What am I seeing here? Cracked 38SPL cases

[Zeke/PA]

I have TONS of older once fired .38 Special brass, a supply that I dip into occasionally.
I have expirenced just normal problems like a split case every now and then.
I sort my brass by brand and I don't notice one brand being more durable than the other.
Maybe they made stuff better 30 years ago.
Split after ONE firing?
Makes you wonder!

 

[returningfire]

I've seen some 38 spl. do that. Usually after several reloads or with junky brass. And I am not a fan of using Federal once or so fired brass.
You might have increased the cup pressure some by using the magnum primers.

Anyway, the best way to check for the "ring" someone is talking about is with the bent end of a paperclip. just feel your way down the inside of the casing with the bent end and if you feel an indentation, junk that piece of brass.
Case/head separation or split brass can be dangerous, especially in a semi-auto, not so much in a revolver but still not something you really want to do.

 

[Twmaster]

These are not getting rings....

After looking at the dozen or so cases I've found with fractures all seem to be from the same lot of Federal brass. I've got other Federal brass that looks different. The other brass looks 'redder' than this stuff.

Anyhow, I've culled all the Federal cases out of my pile of 38 brass. It's now in the recycle bucket. I still have enough brass of other makes to last me 20 years....

 

[ranger335v]

"When I see failure on what looks like relatively new brass I usually suspect that the failure was caused by exposure to ammonia."

Ditto, and those cracks sure look like random ammonia gas embrittlement at work. But, it sure wasn't due to excessive chamber pressure.

 

[Maj Dad]

On the subject of bad brass, Federal has been very soft in my experience, both rifle and pistol. I reloaded a box of once-fired Federal 303 Brit that suffered about 50% case separations and the rest very nearly separated on the second, and very moderate loading (admittedly fired in a No 4, Mk 1* Savage, but other brass did fine, especially Norma). I no longer sit and ponder such phenomena - I just chunk it in the recycle can and move on.

 

[Twmaster]

Just to end some of the speculation.... This brass was never subjected to ammonia. At least not while in my possession. I do not have ammonia based cleaners in my home as I cannot stand the stench. I clean in water with stainless media and a small squirt of dish soap.

If it were ammonia why is the rest of my brass doing just fine.

I repeat. Every piece of failed brass I have here is Federal. I'm not anal enough on plinking loads to bother sorting by headstamps.

 

[Peter M. Eick]

Sometimes bad lots just exist. Stuff happens so it may not be anything to do with you.



This is some 357 max brass from Remington. About a third of it split on the first firing. I sent a picture to Remington and then sent me 500 new pieces of brass with their apologies.

Try it with Federal and see what they do. It may just be an honest mistake.

 

[ranger335v]

"If it were ammonia why is the rest of my brass doing just fine. "

TW, you didn't always have possession of it so you have no way of knowing how ammonia fumes may have been present.

Peter, your cases show classic splits due to work hardening. Softer cases take longer to split than hard ones. How quickly any given batch of cases split depends a whole lot on how hard it was to begin with.

 

[X-Rap]

Cracks just happen eventually. Some are linear, radial, and at the mouth. I see it more in 38's than others but it might just be the thousands of rounds that have been reloaded god only knows how many time.
When I find one as I reload I chuck it into the junk pail. If one slips by I shoot it and toss it afterwords.

 

[buck460XVR]

Do you know the origin of the brass, as if it was bought new or was it range pickup? If it had been yours since it was new, I'd hafta go with the bad batch theory. If it was range pick up, I might suspect it was max loaded ammo shot in a lever carbine. A few years back I had some .460 brass that did the same thing. Never did figure it out altho many here and on other forums had different ideas. Funny thing was, it was supposedly reduced recoil loads that created the separated cases. One theory given to me was that the load was too light to expand the whole case to the cylinder. The idea given was the area where the bullet was seated was already expanded a bit and it would expand and stick to the cylinder walls whereas the back portion would be pushed backwards without expanding and sticking and thus making the cases stretch and crack at the top of the web. I dunno.....but since I quit shooting similar reduced recoil loads, I have not had a similar experience. The talk of detonation was brought up also. But like others things in life that don't go well, I moved on to other things that did.

 

[Zeke/PA]

Just in passing, a friend gave me 40 rounds of Federal .30-'06 brass in 1960.
I used it in ONLY my Model 70 deer rifle and I'm STILL using it!
Reloaded probably 6 times with no problems.
I only shoot the M70 MAYBE 3or4 times a year though.

 

[noylj]

1) There is only so much energy in a given weight of powder.
2) In my experience, .38 Special is the MOST likely to crack--no matter the age or the gun they are fired in.
3) Excess pressure with a L-HBWC will leave the skirt in the barrel or even the forcing cone. Light loads are the key.
4) Try sizing with the carbide insert of a Lee FCD. If the "sized" cases chamber, then that is all the sizing you need.
In my S&W M52s, I don't resize any cases--the force of the slide is enough to chamber them. This does not apply to revolvers.
5) I have not seen a circumferential failure like this. All of my case failures are longitudinal.

 

[Fishslayer]

They were shooting metallic cartridges back then?

Yes. The first metallic cartridges predated smokeless powder so it's possible.

 

[Fishslayer]

Every piece of failed brass I have here is Federal. I'm not anal enough on plinking loads to bother sorting by headstamps.

Well, I do sort by headstamp and come across the odd pickup with splits, but not like in the OP.

I'll start noting the headstamp from now on.

 

[Match10]

I do not not believe ammonia was the cause of this. I work with ammonia all the time. The amount of gaseous ammonia to embrittle an amount of cases similar to this would be a reportable event and featured on the six oclock news. You'd have to soak this in Hoppe's to get an ammonia 'event' at home. This is just a case of improperly annealed brass from the manufacturer.