I have a No.1 Mk.4 Lee Enfield in .303 Brit. On five occasions a reload caused a case separation with half the case lodged in the chamber. Upon inspection every single case was an S&B. No other brand of case has ever failed in that rifle. Makes me think S&B brass is garbage. Am I wrong?
The cases may not have been annealed properly which left them too brittle! ???
Quote from: The_Shadow on June 11 2014 07:06:39 PM MDT
The cases may not have been annealed properly which left them too brittle! ???
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Ummm, first time reloads? Are you saying factory annealing or I needed to anneal them first. Like I said, no other brands have separated.
May not have been annealed right from factory...there are many rifle shooters who do anneal their cases to soften the cases to make them more malleable! Those who shoot bolt guns, keep brass separated by gun and don't do much other than neck sizing the cases to keep from over working them.
Quote from: The_Shadow on June 11 2014 08:16:24 PM MDT
May not have been annealed right from factory...there are many rifle shooters who do anneal their cases to soften the cases to make them more malleable! Those who shoot bolt guns, keep brass separated by gun and don't do much other than neck sizing the cases to keep from over working them.
Mebbe so...if this was from one lot of S&B brass, it isn't. Come from many swaps. So we would be back at their brass just sucks then.
I've only used a few of their rifle brass, but those that I did gave no problems. From what I'm getting from the original post, it sound to me that it's more of a head space issue than a brass problem. SMLE's are notorious for short brass life. They designed to function under battle conditions with no regard for reloading the brass afterwards. These can be corrected somewhat by swapping the bolt head for one that has the correct dimensions (the SMLE has interchangeable bolt heads to set the proper head space). The sizer die setting (pushing the case shoulder back too far) could also be the cause of the brass separating also, although this case head spaces on the rim, this could still be the cause of the brass separation at ignition.
I have a few suggestions. I would not be too quick to blame the SB brass, as you could easily have a headspace problem. Start with mild loads with your hew brass. You will then have fireformed cases matching your unique chamber. These cases should be neck sized only from then on. If, after working up to full power loads, you still have case problems, then you will likely benefit from a larger bolt head. Enfields are wonderful, historic, rifles, and great for reloading, but there is often enough chamber variation to require special reloading techniques for best results. You are gonna have fun with this rifle....DanM
S&B sucks in my book. Do Cowboy Action shooting in .38 caliber. Reload using a Dillion 650 and 550B. The problems I have are installing primers. If one case screws up it will be a S&B about 95% of the time. It's made me quite buying used brass cause I don't want to spend all day sorting.
Some S&B brass have crimped or staked primers even in 38 & 357 if this is the case primer pockets would need to be cut or swaged to open it to a useable condition.
Only problem i have had is a few tight primer pockets but that is easily remedied. I have reloaded them pretty hot with no issues at all.
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I have noticed this with some batches of 9mm.
No problems in 45 ACP or 380.
I run these through a Hornady crimp remover that has a positive stop.
The cases aren't crimped, but the reamer puts a chamfer on the primer pockets and they load easily on a SDB.
I'm just getting started in 10 MM, so after my cases were wet tumbled and I got my dies, I sized some S&B cases.
Took six S&B cases and they primed easily with Wolf LP primers. So no issues here.
It's my theory that it's a lot issue. Some primer pockets are tight on some batches/calibers, others fine.
Yes! Which is really disappointing to me because I love their range ammo for handguns. The 38 specials S&Bs seem slightly larger around the rim than all my other 38 special brass and I have to sometimes use vice grips to get the case out of the shell holder, which of course destroys the brass.
S&B brass in 45 ACP is garbage. I find it impossible to seat new primers, and no, the primer pockets don't appear to be staked. They are just slightly undersized for some reason and the new primer winds up standing proud.
aOWENc, when the case head and or rim get sticky in the shell holder its usually a sign that the case head has become deformed. In that case the use of vise grips is probably a good proactive protective action to get rid of that deformed compromised, weakened case. Excess pressure in a quality case can cause the same effect. Get rid of the case!
Yip, tried some 6.5x55 brass as well as 40S&W - very tight primer pockets. Only use them for test loads and "leave at the range" batches.
In my experience, S&B is just not the best brass.