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.338 Win Mag broken case

rawhide54
Just has a case stick in my Ruger .338 Win Mag rifle. Whole head came out with the bolt from just in front of the belt. What's the best way to get the case out without damaging the rifle. I've never seena broken shell extractor for this caliber.

Also, any thoughts on what I may have done to screw up that cartridge? The charge was well within recommended limits and I was sure I had set the dies correctly. It was a once fired case.

Thanks!
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Comments

10 comments

Date Votes
  • RCrosby
    Possible that excess headspace and/or too hot a load (or plain old defective brass) may have contributed. Shouldn't be hard to get out.
    If you have a .338 brass brush, put some bore cleaner on it and insert from the muzzle. That might take it out. If not, try inserting the brush from the breech end up into the neck, not beyond, and try pulling it out that way. If that doesn't work you can put a tight patch down the bore to just shy of the case, then pour a couple teaspoons of Cerrosafe into the chamber. You should then be able to knock it out with the cleaning rod from the muzzle end.
    There are likely better ways, so hold off until some others weigh in. All 3 methods have worked for me over the years, but my experience is limited to 4 or 5 occurances since the 60's.
    Good luck.
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  • bpost
    I hose some oil into the muzzle wait a while, then use a 90 degree pick tool to hook the case wall and slide it out.

    Are you setting the die without the firing pin installed? You may still be pushing the shoulder back too much. You might also have a long chamber, stressing the brass more than you might like.
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  • rawhide54
    Thanks guys.

    I'll give these a try and see what happens.

    I followed all the normal procedures when I loaded that round but I didn't trim the case after only one firing. Decap pin was in the forming die and die was tight against the shell holder when all the way down. I'll have to get the mic and calipers out and check the dimensions on the one I fired before the bad one and see what they look like.
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  • Mobuck
    If you adjusted the die to contact the shellholder, it is likely you set the shoulder back too much. Try leaving the die up a thread or two and adjust down until the bolt will close on the sized case.
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  • nononsense
    rawhide54,

    There is a very cogent explanation of this with photographs on the Sierra website:

    http://www.exteriorballistics.com/reloadbasics/caseinspect.cfm

    incipient Case Head Separation

    "Shooters of the so-called "Belted" cartridges, such as the 7mm Magnum, 338 Winchester Magnum etc are used to short brass life if they full length size their brass each time. The rumor is the belt makes the case stronger. Let's stop that one cold! The belts only function is for the cartridge to headspace on. The belt functions the same as a rim, except it allows cartridges to be stacked in a magazine with ease. Interestingly enough, the belted case is
    also a British development. Rimmed cases were much favored by the British; however, it takes a special staggered magazine to load rimmed cartridges in a Mauser type bolt gun. The belted case allows a standard magazine, yet provides a positive headspacing
    device.

    Unfortunately, the reamers used to chamber belted cartridges tend to be somewhat casual as to where they put the case shoulder in the chamber. Usually, there is quite a bit of space between the brass cartridge shoulder and the matching area in the chamber. The thinking is; since the case headspaces on the belt, the shoulder placement in the chamber isn't critical. As far as headspacing goes this is correct. If a case is used one time and discarded, then there's no issue. It's when that case will be reused again and again that
    brass separations can occur if more attention isn't paid to chamber dimensions and die adjustment."

    Best.
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  • rawhide54
    Thanks again to all,

    Got the case out last night. Used a .44 cal brush soaked in solvent and it finally came out. Had two spots of shoulder collapse. When I checked my fired brass I was surprised to find it had stretched between .021 and .025. This is out of a nearly new Ruger M77 Sporter. I'll try backing off a thread on the dies and will definitely have to trim cases every time. Never expected this kind of fine tuning to be necessary with a belted magnum in a Ruger.
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  • glabray
    Belted cartridges can be a pain. The primary reason for developing them was a marketing gimmick claiming the case head was oh so much stronger. When reloading your fired brass, look for a shiny ring all around the case just ahead of the belt, in the location where your case came apart. The shiny ring is caused by streatching of the brass in that area. This is where belted brass always fails. If you can see this ring, discard the case. It may show up after only a couple of firings. Try just neck sizing your fired brass and you should get a little longer case life.
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  • nononsense
    glabray,

    "The primary reason for developing them was a marketing gimmick claiming the case head was oh so much stronger."

    Wrong.

    The primary reason for developing the belted case was to control the headspace of the .375 H&H cases.

    The addition of the belt allowed the cartridge to properly headspace, despite the relative lack of a definite shoulder. The reason for the lack of a definitive shoulder was that these old British cartridge cases were intended for firing cordite charges instead of modern smokeless powder. Cordite was extruded as spaghetti-like rods, so the cartridge cases had to be fairly cylindrical shaped to accommodate the cordite propellant rods. The Belt was carried through on other cartridges derived from the .375 H&H, in some cases to prevent the higher-pressure magnum cartridge from accidentally being chambered in a gun with a chamber of similar size.

    In the USA, the Belt became somewhat synonymous with "magnum" during the late 20th century. More recently, new "magnum" cartridges introduced in the USA have been rimless or used rebated rims based on the .404 Jeffery that fit the same .532" bolt face used for the belted cases.

    In actuality, there exists a belted case of U.S. origin before the British marketed the H&H cases.

    Best.
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  • tsr1965
    quote:Originally posted by rawhide54
    Thanks again to all,

    Got the case out last night. Used a .44 cal brush soaked in solvent and it finally came out. Had two spots of shoulder collapse. When I checked my fired brass I was surprised to find it had stretched between .021 and .025. This is out of a nearly new Ruger M77 Sporter. I'll try backing off a thread on the dies and will definitely have to trim cases every time. Never expected this kind of fine tuning to be necessary with a belted magnum in a Ruger.


    I am not sure what you are using for your resizing, but if you are using a full length die, I would urge you to go to a neck sizing die. This would do to things for you. It will eliminate working all the brass everytime you load, as you are just sizing the neck. It will characteristically give you better accuracy, as the case body will be perfectly fit to your chamber, and give you a "zero headspace" situation. The only thing that will be moving upon ignition is the bullet being released by the case neck. I have gone to either full length or bushing dies for all of my singleshots and bolt actions.

    Best
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  • nononsense
    Neck sizing belted cases is a fine suggestion in general. But solving the whole concept about belted cases really requires that you spend time figuring out what size and shape your chamber is from the start.

    Simply neck sizing will eventually lead to other adjustments to your reloading process. I suggest that you cast your chamber, measure the cast accurately and then fireform some cases. Trim to length and start with this fresh batch of cases. Be aware of the area right above the belt since it can go both ways: thinning and separation or developing a bulge because the way the chamber was cut and headspaced.

    Careful measuring, case preparation and sizing steps will yield long case when compared to full length or neck sizing alone when you know your chamber.

    This is another good article about separation:

    http://www.surplusrifle.com/shooting/brasssizing/index.asp

    caseheadseparation.jpg

    Good Luck!

    Best.
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