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Got my old 94 and see after firing each round leaves a line bulge on the case. Was hoping someone could tell me if the chamber is bulged is this safe to shoot. I never seen nothing like this. Any help is appreciated.
Daniel F said
Got my old 94 and see after firing each round leaves a line bulge on the case. Was hoping someone could tell me if the chamber is bulged is this safe to shoot. I never seen nothing like this. Any help is appreciated.
Update can see in the chamber and it’s like somehow there’s a gouge straight on the bottom. Doesn’t look like a crack or anything. Any ideas??
You should post pictures of the bulged case and a measurement of case bulge.
Bob
WACA Life Member--- NRA Life Member---- Cody Firearms member since 1991 Researching the Winchester 1873's
Email: [email protected]
1873man said
You should post pictures of the bulged case and a measurement of case bulge.Bob
I thought I posted a picture I don’t see it I’m not sure if I’m doing it right
Daniel F said
1873man said
You should post pictures of the bulged case and a measurement of case bulge.
Bob
I thought I posted a picture I don’t see it I’m not sure if I’m doing it right
That certainly appears to be the result of a damaged barrel chamber, and you should not continue shooting that gun.
Bert
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
That looks like you will need it rechambered. It almost looks like its a rupture.
Bob
WACA Life Member--- NRA Life Member---- Cody Firearms member since 1991 Researching the Winchester 1873's
Email: [email protected]
Bert H. said
That certainly appears to be the result of a damaged barrel chamber, and you should not continue shooting that gun.Bert
Interesting I’ll have to pull the bolt so I can really look at it good. If it’s just a gouge it’s not safe to shoot?
Query: are the cartridges you’ve fired that result in bulged, creased cases, handloaded or factory ammunition?
In either case, and particularly [ but not necessarily] if the “gouge” in the chamber wall lines up with the case creases, you are asking for serious and dangerous trouble if you continue to fire the gun.
Because you can still see to write, I have to assume these creases that appear on the case exteriors don’t fully penetrate the brass case walls – yet. The Winchester 94 does not have modern gas handling action features. If a partially unsupported case splits open under breech pressure, the escaping high temperature gas carrying bits of sharp metal will take the path of least resistance, which can include blowing fingers off your shooting hand and sending the hammer or other parts through your skull. Not to mention wrecking the rifle beyond repair.
Uncontained, expanding powder gas can cut steel — it’s that hot. The engineers among us can say why it acts differently after a case rupture than when passing out of an obturated brass case into the barrel but it can wreck a rifle and maim or kill the shooter.
Whether you have a bore scope or not, take your gun to a trusted gunsmith to diagnose and repair. S.A.A.M.I, maximum breech pressure for factory .30 Winchester ammunition is 42,000 psi. The Model 94 in .30 Winchester is classified as a High Power rifle for very good reason. Don’t risk being on the receiving end.
- Bill
WACA # 65205; life member, NRA; member, TGCA; member, TSRA; amateur preservationist
"I have seen wicked men and fools, a great many of both, and I believe they both get paid in the end, but the fools first." -- David Balfour, narrator and protagonist of the novel, Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson.
Unless you REALLY love your family, and have millions of dollars in life insurance, STOP firing that rifle straightaway. There is no upside to you to die in the name of research. That rifle needs a new barrel.
BRP
Either new barrel or set back barrel one thread (or as needed to remove the damage area) and cut new chamber.
pine_worker said
Either new barrel or set back barrel one thread (or as needed to remove the damage area) and cut new chamber.
Based on the length and location of the split/crack in that fired case, the barrel would need to be set back way more than just one thread. Frankly, the barrel should be removed and dumped in the scrap bin.
Bert
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
This is where a good bore scope or better yet a good gunsmith could help. How old is the brass? I’ve seen brass do this when a lot of cleaning solution was left in the chamber. But the first shot would have cleaned this out.
I have bought more than one Winchester lever gun with a blown chamber without knowing it until I fired it the first time. Only one was I able to return. Now I always ask will it feed and fire before I buy, most times the seller says he will stand behind it. !886s and 1876s usually blow down leaving a crack in the frame from the chamber to the magazine tube hole. I had a 1873 extra heavy barrel gun with a weld in the chamber, that didn’t work well. Most of these guns were in collections and the owner never shot the gun, he never knew. Yes you could see it if you carried a bore-a-scope, but who does that. T/R
Let me clarify something the rupture in the case is because that ammo was 30 years old and the brass was rotten the only thing I’m talking about is the line that is bulged in the neck of the case. Thanks for all the info guys.
Daniel F said
A circumferential deformation in a fired cartridge case indicates a bulge in the chamber. What you have is a longitudinal deformation, most likely caused by a split/cracked chamber. Again, I strongly urge you not to shoot that rifle. A bore scope will tell you exactly what is wrong with it.
Bert
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
Bert H. said
Daniel F said
A circumferential deformation in a fired cartridge case indicates a bulge in the chamber. What you have is a longitudinal deformation, most likely caused by a split/cracked chamber. Again, I strongly urge you not to shoot that rifle. A bore scope will tell you exactly what is wrong with it.
Bert
Yessir I won’t be shooting it again till I check it out with my wannabe bore scope. I’ll most likely be taking it to a gunsmith to inspect it too. I’ll post an update.
November 7, 2015
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Bert H. said
Daniel F said
A circumferential deformation in a fired cartridge case indicates a bulge in the chamber. What you have is a longitudinal deformation, most likely caused by a split/cracked chamber. Again, I strongly urge you not to shoot that rifle. A bore scope will tell you exactly what is wrong with it.
Bert
I’ve had the occasional case split like this with worn-out or old (brittle) brass but if every case is splitting it’s time to stop and figure out why. 30 years is not old for ammo stored under anything resembling favorable conditions. Some of my practice ammo is loaded in cases 30-40 years old. Do you have any recently fired new cases for comparison? Even if you do, it’s time for a close look at that chamber. As Zeb pointed out above, a case failure can sometimes be dangerous. A barrel failure is much more dangerous. 40,000+ PSI can turn sharp pieces of metal into high-speed shrapnel.
Mike
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