.38 Sp case

[beefyz]

This sounds so weird i'm not sure i'm explaining it correctly. Shooting a Ruger SP101 via single action. Once in over 2k reloads fired I couldn't pull the hammer back and advance to the next cartridge because the rim appeared to large. ( Yes this was a .38 sp case.) Using a rat tail file i just made a few passes across the head. This was enough to "erase" some of the wording ".38 sp winchester'. Case then caused no problem. What caused this ? An earlier overload ? A weakened case ? Was my fix acceptable ?

 

[243winxb]

SAAMI has a brass thickness of .059" maximum. Head to rim. To late to measure. 1 bad brass?

I don't see pressure causing it.

Trim length to long? But 38 in a 357, no problem.

Dirt under the ejector star will bind up my revolvers.

The ejector rod coming loose will stop cylinder rotation also.

 

[redbullitt]

Out of spec case maybe? Never had that happen myself, but I dont see why it could not!

If your revolver was not dirty or anything like that I would have to think case defect. I would personally have scrapped the case.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

From the little information provided I agree it sounds like an out of spec case. I don't see how pressure could cause this, there is no pressure on the rim itself for the most part.

If there was nothing under the case and nothing on the underside of the rim the only thing left is an out of spec case. I also would have tossed the case since you have no way of knowing if anything else is wrong with the case.

 

[beefyz]

Thanks guys....

 

[pert near]

I've noticed when sizing a large batch of .38 cases, some didn't want to go into the shell holder easily. Since I don't have a good history on all of the mixed brass I have, I believe that some rims can get damaged by hard falls on concrete or the rims gets stepped on while on concrete. If these slightly deformed cases are reloaded & put in a "tight" gun, this could cause what the OP describes.

Just FWIW...

 

[ReloaderFred]

A high primer can also cause this condition and be overlooked when diagnosing the problem. Another cause can be a primer backing out from a light load and binding the cylinder in the round just fired.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[The Bushmaster]

Sounds like you screwed up when you seated and crimped the bullet and ballooned the case.

 

[mdi]

38 Special brass is made by the millions and there are prolly 83 bizillions of cases floating around out there. One in 2k is infinitesimal but, I know, we still wonder why. Outside of the one that slipped by QC, there can be a few things to make a case seem like the case head is too thick. Were you shooting a 38 in a 357 SP101? Dirty chambers? Were your loads so light that the primer wasn't pushed back in place? I had a S&W 629 that the cases would set back and drag on the recoil shield when there was lube left on the cases. I've experienced bent rims, hard to see unless you look closely, mebbe from dropping on a cement floor. I once had OAL problems early in my reloading and it turned out to be faulty primer seating (occasionally the primer was about .002" proud and would make my OAL seem erratic). All just WAGs but from my experience...

 

[Middletown]

A few years ago I reloaded some range pickup brass and one of them didn't go off. Looked like a light primer strike but I noticed how thin the rim was. Measured it when I got home and the rim thickness was out of spec. Put in the oops canister, firearm hasn't had a light primer strike since.

As has already been said, brass in mass produced and you may sometimes get some out of spec.

 

[rugerdude29]

More than likely, an out of spec case or high primer. Of the two, I'd bet on the high primer. It doesn't take much.

 

[vaalpens]

Another cause can be a primer backing out from a light load and binding the cylinder in the round just fired.

You should be able to duplicate this by just priming the case (no powder, no bullet) and then shooting it in your SP101.