"Lost about 8-10 during sizing & expanding.
Then another 8-10 during bullet seating.
Then 12 more when I shot it."
When I go to the range and want my ammo to look good for those around me, I polish my cases with a home made type spinner, cases that are going to split, 'split' when spun, before I size, seat or fire. To reloadrs the cases just split, to electricians it always looks like electrolysis, oxidization and dissimilar metals, to metal shop workers it is work hardened, to reloaders there was nothing THEN all of sudden, the case splits or the factory did it.
When forming wildcats and or necking up cases when forming, the cases that are subject to splitting will split when necked up as in 30/06 to 35 Whelen and 338/06, The first split is the only warning I get. Just because I had the cases I necked up 280 Remington (Nickel) to 35 Whelen, not a good ideal, failure due to splitting was as high as 30%, so I expected splits, I sized 100 nickel cases. Then I went to 280 Remington brass cases, I lost 2 out of 100 cases because of splitting on once fired. In the perfect world I would have chose new unfired cases for forming, but, not all the cases I necked up were going to be used for loading.
With good cases I do not expect splits when sizing and or seating, to get to the range the pistol case must survive the belling process, and I am not afraid belling the case is going to split it. It is a small sacrifice for a few cases to be used for destruction, as in being tested beyond what is expected, again I spin cases for looks and function.
I have reloaded FA 58 NM (MATCH) cases,l before I read on the Internet the cases went to the Iron & Metal shop because a short cut was used in the precess of manufacturing, it is believed at least one and possibly two annealing precess was eliminated, whatever? it is said they took liberties, I do not know or even care if the problem was corrected and the manufacturing process proceeded or if they changed the process after a few were released, I collect Ol' anything,, so I put the FA58 MATCH cases away in boxes of 20, I tested the cases for all the reasons given for not using cases that are suspected of being fired in a machine gun, work hardened for having been fired too many times, just setting around and doing nothing but aging?? and were made for blank cartridges, I could find no reason for believing the Internet Story. What are the chances my FA cases were purchased from the Iron & Metal yard, before pull down was available and all military brass was once fired. Anyhow by the time I got to the range I knew the cases were not going to split, sworm or render my rifle scrap.
F. Guffey
