One of the most common reasons a handloaded cartridge fails to chamber is the split case. Before we discuss how to prevent split cases from ever finding their way into our firearms, let’s address how they happen in the first place.
When a cartridge fires, its case expands due to gas pressure. We would also like it to rebound – it doesn’t stay completely swollen – i.e. the walls of the case then retreat a bit from the chamber walls, therefore there’s less case-to-chamber friction preventing extraction. One great reason so many cartridge cases are made of brass, it has that great combination of ductability, it expands under pressure, but then has enough “memory” to retreat, at least partially, to its original dimensions so it easily extracts.
Then, during handloading, we resize the top two-thirds of the case by running it up into a resizing die. Then we flare the case mouth to accept a bullet. Then we crimp down the case mouth again. This really is a lot of swelling/rebounding/resizing/flaring/crimping of that poor case, especially around the case mouth area. It is not at all unknown for the case to split longitudinally. When that happens, the split has a bit of “flash” (to use a model-building term) that makes the round too oversized to fit into a chamber. How to catch split cases, so they won’t stop our gun from working?
The answer, of course, is the case gage. This is a cylindrical piece of stainless steel that’s had drilled into it, longitudinally, a hole equivalent to an extremely tight match chamber. If a handloaded cartridge will fit into the gage, it’ll fit into a chamber. More to the point under discussion here, the gage is a surefire method of catching split cases.
If a round has a split case, it will not fully insert into the gage. But also there’s a very distinctive sensation, and sound, that occurs as the split contacts the interior of the gage and you try to force the cartridge into place. It’s kind of hard to explain to someone who’s never experienced it, but I would describe both the sensation, and the sound, as “crunchy.”
When your case gage catches a split case, simply set that round aside for eventual disassembly with a kinetic bullet puller.
It’s worth noting, you can detect split cases before ever handloading them by taking brass cases and shaking them around in your cupped hands. Normal, un-split cases will rattle against each other with a musical tinkle. If there’s a split case in there, though, you’ll hear, among the tinkling, a much more leaden sound. Again, hard to describe to those who’ve never experienced it, but I would say it sounds “dead.” Then move on to another bunch of cases until you’ve checked all the cases you plan to load during that session.
In any event, I don’t find it worth the time and effort to go through that process, myself, I’ll just let the gage do the work, after loading. But some people do find it worth the effort, and if you’re one of those people, it’s worth knowing how to do that.
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