Case head separation: who's had it happen?

[WR Moore]

The carbide dies aren't supposed to touch the shell holder, you can crack the carbide insert. The instructions generally make a point of this.

 

[trulyapostolic]

I need to learn about case head separation. Has it happened to you?
If so, I'd like to know...
1. What caliber?
2. What do you think caused it?
3. Are there pre-separation signs to look for?
4. What was the result? Was the gun damaged? Were you hurt?

I've never had it happen to me, but I have been noticing marks on my 357 magnum cases for awhile that I had assumed were scratches caused by the extractor. But I am starting to wonder. Look at the photo (please) and let me know if you have seen this before. It looks like a surface crack to me.
Thanks!

I would section that case from the case's head to the mouth. If the section gets thinner near, what you believe to be a crack, then you'll know it's leading towards separation.

 

[TSQUARED]

Many years ago I reloaded 8x68S ammo whih had Berdan primed cases. After ca. 4 or 5 reloads the brass showed signs of thinning near the base which would have resulted in case separation - luckily I caught it in time.

 

[Alk8944]

And what's your experience from, watching Youtube videos?

No A-H, loading and firing more than 1 million rounds of more than 100 different calibers in handgun calibers and rifles over more than the past 60 years!!!!

 

[Duckford]

Suffered a case head burst of 38 Special light load in my M27. It tickled me, but it didn't hurt the gun at all. Old worn out brass was the issue, I believe. Case mouths should always fail before heads in such cartridges and such usages, I suspect it was probably brass from factory reloads that was old and corroded on the inside from previous use.