cracked cases

[fishinfoo]

today i was a bit nervous about shooting my first reloads but they all worked out quite fine. whenever i got home i put all of my brass in the tumbler. I just now checked the brass to see if it was clean and shiny when i noticed a 45lc case with a crack in the middle of it. it wasn't like a split at the mouth but it is a crack about a half inch long down the middle. Also the crack doesn't touch either end of the case. I was wondering as to what would cause this. My guess is that it is just cheap brass (the cheap brown box winchester stuff).

it was once fired winchester brass with 6.4 grains of unique under a 250g bullet.

Thanks for your help.

 

[Walkalong]

No big deal. A longitudinal split of one sort or another is how 99% of revolver cases die. Toss it, load the rest.

 

[NCsmitty]

I wouldn't worry about 1 case being cracked. Stuff happens. If it was several, then I would wonder, but keep track and see if it occurs again as you use those cases a few times.


NCsmitty

 

[Slamfire]

I was wondering as to what would cause this. My guess is that it is just cheap brass (the cheap brown box winchester stuff).

If it was once fired then it was most likely a hidden defect in the brass blank. Sheet brass can have flaws or inclusions.

Scratches in the manufacturing process can cause weak seams as the brass is drawn.

Your case is a gas seal. It will keep its gas sealing properties even with splits, as long as those splits are surrounded and supported by cylinder or chamber walls.

If the split occurs in an unsupported area, such as the case head below, things can get damaged.


If you size cases enough, they will develop body and neck splits. Toss out the cases with these splits. Once a case develops a body split or a neck crack, that case should not be used again.

 

[The Bushmaster]

I agree with both of the above posters...I've seen as much as 5% split in a set of 50 cases. Thought nothig about it. Replaced the split ones with replacements and kept on goin'...

 

[fishinfoo]

ok thanks and also another thing i noticed is that my reloads are smokier than factory ammo

 

[ReloaderFred]

If you're using cast bullets, the smoke is coming from the lube. Don't worry about it, since it's normal.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[fishinfoo]

ok I guess thats what it is. thanks for the help

 

[243winxb]

Unsupported Area

New brass can have a defect and split on the first firing. Maybe 1 or 2. but if more, i would look for an oversize chamber. In a revolver, it could be just 1 chamber, not all. If you get more, mark the chamber where the split case came from.

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[rfwobbly]

Unique is not exactly a smoke-free powder either!

 

[fishinfoo]

dude 243win, that middle case in the first pic looks waaay messed up!

 

[Walkalong]

Does it look anything like this .45 Colt brass?

This was one piece of a dozen or so RP & 3D range brass I was using to test loads with. This RP brass split the second time I shot it, but all the other brass, including the other RP, has been shot 5 or 6 times since then and is still going strong.

 

[Walkalong]

Here are the good cases. I added the 3D cases in after the RP had been fired once or twice.

 

[bedwards1]

You do need to clean your chambers well afterwards as it leaves a corresponding deposit in the chamber when this happens.

be

 

[ranger335v]

"..another thing i noticed is that my reloads are smokier than factory ammo"

Not to worry, it's normal. Low pressure/velocity loads drop chamber pressure pretty fast and the cases contract while powder is still burning in the bore. Some of the burn residue gets pushed down the case exterior; it's harmless.