Impending case head separation?

[BOISE BADWOLF]

I'm guessing you are using carbide dies. Since carbide is brittle, most carbide rings in dies do not reach all the way to the shell plate to prevent being cracked or chipped. Thus you end up with a slight bulge when the sizing stops above the rim....just like your picture shows. Case head separation is due to stretching of the case, not bulging. There is sometimes a ring, but it is generally a shiny spot on the case. Unlike others, I have has several case head separations with straight walled handgun cartridges in my .460 revolver when using upper end loads. Separation is slightly higher on the case than where your rings are.

So its not an adjustment issue either? Its just how they gonna be and they are fine? I do use LEE dies.

 

[Walkalong]

Not an adjustment issue,most carbide dies can't get down that far, and remember, the shell holder or plate takes up the first .125, then add the radius in the ring.....I have plenty of .38 Spl and .357 Mag cases that look like that, some .44 Mag as well now that I think about it.

See where the die stops and the diameter is bigger at the bottom of the case?

 

[BOISE BADWOLF]

Not an adjustment issue,most carbide dies can't get down that far, and remember, the shell holder or plate takes up the first .125, then add the radius in the ring.....I have plenty of .38 Spl and .357 Mag cases that look like that, some .44 Mag as well now that I think about it.

See where the die stops and the diameter is bigger at the bottom of the case?
View attachment 1040050

Thank you. Looks exactly like mine. Really appreciate it.

 

[243winxb]

RED has stayed same diameter because brass is thicker.

YELLOW- Has expanded larger to the chamber, on firing.

Size, load, shoot again. No issues.

How i see it?



I had 44 mag separate in the middle of the case, fired in a Marlin 1894. Old tired brass.

 

[Mr_Flintstone]

I just made it to this thread, but those cases look like they were fired from a lever action rifle. “If” that is the case, the heads will separate at some point due to the way the bolt locks up. It allows the case to flex and stretch more than it normally would in a revolver. I’ve had this happen with .357 magnum in my Henry.

If they are just expansion lines due to resizing, you’re fine and they’ll last a long time. If they are flex lines from a lever action loaded to full power, they’ll probably last about 10-15 reloads before starting to separate.

 

[buck460XVR]

So its not an adjustment issue either? Its just how they gonna be and they are fine?

IMHO, yes.

 

[buck460XVR]

I just made it to this thread, but those cases look like they were fired from a lever action rifle. “If” that is the case, the heads will separate at some point due to the way the bolt locks up. It allows the case to flex and stretch more than it normally would in a revolver. I’ve had this happen with .357 magnum in my Henry.

If they are just expansion lines due to resizing, you’re fine and they’ll last a long time. If they are flex lines from a lever action loaded to full power, they’ll probably last about 10-15 reloads before starting to separate.

While I have read warnings from Speer about this issue with .357 levers and have experienced the problem myself, I have yet to hear of or experience this problem with .44 magnums. With hunting type loads in my .357 levers, I have had separation with as few as 5 loadings. Thus I generally only use virgin or once fired brass for heavy loads in my .357 carbines.

 

[Mr_Flintstone]

While I have read warnings from Speer about this issue with .357 levers and have experienced the problem myself, I have yet to hear of or experience this problem with .44 magnums. With hunting type loads in my .357 levers, I have had separation with as few as 5 loadings. Thus I generally only use virgin or once fired brass for heavy loads in my .357 carbines.
View attachment 1040153

I defer to your experience. I have only loaded a few 44 magnum, and all for revolver, but the pictures looked just like my .357 before they separated. I guess you can’t make assumptions across calibers.

 

[buck460XVR]

I defer to your experience. I have only loaded a few 44 magnum, and all for revolver, but the pictures looked just like my .357 before they separated. I guess you can’t make assumptions across calibers.

...and experience can vary. For the most part, cases from hunting type loads in both my .357 and .44 carbines are lost, due to the scenario and the way levers eject spent cases.

 

[BOISE BADWOLF]

I just made it to this thread, but those cases look like they were fired from a lever action rifle. “If” that is the case, the heads will separate at some point due to the way the bolt locks up. It allows the case to flex and stretch more than it normally would in a revolver. I’ve had this happen with .357 magnum in my Henry.

If they are just expansion lines due to resizing, you’re fine and they’ll last a long time. If they are flex lines from a lever action loaded to full power, they’ll probably last about 10-15 reloads before starting to separate.

Well sh#!, I do shoot through a Henry .44 mag. Its the gun in my profile pic, the Henry and 1873 colt reproduction are all thats fired these brass. So your saying they may be stressing?

 

[Mr_Flintstone]

Well sh#!, I do shoot through a Henry .44 mag. Its the gun in my profile pic, the Henry and 1873 colt reproduction are all thats fired these brass. So your saying they may be stressing?

Well, the truth is, I don’t really know. I do know that .357 Mag will stretch in a Henry lever action and cause case head separation. After it happened the first time, I went looking for answers.



Speer #12 answered it for me.


As I stated above, I’m no expert in 44 magnum, but they do look similar to my .357 loads. Buck460XVR has more experience with 44 magnum, so when he says that 44 Mag doesn’t suffer the same failures as 357 Mag, I’ve got to believe him. Just be aware that the way the bolt locks up and the way extractor works do stress the brass more than revolvers do, so your brass “may not” last as long.

 

[Swampman]

Maybe it's just bad luck, but I've had a complete case head separation in .44 Magnum. After I had one I started checking my brass more carefully and I've since scrapped several cases for incipient separation.

All brass was fired exclusively in an old S&W Model 29-2 at close to maximum loads. No idea exactly how many times, but more than 30.

The case on the right looks short because I had to cut the mouth off, the Dremel wheel kept catching in the thin brass and breaking.

This is what it looked like from the inside before cutting.

The case head separation was pretty much a non-event. I had no idea that it had even happened until I ejected the brass. The front portion of the case pulled out easily with a brass .45 bore brush inserted from the rear and then quickly removed.