Ruptured Case?

[CAC]

First time this has happened to me. I just got a 45-70 and was working on some loads. I had worked my way up to 51.5 gr of 3031 and a 405gr rem. and had shot about 10 rounds when one ruptured. There was no sign of excesive pressure, the loads should be around 27000cup. All the brass was new winchester. Any ideas what I did wrong? :cry:

Chris

[CAC]

Here is a picture of the cases.

[ricciardelli]

The brass just "gave out".

[Haywire Haywood]

I get that occasionally with 357 Maxi brass after a few stout loads through them.  They always split in the middle like that, never at the case mouth.

Ian

[CAC]

Thanks,

I think I'll give it a couple more rounds and see if it happens again. I checked the rest of the brass I shot that day and there aren't any signs of bulging on them.  So peraps bad brass.

Chris

[Patriot_1776]

CAC, what brand brass are you using?  I've had the exact same thing happen with my 454 casings.  How many?  At least 30 or so out of a 100!!!  I was really ticked when I saw these cases after their "maiden" firing.  The brand?  Winchester... Strange, I used the same loads in my Starline brass and in the hundreds I've done with them, never had that happen ONCE.  I heard that Winchester is more brittle, and can't take too much working from these high-pressure cartridges like a 454; but on the first shot, my gosh!  Oh well, but when 25 something $$$ worth of brass goes to waste like mine did, it gets frustrating really fast! :x  :evil:  :x  :evil:    Patriot

[Gregory]

I get that occasionally with 357 Maxi brass after a few stout loads through them.  They always split in the middle like that, never at the case mouth.

Ian

This has happened to me with a small percentage of new RP 357 Max brass on the first firing.  If they survive the first firing, they seem to last for repeated reloadings.

[Reed1911]

Yet more proof that ANY change in components needs to be worked up, not just changed out. You would really be suprised by the difference that changing components makes in pressure when loads are kept the same.
Some bullets have a higher friction coefficent then others, some primers flash harder, some brass has different inner dimensions.

[Jerry Lester]

You likely didn't do anything wrong.

I used to be a big fan of Winchester brass, untill they started getting extremely sloppy with their quality control. Out of the last several batches of Winchester brass(in several calibers, pistol & rifle), I've had to chuck at least 20% of them after one firing. I also had to toss 7 cases out of 100 in the last bag of Winchester 223s I opened because the shoulders, or necks were split from the factory. That's rediculous, and I swore then, I'd never buy Winchester again.

I use only Starline in my straight walled, and Federal in my bottle necked now, with the exeption of my Hornets, which are loaded in Remington cases.

[jhalcott]

I would DEFINEATELY send any factory NEW cases that I received with splits in them back to the factory.A few of these instances will make manufacturers sit up and take notice. In these lawyer proof times, NOammo maker wants bad publicity.

[PaulS]

Here is a picture of the cases.

Let me see if I understand you correctly:
These were new cases - loaded and fired once when they split?

if that is the case the send them back to the manufacturer (after e-mailing them your data).

If they had been loaded several times I think I can recommend something to help you. Neck size. the splits are "J" splits and are usually associated with old brass that has hardened with age. You might get longer life if you don't size the body of the case and just enough of the neck to hold the bullet. Annealing the necks could extend the life even further.

PaulS