Mosin 7.62 case failures.

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I haven't fired my M44 in several months, so I went to the range Sat.

Opened up a pack of 1946 surplus and this is what happened on my first 4 shots. Even had a hang fire.

y6abu4er.jpg


Was tough to extract, but I stopped shooting that stuff after this and shot sone of my 70s surplus for rest of day with no issue. I've shot hundreds of 1970s surplus 7.62 with no issue before this.

The steel cases feel lighter and have a higher pitched ring than my later surplus?

I have 3 more packs of this stuff, but I buy at different shops so not sure where I got this. Anyone else having an issue like this with some 40s ammo?


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can you snap a photo of the markings on the bottom of the rounds and may be of an unfired round? Did you ever had an issue with this rifle, how is the chamber looks?
 
Ill grab some more pics tonight.

No issues at all with the rifle. I've maybe fired off 200-300 rounds of 1970s surplus prior to these 4. Headspace is fine, and I've checked chamber with my borescope. I usually check the spent cases after and never had a single split case before this.

After these four, I fired about 30 more rounds of 70s surplus and the cases looked fine.


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Here ya go.

Looks like 46 on bottom, 60 on top. So factory 60 produced in 1946
a5e2ane5.jpg


Some unfired rounds
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The bundle they came in
unyre4a8.jpg



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Some more pics of the 4 cases. Some have multiple splits and stress marks

u9aqajym.jpg

hujany9e.jpg

3aby5uru.jpg



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And just for conparison, some 1977 dated Russian surplus. Factory 60. I shot this immediately after just to compare. This is how every round I've ever fired looks...other than the above 4.

udy9uhub.jpg



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I believe I had that same type of string-wrapped stuff back when I first got my M91/30. I had a good amount of case cracking in those rounds but it was usually limited to the case neck area, never all the way down the cartridge like that. Yeesh. I'd junk that stuff if I were you.
 
I'm getting the same case cracking from some 82 Bulgarian through an M91/30. Identical to the photos posted.
 
If he ammunition was stored poorly you can get cases that will crack. However at NES shoots when I let folks shot my AK I use he cheap wolf ammo. It also has case cracks so even new ammo can fail.

I have some Heavy Ball Yellow Tip Hungarian made in 1953 that one in 100 rounds would have a case crack. I would just junk the stuff to play it safe.
Also check case head again and see if its machine gun ammunition. If so it was loaded much hotter and was NOT made for rifles. The chamber pressure would be much higher and major case failures you have would surely happen. Just MHO
 
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Wow, Ive never seen anything like that with any of my mosin ammo. Id chuck it like everyone else has said to do
 
Looks like significantly out of spec chamber + old ammo with less than perfect 'overdrawn' cases that resulted in thinner than required walls and/or wrong post-form heat-treatment.
any of these conditions on their own wouldn't cause it but you stack'em up and here you have a result.

ammo in fault 99%.

but definetly would not hurt to check chamber dimensions. get some Cerrosafe and cast negative to measure out chamber dimensions on your rifle.
 
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I could not find chamber specs, but i have several brand new MG and rifle barrels chambered 7.62x54r 50ss, 60ss manufacture.
if you can get me that exact stuff you used for casting your chamber and can get you few casts and you can at least draw a baseline.
PM me if you decide you wanna to do it.
 
Looking at the unfired rounds, they dont look right to me. IIRC all the surplus I have has obvious color changes where they were annealed.

Like this:

762x54mmR Incendiary Ammo.jpg

I don't see that on your ammo at all...
 
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I agree. There are no annealing marks. Unsure if this was done in the 40s. I don't have much to compare with.

I've since fired the m44 with no issue. I've even cast the chamber on my two 91/30s and they are all very close. I'm pretty sure it's an ammo issue.

These cases do feel "funny". A lighter ring to them.

I still have more.


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I agree. There are no annealing marks. Unsure if this was done in the 40s. I don't have much to compare with.

I've since fired the m44 with no issue. I've even cast the chamber on my two 91/30s and they are all very close. I'm pretty sure it's an ammo issue.

These cases do feel "funny". A lighter ring to them.

I still have more.


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Just for fun, take a blow torch and anneal a spent round (or pull the bullet and powder and fire the primer on one of the unfired ones). see if it changes the sound when you drop it on cement.
 
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I don't have any of the 40's era surp. But my Bulgarian (70s or 80s dont remember which) splits every once in a while in both my m44 and 91/30. You can tell which cases though as there is always some sort of blemish/pre-split looking defect on the casing. I just hand check them before shooting and avoid the bad ones.
 
Bit of an old-thread bump here but I had my first cracked case today. I've gone through probably 100 rounds out of the same spam can and this has never happened until today. Granted though, my crack isn't nearly as bad as the OP's. This isn't really a cause for concern, is it?

IMAG0499.jpg
 
I get them every once is a while too, shouldn't be concerned unless it is a common problem. If it persists follow the suggestions people have mentioned above (check head space/date on ammo) and don't shoot the suspected ammo if the gun is fine...

Goodluck!
 
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