I had a partial case head separation using a 1.8oz buffer

[LRRPF52]

Well, we made it 16 pages before the personal snipes started flowing. Not bad really - most other forums hit that much sooner I suppose.

Engineers can be one of the most catty bunch I’ve ever seen, and hold grudges too.

The culture in engineering communities is a weird construct of geeks, nerds, with managers who have to wrangle it all somehow.

I’ve seen some of the greatest minds kicked to the curb from classified programs that would have really brought value to the enterprise had they stayed, but egos couldn’t be kept in check.

Short story for me is I don’t like seeing bad ideas being thrown around when someone comes here for help.

I have a very strong sense of ownership of keeping the information here valid and useful, as was how I found it when I came here looking for help in 2009 on powder selection and recommendations from guys who had been loading for it for 5 years.

Imagine if I had gotten bad advice from some well-meaning types with pedigrees, who overlooked the obvious. I wouldn’t have had much respect for the membership’s ability to relay correct information.

This was literally the main incentive for collecting and formatting a set of Reloading Handbooks for this cartridge.

Excess cyclic rate and how to avoid it is discussed in those handbooks, as they deal with specifics to how the AR-15 works, knowing that many people would be building their own.

The work we put into those was peer-reviewed by prominent firearms and ammunition engineers in the field, not just some amateur attempt to throw out a set of reloading books.

Between the authors, we’re looking at:

Decades of aerospace and weapons test and evaluation experience for at least 2 of us, cumulatively amounting to over 100 years.

A PhD in biology and research in biotech who did the terminal ballistics testing.

Alaskan big game guide, NRA Hi-Power Master, and accomplished trophy hunter.

We had Bill Alexander and heads of ballistic research at several of the big name cartridge manufacturers review the drafts, so this isn’t about me.

My biggest failure here was overlooking that post the OP made where he asked about the Strike Industries short pistol RET (shorter than a carbine RET), with its tiny little 1.8oz buffer.

That’s the nail in the coffin for diagnosing what happened here, when you look at the failure node on the brass clocked with the extractor.

Another thing I’ve learned is I now have to monitor more closely people dropping into diagnostic threads where it’s very likely that bad information will be immediately posted, false conclusions posited without substance, then those ideas defended rigorously before we have all the important data.

I can tell you now not do engage in that kind of behavior. It’s not helpful to people coming here looking for help.