1921A Posted September 21, 2021 Report Share Posted September 21, 2021 (edited) For those of you who reload for your Thompson, here is a problem we discovered accidentally last week. I normally do not use reloaded ammunition in the Thompson but made an exception last week with a Savage 28 shooter grade gun. We experienced two stoppages out of 50 or so rounds before realizing what was happening. The brass was once fired Federal with the crimp line (cannelure). Two of the cases separated at the cannelure line and stuck in the chamber. The first one was easily removed with a chamber brush. The second one stuck a live round in the separated ring and jammed approximately 3/8 inch out of battery. The stuck round was fully seated on the bolt face and securely held by the extractor. Considerable effort was required to work open the action. If you reload for your Thompson I would NOT recommend using any brass with a cannelure. This would have been a disaster in the M1A1 with a fixed firing pin! Edited September 24, 2021 by 1921A Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoscoeTurner Posted September 21, 2021 Report Share Posted September 21, 2021 Thousands of rounds of reloaded ammunition fired through various Thompsons and never had anything like that happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giantpanda4 Posted September 21, 2021 Report Share Posted September 21, 2021 Disaster indeed! Especially for a Lefty! I have not seen that type of case failure but surely will take the info to heart. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommyboy Posted September 21, 2021 Report Share Posted September 21, 2021 Had that exact same thing happen when firing factory new Remington UMC out of a Reising. Happened three times out of 100 rounds. Never happened with over a 1000 rounds of Fiocchi, WWB or S&B. And the UMC doesn't even have a crimp line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim c 351 Posted September 21, 2021 Report Share Posted September 21, 2021 How hot was the load??Has this ever happened with a factory load with this gun??Is the chamber rough or very over size??Jim C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StrangeRanger Posted September 21, 2021 Report Share Posted September 21, 2021 FWIW Federal rifle brass is very, very soft. Their .308 and .223 cases are typically good for 1 or 2 reloads before the primer pocket has expanded to the point where the primer will not seat securely. I've not had a problem with their pistol brass...yet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJX Posted September 21, 2021 Report Share Posted September 21, 2021 How hot was the load??Has this ever happened with a factory load with this gun??Is the chamber rough or very over size??Jim C Thank you for sharing. Who manufactured the barrel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1921A Posted September 21, 2021 Author Report Share Posted September 21, 2021 (edited) Ill try to answer the questions: 1. The barrel is original Savage GI in good condition2. The chamber is smooth and original configuration. 3. We fired approximately 50-75 rds from a clean gun. 4. The brass was once fired Federal. 5. The load was 4.5 grains of Bullseye. 6. The bullets were 230gr FMJ ball. This was a first for me and Ive been shooting Thompsons for nearly 40 years but we normally use Winchester USA factory ammunition. Edited September 26, 2021 by 1921A Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1921A Posted September 21, 2021 Author Report Share Posted September 21, 2021 How hot was the load??Has this ever happened with a factory load with this gun??Is the chamber rough or very over size??Jim CJim - I shoot this gun a lot. Never had anything like this with new factory ammunition including Federal. We shot the new factory Federal ammo through this gun and then I reloaded some of the brass for the pistols. It was a couple of those reloads that separated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1921A Posted September 21, 2021 Author Report Share Posted September 21, 2021 (edited) Thank you for sharing. Who manufactured the barrel? Savage barrel original to the gun. Edited September 21, 2021 by 1921A Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bridgeport28A1 Posted September 21, 2021 Report Share Posted September 21, 2021 I've had the same case separation once in my original barrel AOC 1928A1. Still have the separated piece of .45 ACP brass in my office. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giantpanda4 Posted September 22, 2021 Report Share Posted September 22, 2021 I have used 5.0 gr Bullseye w/230 FMJ bullets. Your load is not too hot by any means. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dalbert Posted September 22, 2021 Report Share Posted September 22, 2021 Here is a photo I took right after 1921A pulled the casing piece out of the chamber. David Albertdalbert@sturmgewehr.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan K Posted September 23, 2021 Report Share Posted September 23, 2021 (edited) I had a batch of 223 brass that at one point was too brittle. It would separate at the neck/shoulder junction like clockwork. Junked it and no problems since. I agree with Federal rifle brass being soft. I do not load it. Run their pistol brass no problems. It is also possible the brass coil that became those cases had suspect chemistry, that it wasn't drawn correctly, or the cannulure wasn't applied correctly. The ammunition industry, like all manufacturing, isn't going to be 100 % all the time. Edited September 23, 2021 by Dan K Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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