ole farmerbuck]

Well so much for calling him for a while. He's in the hospital till Monday or Tuesday. Oh well, i guess it really doesnt make much differance on the brand does it? I compared them to some of the Remingtons i got from Midway a few years ago and they look the same. The lead isnt covered on the bottom of the bullet except around the edge.

 

[ole farmerbuck]

Ah ha, his daughter called back. Bull-x.

 

[Guy de Loimbard]

What's wrong with the brass? It looks bulged, but not ruptured or anything dramatic. It's really hard to tell from that pic. My P64 does that to every case so I have to throw some of the brass out because it will not resize properly. Bear in mind the brass I'm using has already been run through my CZ-82 several times.

As far as powder in the face, it seems to happen a lot to me when using loads that are on the lower end of the load table. Seems like not all the powder is burning. I recently switched to IMR 4064 in my Marlin .45-70 and started out at the minimum loads. When I crank the lever to eject it never fails to fling powder right in my face. I'm hoping this will go away when I increase the load a tad next time.

 

[ole farmerbuck]

Its ruptured alright. i can stick the end of my knife blade in it.

 

[Guy de Loimbard]

Oh, ok. Sorry, but I really couldn't tell from the pic. I have not yet had experience with a rupture so I can't comment on that.

 

[ole farmerbuck]

Yea its a bad pic i know. I had the case on the table and now have a feeling the cat is the only one who knows where it is! I was going to get a better pic.

 

[GaryL]

Might have been an out of battery experience.