What would cause this casing damage?

[ProStryker]

I was shooting a used Springfield 1911 .45 that I acquired, for the first time today. I shot a box of 50 Winchester White box without a single hiccup. When I was about finished, I saw that there was one cartridge left in the box. I stuck the one shell in my new (same mag I was using earlier) Wilson Combat mag, racked it, and fired the one shell. I did not notice anything unusual. It fired, and ejected. I happened to look down at the shell casing after it hit the ground and noticed it looked unusual. I picked it up and it was really crimped/damaged. I know it was the one I had just fired as it was still warm. It looks like there is a mark on the butt end edge of the casing, maybe from the extractor? I am no gun expert, what may have caused this, and what might I need to look at on my gun? Pics attached... Thanks for any input.

 

[bersaguy]

Well, I'm no expert by any means....but the primer looks pretty flat to me. Maybe a double charge round? As far as the crimping, I'd suggest one of two things may have happened. Scenario one, it was an overloaded round and extracted under high pressure...and the escaping gasses pinched the end of the case while passing by. (OK, maybe that one is not so likely) Or, the case hadn't quite cleared the side and got pinched between the slide and frame while the action closed. Probably the latter..... like getting a stovepipe, but where the case is in line with the frame, and when the brass bent it was able to be spit out.

 

[larryh1108]

Did the slide lock open since it was the "last round" from the mag? It does look like the slide closed on the case while still in the gun but the hold open should have prevented that.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

... a mark on the butt end edge of the casing, maybe from the extractor?

Looking at my .45 empties from last match season fired in an AO 1911A1 clone, my extractor leaves a short bright line on the inside, extraction groove side, of the rim. (I also appear to have picked up a lot of .45s shot in a Glock and a few .40S&W an .380ACP.)

My ejector leaves a small dent on the base of the base head and I had to look in a good light with reading glasses to see that.

But my ejector mark is closer to the edge of the shell head than that one in the photo. Do you have other empties fired from your gun for comparison?
.

 

[average_shooter]

I've had that happen. Case got pinched between the slide and frame, as previously suggested. The last round in the mag often exits the ejection port at an angle slightly different from the rest of the rounds in the mag, in my experience. Sometimes they take a funny bounce on the way out and catch a corner of the slide as yours did.

 

[wally]

DId it eject forward of the bulk of the empties. I'd agree with asking the question "did the slide lock back on the shot?" If not it was an "almost stovepipe" where the brass yielded ansd spit out instead of hanging. If the slide locked back are you sure you picked up the correct piece of brass from that last shot?

 

[milemaker13]

Do your other fired cases have a similar mark on the case head (butt end)? Did the slide lock open? Possible it got stepped on?
It would be difficult to bend a case like that... It really seems like the slide had to of slammed into... How else would you get that amount of deformation?

 

[ProStryker]

Thanks for the replies. Now that I think back about it, I cannot remember if the slide locked back or not. It getting crushed between the slide and frame sounds like the most likely scenario, leading me to believe the slide may not have locked back. Just can't remember..

 

[FROGO207]

If your arm was getting fatigued and you allowed the pistol to "rock" back and forth when fired this is called limp wristing and will allow the round to stove pipe when it is ejected. A little loose on the grip and a round with a little less oomph and I could see this happening but not an actual stovepipe per say.

 

[Mauser lover]

Here's my guess... You picked up this warm piece of brass after you stepped on it. It was warm because it maybe was in your second-to-last magazine. Brass stays warm for quite a while... And a piece of gravel also under the boot explains the scratch on the head.

Otherwise... I would go with the almost stovepipe theory.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

My buddies full size 1911 used to do this to a couple rounds in every magazine, but not necessarily the last ones. Didn't really cause any functioning issues, but you could "feel" something just wasn't right.
We found it had an Officers Model- length extended ejector installed. We swapped it out for a G.I. one: presto!
No more mangled brass and the action is much smoother.
Good luck!

 

[milemaker13]

Even being stepped on doesn't really make sense. I think it would be more "oval mouthed" if that happened, not poked inward on opposing sides of the case.
Does the mark on the head look like a scratch or an impact mark?

Looking at the pic again.. I think it looks like the case got caught lengthwise (parallel to the bore, not perpendicular) between the slide and chamber. The slide made the head mark, and the mouth hit like half way out... So the dented in parts hit the frame, the still straight parts were in the chamber and out of the gun..
Does that make sense?

 

[jmorris]

I think I would look at the extractor as it should be holding the case against the breechface. If it doesn’t the mouth could contact the slide like this. Only other point of contact is where the ejector gouged the case (would be to the left, below the primer or high and right if held upside down), so you may check it too now.

View attachment 770324

I have also seen them stop the gun looking like this as well.

 

[Jim Watson]

Agree.
It is possible for a case to get the mouth double dented like that and still make it out of the gun.
Extractor is the first place to check.

 

[LoneGoose]

As illustrated in jmorris's second picture, a case would have to be hammered onto a tight-radius concave mandrel to get that symmetrical double dent. IMHO