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Old June 3, 2012, 11:40 AM   #1
flashhole
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Case Head Separation - pics

I had a 223 case separate on me today at the range.

It was one I was using for load development from a larger batch that I had processed and marked as - ready to load.

I had 10 or so cases loaded and fired them all. When I got home I went to the batch of brass and started a close inspection using a tool I fashioned from a skewer.

The pic is below. The separated case is obvious. I laid out the brass (fired and unfired) from the larger batch and discovered these rejects. The ones to the right of the separated case were the worst, the ones to the left not as obvious from a visual inspection but dragging the tool along the inside of the case revealed imminent failures. It was easy to feel the thin part of the case wall. Any brass thatd had any anomolie was pulled and tossed in the scrap bucket. In the future I will be more diligent inspecting brass with the tool.

Looking at the brass you can see the bright line in the pic in the same location the separation occurred. Just thought I'd share.

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Old June 3, 2012, 11:51 AM   #2
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Wow, exciting moment! How did the seperation manifest itself? Any blowback? How many times had that brass been reloaded? AR-15 / full-length resize I assume?
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Old June 3, 2012, 12:02 PM   #3
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Separations can delayed quite a while if you keep one batch of brass for one rifle, and headspace each round for only that rifle. Meaning, bump the should by just a few mils each time.

Even so, one would be wise to check each case, each time, before reloading it. Especially for a gas gun, that yanks the hot case from the chamber after firing.

Before I learned these points, I had many separations (30 cal, usually) with no serious issues.
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Old June 3, 2012, 12:19 PM   #4
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I do the same thing with a large paper clip and a 90º bend 1/16" long at the end...Sharpen a tad with a stone, and drag from the inside base up...

You can feel 'thin', just as you said...
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Old June 3, 2012, 01:49 PM   #5
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I'm glad you posted this. Luckily I didn't have one separate in the rifle, but after last range session while annealing I found one that looked like your second from the right in the bottom row. First time I've ever seen this. I looked for light through the "seam" and could not see any, so I put the base end in the vice and pulled sideways on the mouth end. It snapped and now looks like the third from the right in the top row. I found two more that look like no. 4 & 5 in the top row. I'm file thirteenth the rest of that lot. I believe they have been fired 7 or 8 times. Yah yah I know, time to start keep better track. I'm used to shooting and reloading .45 ACP and just shoot them until they split. Do not want to be doing that with the rifle brass.
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Old June 3, 2012, 01:57 PM   #6
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How many loadings on the brass, and how many times have you needed to trim them?

The lower "line" on your cases is where I've seen it happen before. Looks like the case is thinned there as well? I haven't seen pics of two areas of thinning like that before?

Curious- how many loadings, and trimming(s) have you done?

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Old June 3, 2012, 02:06 PM   #7
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The rifle is a Kimber Longmaster Classic bolt action. It has a very stingy chamber and brass only grows in length .002". When using the FL die I adjust it all the way down to set the shoulder back the .002" it expands. I get lots of reloads from my brass in this gun.

No blowback and the shot was well placed on the target. Didn't know there was a problem until I ejected it and only the small end came out. The long piece dropped out when I pointed the barrel up so it was not stuck in the chamber.

I do trim after each sizing and that material has to come from somewhere.

The check is easy to do and I will be using my "tool" a lot more. I bent the end up just like Salmoneye does on his paper clip and the loop on the end keeps it from rotating in my hand when dragging the inside of the case.
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Old June 3, 2012, 02:33 PM   #8
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I only trim when the brass exceeds the maximum length. The more brass, to maintain neck tension and bullet seating depth, the better.

Why do you trim every sizing, and to what length?

I only trim:

If there is substantial difference in lengths for the "lot"

Assuming the brass is "growing" with reasonable consistency, I don't bother with it until it exceeds maximum length.

I only bump to .001 with a bolt gun. .002 with semi's. This extends the brass life and still provides for easy chambering.

I'm also going to get Sinclair chamber gauges for every caliber- many rifles have longer chambers and no sense trimming the brass when it's not necessary.

http://www.sinclairintl.com/.aspx/pi...er-Length-Gage

I guess this subject is kinda like barrel break-in. Some believe in it, some don't so much...
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Old June 3, 2012, 02:54 PM   #9
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The brass gets work hardened and trying to maintain only .001" shoulder bump is not very consistent piece to piece so I just go for the resize I get from having the die adjusted all the way down.

Like I said, it is only .002" and even if I get some spring back I still have rounds that chamber properly. I do neck size from time to time but found better accuracy when I FL size for this particular gun.
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Old June 3, 2012, 03:01 PM   #10
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I trim after every firing to maintain exact case lengths. I do this because I shoot a lot of cast through my ar's. In doing so, I must flare the case mouth JUST A TOUCH and I find I get consistent flares with consistent trim lengths.

For jacketed I trim when it exceeds my MAX CHAMBER length. I have a tool that I made to measure how long the neck can be before it starts pinching bullets.
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Old June 3, 2012, 09:54 PM   #11
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I'd be curious what brass this occurred with. I had a separation in the exact same fashion last year on commercially loaded Lake City Brass.

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Old June 3, 2012, 11:04 PM   #12
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I have been using a scribe for years to check for head separation. Surprised many don't know of this one. An oldtimer taught me that one over 40 years ago. Great for belted magnums.
Good to see the neck portion fell out. Nothing worse that a stuck case in the chamber to make your day.
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Old June 4, 2012, 12:30 AM   #13
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Rangefinder - they were Lake City brass. They were not faulty brass, I just hit the end of their usable life. I got many reloads from them and I like using Lake City brass better than some other manufacturers.
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Old June 4, 2012, 08:12 AM   #14
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I had the exact thing happen a few months ago on some Lake City brass. Almost every round shows a faint line like your first 4 in the top row. I would try and use the paperclip method to see if I could feel anything inside, but it seemed fine. I even took a case and cut it in half the long way to see if I noticed something, but nothing looked out of line. I only had one round completly split. I wondered if it was a small imperfection of the chamber that was causing the line, and if that was what will cause brass to split in that paticular location? I would of thought that the split from excessive use would of been further down the brass towards the base?

I was using a bolt Reminton 700. I thought the lines occured more when I was shooting 60gr bullets.
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Old June 4, 2012, 09:48 PM   #15
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I prepped some new never fired Remington 30/06 brass. I had annealed them last night and ran them through the full length sizing die this morning then proceeded to trim and chamfer them. I found ONE that looks just like the first on the left in the top row.
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Old June 6, 2012, 10:17 AM   #16
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So why not just neck-size for a bolt gun?
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Old June 6, 2012, 11:48 AM   #17
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Thank you for posting that pic! I have some brass that developed the bright lower ring where the case web ends. This is the lower of the two rings visible on your brass as well.

While I retired that brass, I am not convinced it is a sign of imminent head separation because all the photos of failed brass that I've seen show it failing in the same location that failed on yours.

Some internet research revealed the term "pressure ring", which may be applicable to this lower bright ring. However, I don't know the significance of pressure ring and whether it is good, bad, or neutral.

The brass in question is usually FC headstamp, used three times. None of my other brass - LC, Lapua, Winchester, etc., exibit this lower ring even after four uses.

Can anyone weigh in on the significance of the lower ring that we can see in OP's photo?
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Old June 6, 2012, 11:56 AM   #18
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The lower bright mark is the end of the sizing die. It doesn't mean anything.

The upper bright mark is the beginning of a head separation.
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Old June 6, 2012, 03:12 PM   #19
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That is correct.
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Old June 6, 2012, 03:56 PM   #20
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totaldla - I actually get better accuracy when I FL size.
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Old June 6, 2012, 05:49 PM   #21
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On my 338 Lapua I discovered that I could only neck size a few times and then it would be extremely difficult to extract the cartridge. I only full length size now for consistency and smooth extraction.
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