Possible chamber problems

[31 bertram]

I have a fairly new 257 wby mag and shot a factory round whch blew the primer out with heavy recoil so I sent case and pics to factory and they said it a little short (case).  Factory said it somehow found it's way in the new ammo.  Took gun to a gun smith and said it was fine but I've noticed that all my empty fired brass all chamber and I've never had this happen with any of my guns.  My guns don't always cycle a fired case.  Is this normal?     

[Bigeasy]

If the factory said the brass in the case was off spec., and a gunsmith checked the rifle (Go / No Go Gauge?), then you should be all right.  I have always found it is normal for a rifle to chamber a fired casing that was fired in that rifle.  A blown primer is usually a sign of high pressure, but can happen on a case that is to short, and is driven into the chamber by the firing pin before firing, allowing the primer to back out.  That seems unlikely on a case with a belt however.  Possibly a slightly long or damaged firing pin?  Are the primer strikes in fired cases deeper than usual, or have a sharp edge to them?  I would take a fired case, and compare it to an unfired factory round, and see if there is a noticeable difference.  There will be some, as a fired case shapes itself to the chamber, but it should not be excessive.  If in doubt, make sure the gunsmith did use the proper chamber gauges.  In situations where the case was too short (shoulder), I have seen cases split in half, but not blow their primer, though I am sure it is possible.

Larry

[gunnut69]

The headspace gauges for belted cases are nearly all the same (except the 240 Weatherby) and the belt controls the headspace. The case length, overall, has little effect. Was this with Norma made ammo? I have always found Norma brass a bit soft as it tended to stretch more than other brands. This results in lost cases due to loose primer pockets.

[Luckyducker]

I have crimped the neck of fired cases and set a bullet in the neck to check for Max OAL for every CF rifle I have ever owned and never found one that wouldn't chamber.  Blowing a primer out of a case isn't usually detrimental to an action unless the load was stout enough to damage the extractor or crack the action.  The only rifle I have seen with a cracked action was an old Eddystone, and those were he11 for stout and cannot imagine what they tried to load in it.