Cracked neck
- Thread starter Twindad
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entropy
Member
How many reloads on them? Any annealing done?
scott511
Member
Where did you get your data of 25 gr of IMR 4064 from?
Hodgdon data shows 25.7 to be max for a 55 gr bullet and is compressed. Did you work up to 25, or start there? What was the COL?
Hodgdon data shows 25.7 to be max for a 55 gr bullet and is compressed. Did you work up to 25, or start there? What was the COL?
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AJC1
Member
Hard brass or work hardened brass splits. Anneal to soften and they dont crack as fast.
Swampman
Old Fart
Crappy Winchester brass.
These were all once fired Winchester brass from 62 grain Power Point factory loads.
These were all once fired Winchester brass from 62 grain Power Point factory loads.
redcon1
member
In your opinion, is it worth it for a semi-auto MSR like an AR15, AR10 or FN-FAL or PTR91?
bullseye308
Member
Maybe not the PTR91 if it treats brass like my CETME did.
bullseye308
Member
Probably just crap brass, if you still have the box contact Winchester with the lot number and a pic.
redcon1
member
It puts the flutes in it for sure. I feel like I should only expect to get about 2-3 loadings out of the brass anyways so I have always held off on annealing it and I just make sure I keep it all sorted by the number of times it has been fired to try to keep neck tension uniform. The ARs aren't too bad on brass but still, after the 3rd firing, I'm not picking it up again.
JFrank
Member
Looks like the handy work of an expander ball system in a full length die.
ArchAngelCD
Member.
What do the primers look like? Any other signs of excessive pressure? If not you just might have a bad batch of brass like the others said.
barnfrog
Member
Watching this thread purely for educational purposes. I've been told split necks are not caused by excessive pressure. Am I misinformed?
No ,you are correct. Pressure will not split necks. Hard brass is the most common issue. The chamber being hugely oversized can cause issue also.
It happens. I loaded some .223 range brass for my younger child with a below max charge I had been using with 55 Gr FMJs, and he had it happen with a handful of the cases the first time out. Either I picked up some brass that was work hardened from many firings (Yes, I check all range brass internally for the dreaded rut/forbearing of head separation), or it was just some crappy brass. I wish I remembered what brand. That's the first time I have had several cases do it, and not just the occasional one in a few hundred. He has since fired more from the batch I loaded with no issues, same rifle, so go figure.
Demi-human
maybe likes firearms a little bit…
That looks like garbage brass to me, yup, the bottom says Winchester. 
Going on round twelve with some, allegedly soft headed, Federal brass in my 5.56 AR.
I’ll probably toss them soon because the extraction groove is getting chewed up. I’m not about to file case heads to get them to fit a shell holder…
My annealing effectively triples the brass life, so, yes, I feel it is worth it.
Going on round twelve with some, allegedly soft headed, Federal brass in my 5.56 AR.
I’ll probably toss them soon because the extraction groove is getting chewed up. I’m not about to file case heads to get them to fit a shell holder…
JFrank
Member
Whether annealed or not when using a basic expander ball system the brass gets pushed and compressed from both sides like an English wheel where sooner or later brass gets thinned out.
Blue68f100
Member
It's Winchester brass. Several years ago they changed their mfg procedures to save cost. I had some new brass from them, that had all kind of flaws in them. I've seen their brass fail on the first firing of factory ammo. The only way to get more than 1 reload, if your lucky it did not fail the 1st time, is to anneal.
243winxb
Member
Anneal brass. Neck turn for Standard RCBS die. Or buy a fl S type Redding bushing die.
Over working the brass , not good. But some brands have a "donut" at time of manufacture. This can make it almost impossible to get the expander out of a lubed neck.
Many companies load 5.56/223 for 1 firing. They skip the extra annealing.
The 1 extra anneal was needed in Win brass when fired in another countries full auto. Worked in our M16 but had case head separations in other. The extra neck/shoulder anneal stress releaves the case body. Ok as long as case head area doesnt go over 400F degrees. https://discover.dtic.mil/
Over working the brass , not good. But some brands have a "donut" at time of manufacture. This can make it almost impossible to get the expander out of a lubed neck.
Many companies load 5.56/223 for 1 firing. They skip the extra annealing.
The 1 extra anneal was needed in Win brass when fired in another countries full auto. Worked in our M16 but had case head separations in other. The extra neck/shoulder anneal stress releaves the case body. Ok as long as case head area doesnt go over 400F degrees. https://discover.dtic.mil/
doubleh
Member
Ditto.
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