Cracked Cases

butta9999 · July 2, 2008, 01:39 AM

Just a little warning to all fellow reloaders. I just took some .223 once fired brass from my tumbler to find several had cracked necks. Some were cracked down to the shoulder. I could understand if they were hot reloads but they were factory 55gr S/P Winchester. I have never encounted this before and i have inspected thousands of rounds from .222 to .300 win mag after the first factory firing. Bad batch of brass! Who knows.

Incognito · July 2, 2008, 09:14 PM

What brand where they? Where they purchased as "once fired" or were they new when you bought them? Not to cause insult, but you didn't put ammonia in the media, did you?
I know you stated they were Winchester 55gr s/p - is that the bullet utilized, or factory manufactured store bought cartridges.
Another question; have you shot ammunition through this rifle before without same results? Pictures would be nice. Sorry for all the questions but your post is a little vague and I myself am very curious

butta9999 · July 3, 2008, 12:30 AM

No these cases were winchester factory loads never fired. No chemicals in my media. Bullets were fired from a sako rifle. Rifle is practially brand new. i think i attached a photo not sure if it worked. Only new to this site

rg1 · July 3, 2008, 02:24 AM

From your pic it looks like just badly annealed brass. In resizing does the expander ball take more than normal force to pull it thru the neck? I'd suspect the whole lot of that brass as possibly bad?
For what it's worth, I was going thru some loaded ammo that was loaded back in 1992 and I found 2 rounds that were split from shoulder to the mouth. I know they did not split before or during seating of the bullet. I think they split in storage? I've heard of this happening before but have never seen it especially in my loaded ammo.

butta9999 · July 3, 2008, 03:06 AM

the brass has not been resized that was from winchester factory loads. I am reloading a batch on the weekend ill let you know. Could be the storage thing . The thing is i have reloaded for my .222 and .243 with aged brass before and have only ever had cracked cases after many loads.

mniesen89 · July 3, 2008, 03:11 AM

Thats some messed up $&*^. If it were me, Winchester would definitely be getting letter and a few phone calls! I guess getting a bad batch is bound to happen eventually though. Just curious, if you reload why fo you still purchase factory ammo?

butta9999 · July 3, 2008, 04:42 AM

I bought the gun not too long ago. I usually purchase 100 rounds with a new member of the family to run the barrel in. Then i reload from there. Thats why i posted this thread cause i have bought many diff loads for many diff cals but never had cracks on brass fired from factory loads.
i might write to winchester you never know.

Incognito · July 3, 2008, 10:00 PM

Well, on the bright side, at least your rifle is OK, and you're not hurt. You stated earlier that it might have been storage thing. I don't know where you aquired the ammo, but I wouldn't get any more from them. If you bought it at a store, bring it to their attention. If it was new ammo, definitely contact Winchester. Let us know how it goes

butta9999 · July 4, 2008, 01:27 AM

yes i will thanks for the replies.

July 2, 2008, 01:39 AM	#1
butta9999 Senior Member Join Date: June 29, 2008 Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Posts: 692	Cracked Cases Just a little warning to all fellow reloaders. I just took some .223 once fired brass from my tumbler to find several had cracked necks. Some were cracked down to the shoulder. I could understand if they were hot reloads but they were factory 55gr S/P Winchester. I have never encounted this before and i have inspected thousands of rounds from .222 to .300 win mag after the first factory firing. Bad batch of brass! Who knows.

July 2, 2008, 09:14 PM	#2
Incognito Senior Member Join Date: May 19, 2008 Location: Colorado, USA Posts: 370	That's messed up What brand where they? Where they purchased as "once fired" or were they new when you bought them? Not to cause insult, but you didn't put ammonia in the media, did you? I know you stated they were Winchester 55gr s/p - is that the bullet utilized, or factory manufactured store bought cartridges. Another question; have you shot ammunition through this rifle before without same results? Pictures would be nice. Sorry for all the questions but your post is a little vague and I myself am very curious

July 3, 2008, 02:24 AM	#4
rg1 Senior Member Join Date: November 6, 2001 Posts: 1,125	From your pic it looks like just badly annealed brass. In resizing does the expander ball take more than normal force to pull it thru the neck? I'd suspect the whole lot of that brass as possibly bad? For what it's worth, I was going thru some loaded ammo that was loaded back in 1992 and I found 2 rounds that were split from shoulder to the mouth. I know they did not split before or during seating of the bullet. I think they split in storage? I've heard of this happening before but have never seen it especially in my loaded ammo.

July 3, 2008, 03:06 AM	#5
butta9999 Senior Member Join Date: June 29, 2008 Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Posts: 692	the brass has not been resized that was from winchester factory loads. I am reloading a batch on the weekend ill let you know. Could be the storage thing . The thing is i have reloaded for my .222 and .243 with aged brass before and have only ever had cracked cases after many loads.

July 3, 2008, 03:11 AM	#6
mniesen89 Senior Member Join Date: October 21, 2007 Location: deland,fl Posts: 238	Thats some messed up $&*^. If it were me, Winchester would definitely be getting letter and a few phone calls! I guess getting a bad batch is bound to happen eventually though. Just curious, if you reload why fo you still purchase factory ammo?

July 3, 2008, 04:42 AM	#7
butta9999 Senior Member Join Date: June 29, 2008 Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Posts: 692	I bought the gun not too long ago. I usually purchase 100 rounds with a new member of the family to run the barrel in. Then i reload from there. Thats why i posted this thread cause i have bought many diff loads for many diff cals but never had cracks on brass fired from factory loads. i might write to winchester you never know.

July 3, 2008, 10:00 PM	#8
Incognito Senior Member Join Date: May 19, 2008 Location: Colorado, USA Posts: 370	Well, on the bright side, at least your rifle is OK, and you're not hurt. You stated earlier that it might have been storage thing. I don't know where you aquired the ammo, but I wouldn't get any more from them. If you bought it at a store, bring it to their attention. If it was new ammo, definitely contact Winchester. Let us know how it goes

July 4, 2008, 01:27 AM	#9
butta9999 Senior Member Join Date: June 29, 2008 Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Posts: 692	yes i will thanks for the replies.