My rifle is banging up my brass a bit. I'd prefer it didn't.
Any suggestions?

Easiest way is to just not eject the brass as vigorously.

Other options are to have the extractor or ejector worked on or enlarge the back of the ejection port.

What's the history of the gun ? Is this something new or did it always mash necks like that ?

Something has obviously gone haywire. The guns internal parts need to be scrutinized and the problem cured.

The way the extractor mechanism works is that there is a claw that grips the case head groove and as the bolt is pulled to the rear, a "stop" blade blocks either the bottom or opposite side of the case causing it to flip out.

It appears as though there may be some slop or wear in the bolt allowing it to wiggle. Sometimes the case will come back true and concentric and other times it will cantilever up or sideways bearing on the receiver before it clears enough to eject. Your example looks rather extreme.

You may try to use care pulling back holding the bolt centered as opposed to bearing down hard tilting it.

Worst case scenario the bolt and it's housing ay be seriously worn. But that would take a lot of use.

Standard Operating Procedure.

Work the bolt less vigorously, or just use a tapered punch or dowel rod to smooth out the necks before resizing.

Not a deal.

mine does the same thing when I work the action aggressively.

good to know it is normal for others

I have a tapered thing, I forget what it's called, for gently opening the mouth of my 45-70 shells. I'll bet the machine shop can make me one that will fit into an die and will open these dinged up pieces of brass. One more step in reloading, but not really a big deal. Especially if I put in the progressive press.

I have a "tapered thing" that I use for making necks round again;; it is called a .50 BMG cartridge.
There is nothing wrong with your rifle. Is this a push feed or CRF M70?
Drive on.

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
I have a "tapered thing" that I use for making necks round again;; it is called a .50 BMG cartridge.
There is nothing wrong with your rifle. Is this a push feed or CRF M70?
Drive on.

CRF.

I'm going go see if I can find a tapered thing someplace in this bucket.
I was already planning on going to the machine shop with drawings and photos and stuff.
I really should stop over-complicating things that don't need it.

You have too much time on your hands if you are designing tapering things to make dented cases round. I think you already have several. And to dent your case mouths like that on a CRF action you must be slamming back the bolt pretty hard.
Make a video of it and post it; so I can slow it down and see where the dent is happening. Or just live with it.

Me and a buddy have several of those rifles in 375 and 458, all do the same thing. We studied it and found that the cases are hitting the back of the ejection port, flipping back against the rear bridge and impacting the case mouth. Look closely at the steel just in front of the bolt handle and you'll see brass markings from the cases. We put tape there and it became obvious after a few cases were ejected.

I have a Whitworth that does something similar, but because of the angle of ejection the case mouth hits the top edge of the stock, so I have a nice assembly of dents there. That one doesn't collapse the case mouths like the Winchesters.

quote:

Originally posted by TrademarkTexan:
Me and a buddy have several of those rifles in 375 and 458, all do the same thing. We studied it and found that the cases are hitting the back of the ejection port, flipping back against the rear bridge and impacting the case mouth. Look closely at the steel just in front of the bolt handle and you'll see brass markings from the cases. We put tape there and it became obvious after a few cases were ejected.

I have a Whitworth that does something similar, but because of the angle of ejection the case mouth hits the top edge of the stock, so I have a nice assembly of dents there. That one doesn't collapse the case mouths like the Winchesters.

Boy oh Boy you sure have me scratching my head. I don't understand your events at all!

I tinkered some more with some of my bolt actions and I can't cause anything even near the dented cases seen in the photos.

What is the ejector port?

Where is the rear bridge ?

How does the case mouth hit the top edge of the stock?

This mystery is deepening. I thing we are not close to appropriately diagnosing the real probable cause which has to be classified as unusual and severe.

The ejection port is the opening on the right side of a right handed action, and rear bridge is the ring of steel behind that opening. Those may not be the correct terms, forgive me if I'm misusing them.

When the bolt is drawn back, the base of the case is drawn against the ejector, which pushes the case forward from the face of the bolt. Since the extractor is gripping the other side of the rim, this imparts a sideways spin on the case. As it exits the action, the case impacts the action, pivots around that point, and the case mouth impacts the rifle just forward of the bolt handle notch.

I don't have a high-speed camera so I had to deduce this from observation and by the clue left by the brass as it lightly marked the steel where it impacted it. Maybe I have it figured wrong, if so I have no idea how it is happening!

I always, repeat, always, extract the empty with my left hand as I reload.

Even while hunting.

It is a very rare occasion when I have to eject a cartridge and it falls on the ground.

Some of the brass I am hunting with has been on safari at least 15 times.