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223 bullet pushed in .. what would happen

altecgb
I chambered the round below in an AR15 and then extracted it manually without firing. The bullet was pushed back down in to the brass. It appears that the brass is cracked at the neck of the case. This is a commercial reload and I have about 1500 rounds of the stuff. I started to inspect the rounds and found that many of them have this same issue.

What would happen if I had fired this round? No big deal or would it have screwed up the rifle and/or me?

IMG_1435.JPG
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Comments

10 comments

Date Votes
  • David Nunn
    Could be fine, or could lead to an over-pressure event. Not worth trying to see, IMNSHO.
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  • dgac
    Where did you get the ammo? I would talk to them and see how they can fix your problem because I wouldnt shoot them. If the brass is cracked then gas is going to escape and it will start to cause pitting on the metal and other problems not to mention you could get some nasty damage done to yourself.


    dgac
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  • altecgb
    This stuff was a "gun show special" that I bought late last year. I have shot a lot of it without any problems but when I started to check the cartridges by hand I have noticed MANY of them have this problem. I guess I could break the ammo down by to extract the powder, primer, and bullet but that would be a lot of work.
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  • 11b6r
    Go thru the ammo. Any that have neck splits, set aside, pull down & salvage the bullet. Would not attempt to reuse powder that I did not KNOW what the powder was.

    You might get away with hand feeding one at a time in a BOLT gun, but neck splits will not hold bullet in place during the fairly rough loading cycle. Bullet that pushes WAY back will reduce case volume, jumping pressures. How much? Who knows for sure- but it will increase. Gases that push AROUND a recessed bullet may also start flame cutting the chamber mouth/ leade.

    Don't waste a rifle to save a cartridge.
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  • shilowar
    You don't want to mess around with this....an over pressure event can be seriously dangerous

    Below is a picture of a the end results of an over pressure in a Glock GAP pistol

    Glock_006.jpg

    Glockfailure1.jpg

    Glock_0021.jpg

    Glockfailure6.JPG
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  • beantownshootah
    quote:Originally posted by altecgb
    What would happen if I had fired this round? No big deal or would it have screwed up the rifle and/or me?

    Trying to predict what might have happened is speculative.

    That depends on the powder charge, your exact gun, the exact location of the case defect, and just dumb luck, etc.

    But in general, with bullets pushed back into their cases, a "Kaboom" (ie "overpressure event") is definitely a possible outcome.

    I'd also suggest inspecting all the rounds carefully and culling any defective ones. Pull the bullets, and discard worn cases.

    As to powder, *in theory* if you weighed the powder charge from a number of rounds you KNEW to be OK, you could reload a similar amount (or maybe slightly less) safely into new cases with the same bullets.

    The problem is that this assumes that every round you have uses the exact same powder. While that's probable, with "gunshow special" rounds of uncertain provenance, you don't know this with absolute certainty. If some of the rounds used different types of powder reloading the powder might be problematic. Your call, but clearly dumping the powder is the safest option.
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  • altecgb
    Is it worth the time to try and extract the primers? I know small rifle primers are kind of hard to come by now days.
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  • coledigger4
    How do you plan to remove a live primer? I am not trying to be a smarta$$ here but I don't know how that could happen without damaging or discharging the primer.
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  • beantownshootah
    quote:Originally posted by altecgb
    Is it worth the time to try and extract the primers? I know small rifle primers are kind of hard to come by now days.

    The question is how much is your time worth?

    Even with today's scarcity, primers still cost less than a dime each. Assuming you're going to salvage 200 of them, that's still less than $20 worth.

    I've heard that its possible to decap live primers and even reseat them, though I've never tried it personally. Obviously, you have to be very careful when you do this, wear appropriate eye protection, and go super slowly!

    Personally, I wouldn't try it, unless desperate (ie absolutely needed ammo and had no other source). Just seems too risky for too little benefit.
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  • aap2
    quote:Originally posted by altecgb
    Is it worth the time to try and extract the primers? I know small rifle primers are kind of hard to come by now days.


    I would not try to remove live primers for any amount of money. Your eyesight is worth more than $20. When live primers blow, the anvil and cup can become high-velocity shrapnel; you don't want to have them picked out of you face or from your eyes.
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