Complete case head seperation

[eaglesnester]

On the range day before yesterday and had a round go south on me in the chamber. When I pulled the bolt back on the 308 Norma all I got was the case head as the rest of the brass was still sequestered in the chamber. That ended my days shooting. Did a little research on the net and found this tip. Use a tap in the receiver end and drive it into the blown shell casing with a wooden dowel so that the cutting teeth bite into the internal dia of of shell. Then take a cleaning rod from the muzzle end and carefully and gently tap out the shell case.
At the time of the incident I was wearing shooting glasses. This time I was lucky as I did not get a face full of gas and powder but it could have gone the other way. Reloaders always wear your safety gear when shooting.

[44 AMP]

The brass was sold as "once fired". The load was not a hot one, and it was the first time I had loaded that brass. OH well.

case head separation (especially partial) was more common in the old days, to the point that "ruptured case extractors" were part of GI armorers kits.

Using a tap works, but do not screw it into the case. If the tap cuts through the case walls, it can score the rifle chamber, something to be avoided.

Also, don't use a good quality (expensive) tap. Use a cheap one, in case it breaks.

[mniesen89]

Thumb of rule for once fired brass. Never,Never buy once fired RIFLE brass from an unreliable source. Pistol brass is obviously okay.:D

[Wildalaska]

If one of your cases blows, you need to examine your loading techniques with an eye towards ensuring it does not happen again

WildanalyzeAlaska TM

[Jimro]

Sometimes brass just fails. Every once in a while you'll find a bad one.

Next time you reload you can bend a paper clip so you can feel around the inside of the case for little canyons where the brass stretched too much. If you find one just toss that brass.

Jimro