Hello. Before going to Florida for the winter, I reloaded about 300 rds for hog hunting. My rifle is a newer Savage 25-06. About 50 of the brass was reloaded 4 times previously. When I returned home, I noticed that fully half of the 4x brass had split necks. Not just small splits, but clear down the neck to the shoulder. I can see daylight through the cracks. I am fairly new to reloading. I did not reload to more than midway on the manual data. I used all the charts as to OAL, etc. The brass has never been loaded hot and most of it was purchased by me as factory rds. It is very concerning to me because I read about people reloading 10-20 times w/o issues. Anyone have any suggestions to solve this problem?
Neck splits after 4 reloads
- Thread starter modlaw
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rcmodel
Member in memoriam
Work hardened necks.
The only cure is to anneal the case necks.
Easiest way is to set them in a shallow pan of water.
Then heat each neck to a dull red in dim light with a propane torch.
Then tip it over in the water and do the next one.
rc
The only cure is to anneal the case necks.
Easiest way is to set them in a shallow pan of water.
Then heat each neck to a dull red in dim light with a propane torch.
Then tip it over in the water and do the next one.
rc
Some brass just lasts longer than others. I have only gotten 5-7 reloadings from my 30-06 brass (Garand), but upwards of 10 with my 30-30 and mebbe 12 from my .223 used in my single shot.
Anneal a bunch like RC mentioned and try again...
Anneal a bunch like RC mentioned and try again...
rcmodel
Member in memoriam
If they are work hardened to the point of splitting?
It would be like starting over with new brass again after annealing.
I cant put a number on it as every chamber is different, so expansion may be greater, or less each firing.
And all brass isn't created equal to start with.
rc
It would be like starting over with new brass again after annealing.
I cant put a number on it as every chamber is different, so expansion may be greater, or less each firing.
And all brass isn't created equal to start with.
rc
sage5907
Member
Many years ago I was loading for a 25-06 using military Lake City Match brass and I was getting many split necks just like what you describe. Today I realize the reason I had the problem was that I was loading too hot. I wasn't smart enough back then to realize that flattened primers and split necks go hand in hand. rcmodel may be right about work hardened necks because it's hard to know how many times the brass had been fired. Today I shoot my 25-06's and never load hotter than 1 or 2 grains below max and I never get split necks. I use both Winchester & Remington brass and some of them have been fired as many as 10 times. I don't know what kind of powder you're using or your bullet weight but you could try Reloader 17 because I have found it is easy on brass and accuracy is good. Reloader 17 doesn't have the pressure spike that you see with powders like IMR 4831. The same is true with Reloader 25 but I like Reloader 17 because accuracy is better.
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gamestalker
member
I've never annealed, probably should, but I have this issues with certain head stamps, and in certain chambers. But usually I can get some where between 8 and 12 loads from most. But I when i get splits, they are usually very small, almost microscopic, never had them open up like your's.
GS
GS
rcmodel
Member in memoriam
IMO: Hot loads do not cause split necks.
Brass can only expand so far to fit the chamber, and no further, no matter how much pressure you have.
If it was gonna split it will split hot, or mild.
Because the brass to just too hard to expand to fit the chamber.
rc
Brass can only expand so far to fit the chamber, and no further, no matter how much pressure you have.
If it was gonna split it will split hot, or mild.
Because the brass to just too hard to expand to fit the chamber.
rc
243winxb
Member
Avoid over working the brass = Bushing die.
VThillman
Member
That's the long & short of it; applied logic. Only exception is an excessively weak load, where the case doesn't expand to the chamber wall. I don't even know if that happens with bottleneck cases; if it does, they would be 'smoked' on the o.d.
Sunray
Member
Not to a dull red. That's too hot. Only until the brass changes colour.
"...Hot loads do not cause split necks..." Absolutely not. Hot loads do shorten case life, but that doesn't have anything to do with work hardening.
"...Hot loads do not cause split necks..." Absolutely not. Hot loads do shorten case life, but that doesn't have anything to do with work hardening.
sage5907
Member
I'm still not sold on this work hardened neck. Remember, his cases started as new and he has only reloaded them 4 times. I would wonder if he was pulling his expander ball through the neck without any lubrication on the inside of the neck. That makes more sense. Or maybe he washed the cases and then dried them in an oven which would make the brass really hard.
Additional info: I noticed that all the splits are head stamped R-P or F-C. The ones marked WW Super did not split. Also, Sage had an interesting comment about lubing the inside of the case neck. I don't know whether I was adequate in that regard. How should I lube the neck properly? I usually just run the little brush inside to remove the lose powder. Should I run the brush through the lube pad? I learned to reload entirely from YouTube. This may be a cockpit error but it is funny that all the splits are of the same head stamps. Thanks for all your replies.
sage5907
Member
modlaw, probably everyone on thehighroad has a different idea about how to lube the inside of case necks. It's easy for me to take a 25 caliber cloth swab that's made like a brass brush and wet it with a little RCBS case lube and push it in an out of the case neck. It doesn't take very much lube on the swab. If you're expander ball is making noise when you size the case it is telling you to lube the inside of the case neck.
rcmodel
Member in memoriam
I roll a nylon bore brush on a lube pad and run it through each case neck.
It requires very little case Lube, so don't over-do it!!
rc
It requires very little case Lube, so don't over-do it!!
rc
Elkins45
Member
My 257 Weatherby brass won't make it to 4 loadings unless it is annealed. If I anneal every other firing it lasts until 2-3 trimmings like the books suggest.
Annealing wil easily double the life of your bottlenecked brass in my experience.
I use a slotted cleaning jag with a patch smeared with lube, replenished as needed.
Annealing wil easily double the life of your bottlenecked brass in my experience.
I use a slotted cleaning jag with a patch smeared with lube, replenished as needed.
lightman
Member
Split necks are a pretty common problem with Winchester brass. Its an annealing problem.
rcmodel
Member in memoriam
It isn't dangerous at all.
Unless you chamber one but don't fire it.
Then it leaves behind a bullet stuck in the bore when you eject it.
Even then chances are very great you couldn't chamber another round on top of it.
rc
Unless you chamber one but don't fire it.
Then it leaves behind a bullet stuck in the bore when you eject it.
Even then chances are very great you couldn't chamber another round on top of it.
rc
rcmodel
Member in memoriam
Well, that too I suppose.
But unlike pierced primers burning the same place every time.
The chance of a split case neck happening in the same place in the chamber twice is about 1 in 360 degrees.
I would chalk it up to bad brass and call it explained.
I have had new Federal 9mm brass come apart at the seams the first time it was reloaded.
rc
But unlike pierced primers burning the same place every time.
The chance of a split case neck happening in the same place in the chamber twice is about 1 in 360 degrees.
I would chalk it up to bad brass and call it explained.
I have had new Federal 9mm brass come apart at the seams the first time it was reloaded.
rc
30Cal
Member
The 25-20 brass I currently have will split somewhere between first and third firings if I don't anneal it.
ironworkerwill
Member
I had split necks on the very first firing of NEW 100ct bag of federal 223 headstamped FC 14. The weapon has never spat out a split case before. The brass that survived the first loading was annealed and no other necks have been noticed to be split.
There's a knothead around here, that is retired military and I know he knows better, insists on loading cracked neck 223 brass for some of the teenage kids who "don't know any better". I've seen 2 boxes of those that had powder leaking out the cracks into the box. Probably half a dozen rifle chambers ruined since. They get to the point they won't chamber. It doesn't take many of those to ruin one either. The kids scraped up every penny they had to buy the rifles in the first place. So they are S O L . OYE
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