gamestalker
member
I have an old 700 chambered in 7 mag. that has had about 5K-6K of slow burning powdered loads through it that has developed a fracture. About 200 rounds ago a small swollen spot showed up on the brass. I was obviously concerned being that the defect on the brass is pushed out, and not inverted. So I continued shooting the rifle and kept a very close eye on the defect, which is located just above the web where incipient head separation commonly occures when brass has reached it's expiration. I didn't change or get any larger, and then suddenly I had a complete separation yesterday. After the separation I inspected the chamber as good as I could and couldn't see any indications suggesting things had gone completely south. So I chambered and shot another 3 rounds thorugh it, and all had incipient separation that were all located radially in line with the defect.
So toady I inspected the chamber and can't find any reason for the defect or the separations. I had a small carbon build up where the defect is presenting so I used some solvent and a patch to remove it which went just fine. I also used a small stiff wire to check for a fracture, and bingo I located it and confirmed my chamber did in fact go bye bye!
My question is why? I have shot these loads for years and years out of many actions and have never had anything happen. Do chambers just say enough is enough and then fracture like this, or is 4k-5k of full powered loads a reasonable cause for this type of failure? All the years of reloading and shooting I've never experienced a catrostrophic failure. And the groups this particular rifle shoots even after the problem presented, is as tight as anything I've ever shot. I put 3 rounds at 200 yds. touching each other, after the fracture opened up enough to cause head separation.
So toady I inspected the chamber and can't find any reason for the defect or the separations. I had a small carbon build up where the defect is presenting so I used some solvent and a patch to remove it which went just fine. I also used a small stiff wire to check for a fracture, and bingo I located it and confirmed my chamber did in fact go bye bye!
My question is why? I have shot these loads for years and years out of many actions and have never had anything happen. Do chambers just say enough is enough and then fracture like this, or is 4k-5k of full powered loads a reasonable cause for this type of failure? All the years of reloading and shooting I've never experienced a catrostrophic failure. And the groups this particular rifle shoots even after the problem presented, is as tight as anything I've ever shot. I put 3 rounds at 200 yds. touching each other, after the fracture opened up enough to cause head separation.