Found an odd 45 ACP case.

[jmorris]

Ok so I didn't just find it, it blew out. Not some range find that had been shot for decades but a brand new never fired case. In 30+ years I haven't had it happen with a 45 ACP case, then again I'm not sure I have ever had new unfired brass either.








Photo of the crack that runs around the inside at the radius where the wall meets the head.

[Rattlesnake Charlie]

Do you have other cases from the same lot?
If so, how do they look?

[Preacher Jim]

i have seen this several time where bullet improperly crimped and forced back in case. pressure spiked and blew case wonder if someones hand was hurt or grips blown off gun.

[jmorris]

The primer shows no indication of anymore pressure than others.



I also decided to section an unfired case from the same lot, this is it under a 10x loupe.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

That looks like a Starline case, and I'll bet that they'd be very appreciative if you'd send it to them to examine. Their brass is usually very high quality.

[OS OK]

My first thought looking at the first picture was that the barrel has been undercut too far, perhaps modified by someone thinking that they were making it easier to run SWC's or something.
It, I don't think was pressure, looking at the primer…if the case were buckled at the base she wouldn't have gone into battery.

[TheDoctor]

From what I can see on my phone, one side of the blow out looks much thinner than the other. Bad annealing job maybe?

[Smoke4320]

Was this fired in a Glock by chance ?
case of a bad case and unsupported chamber (not in any way slamming glock in specific!)
Picture of the sectioned case shows some cracking of wall to head as well

I would document well and contact Starline for them to investigate .. You may save someone else for a real bad day/life ..

Hornady was real glad several years ago when we discovered a bad batch of 6.5 Grendel ammo.

[justashooter]

out of battery firing or unsupported case wall due to feed ramp mods...

[3 gun Gus]

I've seen cases like that when the KA-BOOM brothers where still members of my R&P club.
Double charge.

Gus

[kir_kenix]

+1 on sending Starline a nice note. They are going to want that (lot?) brass back, with all the information available (gun, load, etc). Glad nobody got hurt.

[jmorris]

Was this fired in a Glock by chance ?
case of a bad case and unsupported chamber (not in any way slamming glock in specific!)
Picture of the sectioned case shows some cracking of wall to head as well

Unmodified FNP-45, locked up when fired, weighed charges and firing one at a time.

The sectioned case is unfired, right out of the Starline bag and into the saw.

[DougGuy]

Besides the fact that the case that blew looks as if there is a separation all the way around where the head meets the side, and the unfired case looks as if it has the same separation. I would suspect that could cause a weakening of the case web which could have let go under normal pressures, but then again how the side of the case blew is suspect too, because if it was in a supported part of the chamber why would it blow out? Out of battery slightly? Feed ramp Bubba'ed up?

[lefty o]

thats a manufacturing problem with the first or second draw. someone was having a bad day and let it slip out the door.

[flyingmonkey35]

I had a blow out like that when my round misfed and jammed the round to far in.

Wilson combat 1911 blew the grips right off.

Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk

[Greg S]

Had the same thing happen about six years ago. The 45acp load was a 225 LRN, Wolf LP Primer, 5.8 gr Unique at 835. Blew the mag bottom out (wilson), spring, follower and several rounds. The grips were g10 micarta and held together but at the time felt like a beer can. An inspection of the range pick up brass revealed some questionable once fired modern manufactured brass, some with a ballon style heads defect. I found 6 others in the empties I had shot with the same headstamp so I demilled that headstamp of brass yet to shoot and scrapped it. The 1911 in question had a new (2k ago) Kart hardfit barrel and the throating was in spec. Be careful picking up any factory brass not made in the good ol usa.

[MtGun44]

I always get a chuckle at all the folks who are assuming that this is
caused by bad brass. Bull hockey.

To find the cause...... go look in the mirror.

Double charged with powder.

Seen it many times, looks exactly like that. The blowout is in the unsupported part
at the feed ramp. If it is a plastic framed gun, usually totals the gun. 1911s just split
the grips and go on, maybe ruin the mag.

Fix your reloading routine ensure no more double charges.

Bill

[lefty o]

look at his pretty pic of the sectioned unfired case, its the brass. having made brass for a living, that stuff should have never been let out the door. in the pic of the inside of the failed case, it failed right along the stress riser. im right there in the gorup that says 99.9% of blow outs are reloader error, but this is bad brass.

[jmorris]

Double charged with powder.

Negitive, was working up loads one round at a time with weighed charges. The blown case was at 4.5 grains, not 4.4 or 4.6 and certainly not 9.0.

The final load wound up being 4.9 grains pushing a 230 gn JHP to 811fps average.

[1_Ogre]

Every time I go to the range, I'm a brass magnet and pick up any and all I see. I have a collection of brass that looks "PREGNANT". I sit and watch what people are shooting and watch where there brass fall, and if some falls my way I'll pick it up and examine it. All of the "PREGNANT" brass I've found is from one gun, a "GLOCK". And yes, some of it is ruptured and they even happen to the Starline brass which I use as much as possible but with my Colt 1911's I've never had that problem. Don't know about the Colt Series 80's though because with all of their attorney approved safety devices, I have no use for them. When I see brass buldging and it's a Glock, I will very politely show the user what's happening to his rounds, explain the problems, and hope they listen. And with the exception of the Starline Brass, all of the "PREGNANT" rounds are factory loaded, just poor support when the round is chambered, another reason I'll never own a Glock. Just a personal opinion and observation so don't everyone go off on a tangent on this post, it's just personal obvervations that "I'VE" witnessed.