Case separation

[Kevin375]

Earlier this year, I was back in Africa with my .375 H&H magnum, and a new recipe including Hornady cases, RWS 5333 primers, Reload Swiss 60 Powder and Degol (Lion Load & Starkmantel) 350 gr bullets.
The accuracy was very good in my rifle and the effectiveness on games too.

One day, I was following a wounded eland with a tracker. The animal had been shot the day before, just before dusk and one of its shoulder was broken. In the sand, we saw that the animal dragged its right front leg and we caught up with it really quickly !
In a little gap, I was able to see its head and neck. I took a shot and I dropped it.

My rifle is a Blaser R93, and I tend to reload it really quickly. The bolt is so smooth and having used this rifle in driven hunt to get used to it, it became a muscle memory to handle his bottle.
But this time, I felt something strange in my handle. The bolt was stuck and impossible to feed a new round into the chamber.

I was surprised, because I'm used to cycling all my ammunitions after the reloading process, to be sure they feed flawlessly.

I pulled the bolt back, and what a surprise to extract my cartridge stuck in the front part of the case that I fired just before.

That is my first case separation. I didn't recover the rear part of my case and when I shot, I didn't notice anything strange. The two little holes milled in the barrel at the level of the cartridge belt probably did their job.

I checked others rounds I shot during that trip, and I only found one that has a little cracked a bit above the belt.

Having a huge doubt, I went to the shooting range back at home and I fired several ammunitions on target, and some show the same problem.

I'm using Hornady cases because they are the easiest to get where I am, and not too expensive. But you get what you pay for !

These cases were not used a lot, maybe 3 times, and even, I make a minimum shoulder bump. However, it seems they couldn't resist a long time.
Earlier this year, I saw a video on youtube where Desert dog outdoors said Hornady cases were crappy.
I started to use Hornady cases with my .458 Lott and I have never had any issue. Here is why, I started to use them in .375 H&H magnum. But, I think I will switch to Norma cases now.

Have you already had such problem ?

 

[Noah_McCoy]

I use Norma cases in my 300 H&H, I’m around 8 firings and haven’t had a problem. Before I load the cases I have a paper clip that I straighten and sharpen the tip of then bend a 90* in it. I use this the feel the inside of the case looking for early signs of separation.

 

[Clodo Ferreira]

Hi Kevin,

I would not use cases reloaded 3 times, any brand, for ANY serious hunt!
The ideal is the first reload with a case fired once, starting with factory or virgin cases, in YOUR RIFLE, carefully inspected, trimmed, and full sized without shortening to much, only for easy loading, with a normal load, not near maximun, for the cartridge.

 

[Joker12]

Usually case head separation like that is either a headspace problem or a problem with setting the shoulder back too much when handloading. As has already been pointed out its a mistake to use overworked cases on an expensive hunt far from home. Just follow what Clodo suggested and you will eliminate those issues.

 

[Kevin375]

Thank you for your comments.
In that case, I think its a poor quality cases the main problem.

I am using Norma and Lapua with others calibers, and as long as I anneal the neck before resizing, and using the competition shell holders from redding to control and get the 2 thousands shoulder bump (in addition to the hornady headspace), I was able to use cases a lot of time without any problem.

For dangerous game, I used brand new cases or fired once.
For plains game, I was not so picky but now, I will be definitely more cautious.

Now I check all my cases with a borescope. Unfortunately mine doesn't have a 90° mirror yet, but it also helps.

With this one, you don't really see the problem outside

This one is more serious

My hunters' federation collect used cases to recycle them and the money collected is given to an organization that finance research projects on neuromuscular genetic diseases but also on other rare genetic diseases. I will bring them this Hornady batch.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

It would not hurt to check your rifle's head space just to be sure. I have found Hornady brass better than RWS. Are you annealing your brass? Hornady annealed my 404 brass from the factory.

 

[shootist~]

Not too unusual. With *Belted Cases* you don't get many reloads. Especially with less than premium brass and full length sizing. I've seen stretched cases - like your picture - and splits (partial case head seperation) using 338 WM Federal cases.

These were from factory loaded ammo and three times reloaded (4th time fired). And I set my sizer to only set back the shoulder .002 - .003".

Belted cases have excessive cartridge headspace when measured at the shoulder. I see ~ .017" Vs normal of about .007" for the various *factory loaded* Non Belted cases I've checked.

For your Blazer, I'm sure you full length resize, which is going to shorten case life even more. I suggest new Only, or possibly once fired cases (edit: as you noted), for hunting non dangerous game. Possibly back off your sizer some for reloading practice ammo and go to a better brand such as Norma.

 

[Desperatezulu]

I use Norma cases in my 300 H&H, I’m around 8 firings and haven’t had a problem. Before I load the cases I have a paper clip that I straighten and sharpen the tip of then bend a 90* in it. I use this the feel the inside of the case looking for early signs of separation.

Exactly this advice! Unfortunately you have to be bold and bin cases when they show signs of incipient case head separation.

I have used both Norma and Hornady in my 300 H&H and Norma lasts twice as long. Hornady is junk and only kept as a back up if no other cases are available.

Despite my efforts, I've been caught with this problem twice, once out hunting and both required a trip to the gunsmith to extract the stuck case. So you got lucky that the case came out.

I agree with the suggestion to save well-used belted cases for load development and range work and only use newer cases for hunts.

 

[Wyatt Smith]

Headspace issue. It’s the rifle, the brass, or the sizing die/reloading process. Try to set the headspace off the shoulder, rather than the belt. I would have the headspace checked, but it can be in spec and still separate cases if the chamber is oversized. You might also compare a new case to a fired one.

 

[rookhawk]

Earlier this year, I was back in Africa with my .375 H&H magnum, and a new recipe including Hornady cases, RWS 5333 primers, Reload Swiss 60 Powder and Degol (Lion Load & Starkmantel) 350 gr bullets.
The accuracy was very good in my rifle and the effectiveness on games too.

One day, I was following a wounded eland with a tracker. The animal had been shot the day before, just before dusk and one of its shoulder was broken. In the sand, we saw that the animal dragged its right front leg and we caught up with it really quickly !
In a little gap, I was able to see its head and neck. I took a shot and I dropped it.

My rifle is a Blaser R93, and I tend to reload it really quickly. The bolt is so smooth and having used this rifle in driven hunt to get used to it, it became a muscle memory to handle his bottle.
But this time, I felt something strange in my handle. The bolt was stuck and impossible to feed a new round into the chamber.
View attachment 695599
I was surprised, because I'm used to cycling all my ammunitions after the reloading process, to be sure they feed flawlessly.

I pulled the bolt back, and what a surprise to extract my cartridge stuck in the front part of the case that I fired just before.
View attachment 695600View attachment 695601View attachment 695602
That is my first case separation. I didn't recover the rear part of my case and when I shot, I didn't notice anything strange. The two little holes milled in the barrel at the level of the cartridge belt probably did their job.

I checked others rounds I shot during that trip, and I only found one that has a little cracked a bit above the belt.

Having a huge doubt, I went to the shooting range back at home and I fired several ammunitions on target, and some show the same problem.
View attachment 695603

I'm using Hornady cases because they are the easiest to get where I am, and not too expensive. But you get what you pay for !

These cases were not used a lot, maybe 3 times, and even, I make a minimum shoulder bump. However, it seems they couldn't resist a long time.
Earlier this year, I saw a video on youtube where Desert dog outdoors said Hornady cases were crappy.
I started to use Hornady cases with my .458 Lott and I have never had any issue. Here is why, I started to use them in .375 H&H magnum. But, I think I will switch to Norma cases now.

Have you already had such problem ?

Incipient case head separation can be a problem if you:

A.) Reuse your brass A LOT

B.) Full length size frequently, rather than setting your shoulder so you get to headspace in a second location, preventing stretch originating at the web.

C.) You own a .375HH or any of its child cartridges.

Allow me to explain point C because its an obscure point most are unaware. The 375HH headspaces on its magnum belt. With firing, your cases bloat, getting fatter and fatter and your die can never push them back to shape, nor can the chamber because you're not getting the body of the case into full contact with the chamber on a 375HH family case.

Solution to point C above? This dude invented a collet sizing die for 375HH family of cartridges. This will put your case back to factory specs in a way that no standard die set can accomplish: https://www.larrywillis.com/

The manufacturer states: "This ONE die and collet is universal and works on ALL of the popular belted magnum calibers including: .257 Weatherby Magnum, 6.5 Remington Magnum, .264 Winchester Magnum, .270 Weatherby Magnum, 7 x 61 Sharpe & Hart, 7mm Remington Magnum, 7mm Weatherby Magnum, 7mm STW, .300 H&H Magnum, .300 Winchester Magnum, .300 Weatherby Magnum, .308 Norma Magnum, 8mm Remington Magnum, .338 Winchester Magnum, .340 Weatherby Magnum, .350 Remington Magnum, .358 Norma Magnum, .375 H&H Magnum, .416 Remington Magnum, .458 Winchester Magnum, .458 Lott Magnum and several belted wildcat cartridges. There are no extra collets to buy when resizing different calibers. The U.S. Secret Service was one of our first customers to purchase this product."

 

[Kevin375]

For the official headspace on the belt, the rifle is ok with the traditionnal Go and No-Go gauges. But they are the same for the whole belted calibers created with the original .375 H&H case.

About the headspace on the shoulder, I have checked this afternoon because I had a doubt. Unfortunately, I don't have any Hornady virgin cases left so I compared to Federal factory ammunitions and with my Hornady headspace gauge to have an idea.
If I compare a Hornady case fired in my rifle with Federal factory ammunitions I get a difference of -0.008" with the classic Power-shok brass and - 0.010" with Cap-shok nickel plated cases.

When I compare with my .300 Winchester magnum, it's not that "bad".
From a brand new Norma cases and one fired in my rifle, the difference is ~ 0.018". In the past, many fellow hunters gave me Norma cases in that caliber and I was able to compare the size of the shoulder. There was a huge difference depending on the brand of the rifle. Browning Bar and Benelli Argo had the shortest chambers by far. Blaser were as long as mine and Merkel RX Helix & Heym SR30 were even longer.
But despite this size, I was able to use my cases at least 8 times for a batch with a neck annealing each time and a 0.002" shoulder bump.
Unfortunately, they are not avalaible here but I would like to get Peterson cases in .300 Winchester magnum long. The concept is technically awesome for people like me having a long chamber.

With a Blaser, It's almost an obligation to full length resize. If not, the bolt is not fully close and you hear the famous "click". But thanks to the redding shell holders, I'm able to control the shoulder bump easilly. In .375", I keep a shoulder bump between 0.002" and 0.004" max.

 

[Noah_McCoy]

Incipient case head separation can be a problem if you:

A.) Reuse your brass A LOT

B.) Full length size frequently, rather than setting your shoulder so you get to headspace in a second location, preventing stretch originating at the web.

C.) You own a .375HH or any of its child cartridges.

Allow me to explain point C because its an obscure point most are unaware. The 375HH headspaces on its magnum belt. With firing, your cases bloat, getting fatter and fatter and your die can never push them back to shape, nor can the chamber because you're not getting the body of the case into full contact with the chamber on a 375HH family case.

Solution to point C above? This dude invented a collet sizing die for 375HH family of cartridges. This will put your case back to factory specs in a way that no standard die set can accomplish: https://www.larrywillis.com/

The manufacturer states: "This ONE die and collet is universal and works on ALL of the popular belted magnum calibers including: .257 Weatherby Magnum, 6.5 Remington Magnum, .264 Winchester Magnum, .270 Weatherby Magnum, 7 x 61 Sharpe & Hart, 7mm Remington Magnum, 7mm Weatherby Magnum, 7mm STW, .300 H&H Magnum, .300 Winchester Magnum, .300 Weatherby Magnum, .308 Norma Magnum, 8mm Remington Magnum, .338 Winchester Magnum, .340 Weatherby Magnum, .350 Remington Magnum, .358 Norma Magnum, .375 H&H Magnum, .416 Remington Magnum, .458 Winchester Magnum, .458 Lott Magnum and several belted wildcat cartridges. There are no extra collets to buy when resizing different calibers. The U.S. Secret Service was one of our first customers to purchase this product."

If you plan on getting one of Larry Willis’ collet dies and you need it in a hurry I’d strongly recommend calling him to ensure availability. I got one from him a couple years ago took close to a year to get it. By the time it was delivered I had completely forgotten I’d even ordered the thing haha.

 

[rookhawk]

For the official headspace on the belt, the rifle is ok with the traditionnal Go and No-Go gauges. But they are the same for the whole belted calibers created with the original .375 H&H case.

About the headspace on the shoulder, I have checked this afternoon because I had a doubt. Unfortunately, I don't have any Hornady virgin cases left so I compared to Federal factory ammunitions and with my Hornady headspace gauge to have an idea.
If I compare a Hornady case fired in my rifle with Federal factory ammunitions I get a difference of -0.008" with the classic Power-shok brass and - 0.010" with Cap-shok nickel plated cases.
View attachment 695756

When I compare with my .300 Winchester magnum, it's not that "bad".
From a brand new Norma cases and one fired in my rifle, the difference is ~ 0.018". In the past, many fellow hunters gave me Norma cases in that caliber and I was able to compare the size of the shoulder. There was a huge difference depending on the brand of the rifle. Browning Bar and Benelli Argo had the shortest chambers by far. Blaser were as long as mine and Merkel RX Helix & Heym SR30 were even longer.
But despite this size, I was able to use my cases at least 8 times for a batch with a neck annealing each time and a 0.002" shoulder bump.
Unfortunately, they are not avalaible here but I would like to get Peterson cases in .300 Winchester magnum long. The concept is technically awesome for people like me having a long chamber.

With a Blaser, It's almost an obligation to full length resize. If not, the bolt is not fully close and you hear the famous "click". But thanks to the redding shell holders, I'm able to control the shoulder bump easilly. In .375", I keep a shoulder bump between 0.002" and 0.004" max.

I'm not a Blaser guy so I can't tell you how to do perfect neck bumps on your type of gun. You might want to go over to Blaser buds and ask that question.

For a bolt action rifle, what I do is remove the firing pin and lock it away. I then load a piece of brass and see if I feel bolt resistance. I then turn the sizing die a thou or two and try again. I've found perfection when my bolt action rifle feels resistance in the last 5 degrees of bolt travel. It tells me I'm *Barely* compressing the shoulder when seating the cartridge.

Then, moving forward, I never, ever adjust that sizing die again, leaving it in a turret press so my rifle is being a fed a perfect diet forever.

I've owned many vintage guns that would fire original Kynoch factory ammo flawlessly, but would get head separation on brand new brass if I full length sized it. An expert in the field taught me this trick to ensure headspace on the neck is occurring, thus preventing stretch at the web upon firing.

Again, I do not know how to do this task on a straight pull Blaser, but there may be a way. I recommend you research it with your Blaser bros.

 

[Pheroze]

Larry Willis collet dies are a must for belted magnum reloading! I highly recommend them.

 

[Mark A Ouellette]

I posted this on 13 June 2025.
Larry Wilis passed away.

Post in thread 'Anyone have misfire issues Reloading for Blaser rifles'

Jun 13, 2025

Try stripping your bolt, cleaning and oiling. Maybe just some gunk in the workings, Blaser have some tight tolerances, I have read elsewhere about guys struggling with bolt closure because of dirt.

Agreed!

I load for a Blaser S-2 in ..375 H&H. This helps in retaining case life for any belted magnum case, in any rifle. It also provides more usable case life for use in my S-2.

Belted magnum cased swell or get larger just ahead of the belt. Measure factory ammo or new brass and then measure brass that won't chamber in a Blaser and you will propably find...

• Mark A Ouellette

• 

I load for a Blaser S-2 in ..375 H&H. This helps in retaining case life for any belted magnum case, in any rifle. It also provides more usable case life for use in my S-2.

Belted magnum cased swell or get larger just ahead of the belt. Measure factory ammo or new brass and then measure brass that won't chamber in a Blaser and you will propably find a few thousands of an inch difference on the unusable brass.

Follow the directions and use a lot of Sizing Die Wax, never liquid or gel type case lube.

I don't know if these are still available since the maker, Larry Willis, has passed away.
https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/altamonte-springs-fl/larry-willis-10853827

"He was a proud Marine from 1970 to 1972 and an avid shooter even longer. He worked in the computer industry for over 20 years before chasing his true passion of inventing reloading tools. Through his own company, Innovative Technologies, he designed, patented, and manufactured multiple tools that he sold worldwide. The belted magnum collet resizing die, digital headspace gauge, and the wide view light reflector to name just a few."

His website was Innovative Technologies at LarryWillis.com I get a "Forbidden" with I try to search for it. If anyone knows where to buy these now, please share with all here.

 

[rookhawk]

Very sorry to hear that @Mark A Ouellette . Is there anyone carrying on his legacy and producing his dies?

 

[Mark A Ouellette]

Very sorry to hear that @Mark A Ouellette . Is there anyone carrying on his legacy and producing his dies?

A magic Google search revealed Dutch Gun Accessories lists them.

Belted Magnum Collet Resizing Die

Belted Magnum Collet Resizing Die This ONE die and collet is universal and works on ALL of the popular belted magnum calibers. dutch gun accessories

www.dutch-gun-accessories.com

I think this Netherlands dealer may have only old stock. That is a Larry Willis Innovative Technoilogies photo showing the sizing die.

Perhaps one of our European members could call them and ask about their stock level and if, and that's a mighty big if, they are having these manfactured once again.

 

[rookhawk]

A magic Google search revealed Dutch Gun Accessories lists them.

Belted Magnum Collet Resizing Die

Belted Magnum Collet Resizing Die This ONE die and collet is universal and works on ALL of the popular belted magnum calibers. dutch gun accessories

www.dutch-gun-accessories.com

I think this Netherlands dealer may have only old stock. That is a Larry Willis Innovative Technoilogies photo showing the sizing die.

Perhaps one of our European members could call them and ask about their stock level and if, and that's a mighty big if, they are having these manfactured once again.

@VertigoBE I highly recommend you get this die before the EU supply is depleted. You're going to want it for the rest of your shooting lifetime.

 

[Noah_McCoy]

I posted this on 13 June 2025.
Larry Wilis passed away.

Post in thread 'Anyone have misfire issues Reloading for Blaser rifles'

Jun 13, 2025

Try stripping your bolt, cleaning and oiling. Maybe just some gunk in the workings, Blaser have some tight tolerances, I have read elsewhere about guys struggling with bolt closure because of dirt.

Agreed!

I load for a Blaser S-2 in ..375 H&H. This helps in retaining case life for any belted magnum case, in any rifle. It also provides more usable case life for use in my S-2.

Belted magnum cased swell or get larger just ahead of the belt. Measure factory ammo or new brass and then measure brass that won't chamber in a Blaser and you will propably find...

• Mark A Ouellette

• 

I load for a Blaser S-2 in ..375 H&H. This helps in retaining case life for any belted magnum case, in any rifle. It also provides more usable case life for use in my S-2.

Belted magnum cased swell or get larger just ahead of the belt. Measure factory ammo or new brass and then measure brass that won't chamber in a Blaser and you will propably find a few thousands of an inch difference on the unusable brass.

Follow the directions and use a lot of Sizing Die Wax, never liquid or gel type case lube.

I don't know if these are still available since the maker, Larry Willis, has passed away.
https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/altamonte-springs-fl/larry-willis-10853827

"He was a proud Marine from 1970 to 1972 and an avid shooter even longer. He worked in the computer industry for over 20 years before chasing his true passion of inventing reloading tools. Through his own company, Innovative Technologies, he designed, patented, and manufactured multiple tools that he sold worldwide. The belted magnum collet resizing die, digital headspace gauge, and the wide view light reflector to name just a few."

His website was Innovative Technologies at LarryWillis.com I get a "Forbidden" with I try to search for it. If anyone knows where to buy these now, please share with all here.

I just searched it and the website comes right up, opens fine for me. Shows his collet die still available. Says it’s in stock and ready to ship, I’d still call before ordering to save a headache.

 

[Mark A Ouellette]

I just searched it and the website comes right up, opens fine for me. Shows his collet die still available. Says it’s in stock and ready to ship, I’d still call before ordering to save a headache.

Thanks!

I got to LarryWillis.com via my phone.
My laptop produces 403 Forbidden

Now, to figure that out...