High Quality Ammunition?

[Rowdy]

I was shooting my Judge today and afterward as I was cleaning up my mess I noticed two 410 hulls that had split brass.  I fired four, two split and two didn’t.  Is this common?  I usually use the cheap ammo, but this was Federal Personal Defense 3 inch #4 buckshot.

 

 

[Sleep profit]

On new ammo not common Winchester had some a year ago that did this people were advised to stop using  have not heard of problems with federal .       brass reloads will do this  and old brass will harden and becomes brittle  contact federal and see if they can give some guidance. 

[Sunfish]

You are sure your pistol is made for 3 inch shells ? 

[gregintenn]

I'm with Sunfish. You shot that in a 2.5" chamber, which is friggin' dangerous! See how the crimp didn't open up?

Edited March 8, 2022 by gregintenn

[KahrMan]

4 hours ago, Sunfish said:

You are sure your pistol is made for 3 inch shells ? 

 

1 hour ago, gregintenn said:

I'm with Sunfish. You shot that in a 2.5" chamber, which is friggin' dangerous! See how the crimp didn't open up?

That is a possibility.  The Judge comes in both 2.5" and 3" chambers.

[monkeylizard]

But it's a revolver. How could he put a 3" shell in the regular 2.5" Judge and close the cylinder?

 

Edited March 8, 2022 by monkeylizard

[gregintenn]

5 minutes ago, monkeylizard said:

But it's a revolver. How could he put a 3" shell in the regular 2.5" Judge and close the cylinder?

 

I don’t have one to measure, but a shotgun chamber has to be long enough for the crimp to freely open up. How long is the crimp on a 410 shell? I do know you can easily chamber a 3” shell in a 2.5” chamber in a traditional shotgun. You’d best not fire it, however.

[monkeylizard]

Thanks. Makes sense.

 

[Rowdy]

On 3/8/2022 at 4:42 AM, Sunfish said:

You are sure your pistol is made for 3 inch shells ? 

Absolutely a 3 inch chamber.  Shot lots of 3 inch shells through it before. 

[Rowdy]

On 3/8/2022 at 9:06 AM, gregintenn said:

I don’t have one to measure, but a shotgun chamber has to be long enough for the crimp to freely open up. How long is the crimp on a 410 shell? I do know you can easily chamber a 3” shell in a 2.5” chamber in a traditional shotgun. You’d best not fire it, however.

You’re right, a 3 inch won’t work in a 2 1/2 chamber.  Won’t even close. 

[Rowdy]

On 3/8/2022 at 4:42 AM, Sunfish said:

You are sure your pistol is made for 3 inch shells ? 

Very sure.  I’ve fired dozens of 3 inch shells through it. 

[gregintenn]

I don’t mean to insult your intelligence, but is the revolver marked with a 3” designation? Could you post a pic?

If so, I’d damned sure be contacting the manufacturer of that ammunition. In the pic, it appears the shell almost came apart about an inch up from the head. Had it came loose and ate do in your barrel, the next time you pulled the trigger would have been a memorable experience.

[gregintenn]

4 hours ago, Rowdy said:

You’re right, a 3 inch won’t work in a 2 1/2 chamber.  Won’t even close. 

You’re likely correct. I do not know how long the cylinder is for a 2.5” Judge. I do know you can chamber a 3” 20 gauge shell in a 2-3/4” chamber. You can also chamber a 2-3/4” in a 2-1/2” chamber. A 1/2” difference might be pushing it.

My father was having a similar issue to yours with 3” 410 shells in a short chambered handgun, but it was a hand built gun and not a factory production model. That’s what I was thinking about.