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It happened yesterday while at the range testing some 303 British handloads in my No.4 Mk 1. I was on #3 of a 5 round test group. I pulled the trigger and it "felt funny". Something about the report didn't "feel" right for lack of a better term. Then I noticed it was difficult to rotate the bolt out of battery. Hmmmmm......
Out pops the case with a head crack nearly all the way around.
Hmmmmm...sezs I. These aren't particularly stiff loads. 40.7gr of IMR4064 over a Sierra 174gr MatchKing using Winchester brass. According to the book, this should approximate the velocity of the standard issue round. I've only full-length sized the brass once, then neck-sized 3 times on this batch. Seems like I should get more than 4 loadings out this stuff. I'm up to 8 or 9 loadings on my 7.5x55 Swiss and 6.5x55 Swedish brass that's neck-sized.
Well, no damage done to my Enfield nor to the nut behind the bolt. I decided to pull the bullets and powder from the remaining rounds and scrap the brass.
Has anyone else had issues with Winchester brass?
Some people just need a sympathetic pat on the head.....with a hammer. Repeatedly.
I think it greatly depends on the cartridge and the gun they are being fired in. I can only get 4 loadings out of Winchester brass in my 1959 Win. M70 375 H&H before they separate just above the belt. Long tapered cases like the 375 H&H, and the 303 for that matter, seem particularly prone to it.
That's really interesting. Two nights ago, I pick out a box of empty .303 B brass that I had fired in my '95. It had been reloaded once before for dad's #4..so we're talking shot once factory and either 1 or 2 reloaded times. As I'm sizing I find one in the exact same condition as you describe. My load is 39.0 gr of 4064 with a Sierra 180. It chronographs at 2364fps.
Winchester Brass CCI-BR primer.
Now in all fairness this ammo was originally purchased by me as a teen..so we're talking brass that has been laying around for 30+ years but is nice and clean. So now I'm stumped like you...do I scrap the rest, or keep going. One piece was all that showed issues.
The .303 is famous for case stretching. Have you miked the cases before and after each firing/loading? Neck sizing should help, but it won't solve the problem in the SMLE.
What you describe could also be excess headspace. The case is held in the chamber by the pressure and that won't allow it to move slightly rearward at the instant of ignition. It can happen with once fired or multiple firings and resizings. Full
length
resizing the case and a little headspace together can cause this. I normally only full length size enough for the bolt to easily close on the resized cases. And, of course, old brass can fail at any time. Mil spec rifles may have generous chambers for ease of extraction too.
Hey guys....yeah I mic' the cases before every loading and trim those that are too long back down to the published specs in the loading manual. As far as headspace is concerned, it should also be within spec, since I had it re-barreled a couple of years ago and the 'smith used either a #0 or #1 bolt head if memory serves. But I guess it couldn't hurt to have it checked again.
Oh well....just have to keep an eye on things.
Some people just need a sympathetic pat on the head.....with a hammer. Repeatedly.
Terry is correct, so is Gunsmith.
There are four bolt heads: 0, 1, 2, 3. Threes are all but extinct now.
Military 303 chambers are atrociously over sized. You would be best served to purchase a quantity of brand new brass and keep it segregated to the Mdl 95 only.
Joe
***Be sneaky, get closer, bust the cap on him when you can put the ball where it counts .***
Terry Murbach wrote:IT AIN'T THE BRASS !!!
IT IS THE CHAMBER.
IT IS THE FLEX IN THE LOCKUP OF THE BOLT.
+1
Enfield chambers are over sized and the action is as springy as a bungy cord. This leads to short brass life the one way to mitigate this is to neck size your brass and only to full length size when the case gets to the point that it is hard to close the bolt on a fired case.
I love my No4 Mk1 it is just a price we pay.
Jeremy
GySgt USMC Ret
To err is human, To forgive is devine, Neither of which is Marine Corps policy Semper Fidelis
.***