8x58R Sauer cases split after firing

[Billkek]

Hi members. On Saturday I shot for first time my combination gun of 8X58RSauer with ammo made by Reed’s Ammunition & Research I had bought a few years back. These rounds are made with reformed cases of 303 British. I fired 8 rounds of 175g soft point .318 bullets and 3 of 200g soft point bullets. Of the 8 rounds 175g bullets, 4 cases splintered near the mouth of the case. Also, I can see some discoloration near the mouth of the cases that did not split. The cases are very thin at the mouth. The split started from about .25”” below from where the bullet was seated to almost the top of the mouth and a couple through the mouth of the case. Recoil was very mild and consistent in all the rounds I fired. What do you think the cause is? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I have pics of the fired cases but I am not sure how to post them. If you can assist me with that, it would be great. Thank you, Bill

[ligonierbill]

It is not unusual for cases, especially old reformed cases, to split at the mouth. For most of us, that's the primary indication to retire the case. Discoloration near the case mouth just means that a bit of gas leaked in the moment before the case expanded to form a seal to the chamber. I wouldn't worry about it. Did you have a chronograph? I'd be interested in velocity and consistency of these rounds.

[Dillonhelp]

Most likely, after the cases were reformed into 8x58R, the cases were not annealed. The cases evidently work-hardened during the reforming. If you intend to reload these cases, i would suggest you do not fire the ammunition. Pull the bullets, dump the powder, gently deprime the case. Then anneal the case, then reassemble. There are a variety of homespun methods of annealing cases without buying an expensive tool.

[44 AMP]

ammo made by Reed’s Ammunition & Research I had bought a few years back.

Just to be clear, the ammo was not made for you a few years ago, but made sometime earlier and you bought it a few years ago???

My guess would be an annealing issue. If the cases split during storage, it would be called season cracking, which is also an annealing issue.

[Billkek]

Hello and thank you for your replies. Correct. I purchased the ammo ready made from Reeds a few years ago.

[Billkek]

Hi. Thank you for your reply. I bought a chronograph, but unfortunately it arrived after I fired those shots. Bill

[Shadow9mm]

My guess was the reforming process work hardened them and made them brittle. Should have been annealed before and after reforming imho, probably weren't.

[Unclenick]

This is a case where simply stress-relieving rather than fully annealing the brass will prevent the problem (splitting), so the candle flame method will do. Pull the bullets, check and set the powder aside, and deprime. Then you just hold the case by the head and roll it back and forth between your thumb and finger while holding the neck and shoulder of the case in a standard dining table candle's flame. After about 20 seconds of this, on an averag size case the head starts to get too hot to hold, so you pull the case out of the flame and set it on a non-combustible surface to cool or drop it onto a wet towel to cool it to a handling temperature more quickly and without it getting wet inside.

[Billkek]

Thank you for your recommendations.