Loading Manual

[GodGuns&Guitars]

Was at the range the other day and noticed a person shooting a 300 Win Mag. He shot 5 rounds and they made a little more noise than what I'm use to out of a 300. After the fifth round he came down and asked my buddies and I if we had a cleaning rod he could borrow. We loaned him one and watched him but couldn't figure out what he was trying to do until we went over and observed the fact he was trying to remove a casing from the chamber that had separated. When questioned we found out he was new to reloading and that he had started out with the max load data in his manual. I must remind those that are new to reloading - "READ YOUR MANUAL!"

If you look at the primers in the first picture you will notice that they are either flat or starting to bulge out. The fifth round separated the belted part of the casing and left the rest of the case in the chamber. This could have been a lot worse. He wanted to remove the stuck casing and continue on firing. Our suggestion was to go home and pull the bullets, read his manual again, and start at the lower load data and work up from there. We also suggested to this gentleman that he have the head spacing on his M77 checked before shooting it any more.

First picture showing bulged primers.


Second picture belted part of the magnum case separated. Rest of it was stuck in the chamber.

 

[The Bushmaster]

I don't see "bulged" primers, but I do see cratering around the pin strike...

You need an idiot at the range every once in a while to wake up the rest of us to the need to do it right...

 

[Eschaton]

You need an idiot at the range every once in a while to wake up the rest of us to the need to do it right...

Is it really fair to call the guy an idiot though? He was brand new to reloading. Nobody is perfect the first time they do something.

 

[rcmodel]

Yes, Idiot is an apt description.

One of the first steps of learning to reload is read the manual six times before you ever unscrew a powder can lid.

He obviously didn't, or he would have read over and over again to never start out with max listed loads.

If he didn't have a manual, he is an idiot.
If he didn't read the warnings, he is an idiot.
If he read the warnings and ignored them, he is an idiot.

So, in any case, he is an idiot!

But in any case, max loads don't break cases and back out primers.
Excess headspace breaks cases and backs out primers.

rc

 

[Eschaton]

I stand corrected

 

[Marlin 45 carbine]

do I see faint but visible stress marks right above the belt?

 

[something vague]

I would agree that there is a good chance that rifle has excessive headspace. But the primers def show extreme pressures as well. Now the combination of the two, well you know how that story ends.