CARTRIDGE CHAMBER PRESSURE
How often have we heard, SAFETY FIRST. Well, a potentially dangerous reloading condition recently came to light. Many new, and some experienced, folks reloading ammunition assume if it’s published it’s got to be safe. Well maybe yes, and in some instances DEFINITELY NO! Several years ago, one powder manufacturer published 45 ACP, 200 grain bullet load data for a whopping 2 grains above every other loading manual listing. Fortunately, this data was removed from the internet within 1 week, hopefully no one will have used that data.
Now on to the big stuff. A good friend, reloads shotgun shells but not rifle or pistol ammo. This gentleman is an avid duck, goose, and feral hog hunter in his southern state. When he draws an elk tag where his father resides, it’s a hunt he never misses. In the past his father reloaded all of their rifle ammo. However age has taken its toll, his physical condition prevents him from being able to reload. As a result, reloading dies and components were given to me. It is my pleasure to provide my friend with reloaded ammo. My practice is to verify all data in at least 3 reloading manuals as a cross reference.
My friends favorite Elk rifle is a .300 Weatherby Magnum. A quantity of cases previously fired in his rifle were among the items received. These cases were checked for overall length, didn’t need trimming, internal inspection showed no problem. So, on to the reloading. One factory box of empty brass cases came with previous reloading data written on the box. That load was for a 180-grain bullet and the powder charge used. Upon researching loading manuals only one old manual had the data used listed as the never exceed limit. That one manuals data is well above all of the others. Now in fairness the max. load listed in that one manual might have been safe in the gun used for that lot of powder, cases and primer.
At any rate, the fired empty brass provided, had the case heads expanded from previous firings. Manuals show the maximum outside diameter of the belt to be .530”. The fired brass showed case head expansion as large as .5325”. It has been said before that case head expansion even as little as .0001” indicates pressure too high. And as you see these case heads had expanded twenty-five tines the limit, so much the primer pockets were blown, primers were falling out. As a result, these cases were all scrapped.
It is not wise to try to push the absolute limits, bad things can happen. If the expanded head brass had been loaded there is the real possibility upon the next hunt a primer could fall out and jam the action. No one wants to see a trophy Elk needing a second bullet escape to not be seen again, or worst gore the hunter to death. Be smart, be safe, good hunting to all, enjoy the shooting sports.
Tom Wilson ©Fort Smith, AR 7-11-2024
