Hull seperation?

[Rally]

Was grouse hunting with my dogs today. Went to unload the gun when leaving, and noticed the crimped was inverted on the shell in the top barrel, and most of the shot had escaped. New PMC ammo I’d bought for the 3” hulls, bought a case.
So when I got home I inspected the remain shells in that box, and found another with the same inverted crimp, but most of the shot remaining.
Took the two shells outside and fired them to empty the hulls. The shell with the majority of the shot fired fine, the shell mostly empty fired but audible difference, like I expected. Opened the action and the shell mostly empty seperated, leaving the entire plastic part, base included, in the gun. I’ve fired, reloaded, and scavenged thousands of hulls and never had this experience. I’ve seen lots of paper base hulls shot/ burned out, and even loaded so many times they burned out the sides, but never a separation on the first firing.
Anyone experience this?

 

[Michael]

This is not a good thing no matter how what happens.
Take pictures, jot down the lot number and dig out your receipt for purchase.
Call/e-mail PMC for replacement or refund. Personally I would push for the refund route. Might want to contact the folks you made the purchase from just to let them know and see if they have any other channels to bring this to PMC's attention.

 

[Bret4207]

I think Michael has the right idea. Must be a bad lot. Not something I'd want to chance.

410, isn't it? Hard, hard, hard to find up here, and if you do, not for less than a buck a round!!! But I can buy 20 ga skeet loads in boxes of 250 all day long. Weird.

 

[Tomme boy]

I didn't think PMC makes shotshells anymore. I have not seen any in over 15 years

 

[fiver]

yeah.
when remington first come out with their clay and field hulls about 20-25% of them could be spun around in the head.
half of those would basically unscrew themselves as you twisted them.

also back when winchester first come out with their HS hulls they had the same problem, and winchester ended up putting a double cannelure around the brass head to prevent it.

 

[Snakeoil]

No shotgun ammo on their website. All ammo made in Korea. I have used their target .22 ammo. I was not impressed.

Suspect this was very old ammo. I have shot tens of thousands of Win, Rem, Peters, Federal, Fiocchi and other shotshells and seen even more fired and reloaded until the cases split or the crimps would no longer hold. I started in the '60s when paper shells were still common. I have never seen a base separate from a plastic shotshell.

If you bought these from a gunshop recently, bring them back and get a refund.

 

[Rushcreek]

Add me to the “ Never seen that” category.
I’ve shot lots of PMC centerfire rifle and pistol ammunition with never a problem but no shotgun shells that I remember…..

 

[Tomme boy]

Federal 410 seems to have this problem along with the front half of the hull going down range.

 

[fiver]

they'd come apart like that from time to time in the 10ga.Federal hulls.
musses a duck up something fierce.

 

[Snakeoil]

they'd come apart like that from time to time in the 10ga.Federal hulls.
musses a duck up something fierce.

So you are saying that the entire plastic tube, complete with the wad inside and the shot charge gets launched out of the barrel like modern version of cannister shot?

 

[Rally]

I’ve had these shells at least 7 years. Price was right and I wanted the hulls to reload, tough finding 3” WW .410, empty, always has been.
I wasn’t figuring on returning, just never saw a new hull separate, pretty disappointed / Leary about reloading them in the future. May just order some new Fiochi 3” in the future. Even those are usually “out of stock”.
Lamar,
If you don’t make that”Kentucky cut” on those Federals will fire correctly, at least once!

 

[fiver]

everyone needs a challenge from time to time.. LOL

yeah snake.
when you ejected the shell the only thing that come out was the brass.

the thing is the factory's produce a couple billion rounds of shot shells a year, there's bound to be a percentage that isn't perfect.

 

[RBHarter]

9.3×73 brass will fix that .

I had some FC 12 ga that did that 2-3 reload . 1400 fps steel core plastic slug .

 

[Michael]

The idea of the entire hull forward of the base heading down the barrel has a unit, to me is pretty unnerving.
Doubt any of us would purposely chamber a 3" shell in 2-3/4" chamber due the crime on the longer hull unfolding in the forcing cone and restricting passage of the wad and shot column, hence raising pressures and we are only dealing with 3/4".

Think about how much pressures increase when the entire hull/shell sans the head get squished down by the forcing cone and once more when it hits the choke. I have a cousin who lives in far N.E. OK nestled up next to N.W. AR and S.W. MO who thinks the "Kentucky" cut makes for great slugs (need I say more) other than "Bubba slug".

Sure, things happen on occasion and nothing exciting happens other than shooting (at) birds and clays with a Bubba slug. But.... when things do get exciting and go south, I don't want to be behind the trigger or even near by.

 

[Rally]

The thought of further separations while reloading would add to the fun too. I’m picturing separation during sizing/ depriming station of single stage press, or just the brass rotating to the next station on a progressive. My mother wouldn’t approve of my language choice in such an event!

 

[RBHarter]

I just skipped the laminated FC cases after that . I had a steel special barrel with about 2" of forcing cone and 6" of soft Mod choke . While it all happens pretty fast the modern plastic cases are ribbed and pretty darned slippery. There's probably not a whole lot of rise in the long cones like those cut for a paper case would have . The steel loads I was shooting were only developing about 10kpsi in a platform that should handle a steady diet of 15,000 psi . Rem Nitro Steel were marked 1050 BAR right on the case .