From: toby@stein.u.washington.edu (Toby Bradshaw)
Subject: Re: Load pressure question...
Organization: University of Washington, Seattle

In article <199307080716.AA08212@ugle.unit.no> ole@delab.sintef.no (Ole-Hjalmar Kristensen) writes:
#Don't worry about the asymmetry of the bulge. Unless you have a very tight
#chamber, the cartridge will rest on the bottom of it, and the upper
#side of the case will receive less support, so it will expand more.

The cases are bulged because, as Bart Bobbitt said, the case walls are
not of uniform thickness.  The bulge is to the thin, weak side.  Now
that the case has bulged, the case head is no longer square, and the
entire case is shaped like a banana.  It's pretty hard to get the
bullet aligned with the bore using a banana as a bore guide.  The
resting of the case on the bottom of the chamber is unlikely to
have much effect, as 50,000+ psi tends to overcome the force of
gravity on the case in short order.

-Toby Bradshaw
toby@u.washington.edu