Strange Happenings

[JimT]

After shooting my 30-30 Trapper yesterday I came home and dumped the fired brass into the vibrating cleaner and let it run all night. I wanted to get any carbon and dirt off the brass before I resized them. This morning I pulled them out of cleaner and looking at them noticed a bunch of them still had "dirty" necks.

This is some of the ones that look like they should

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This is what a bunch of them looked like

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Inspecting them closely I discovered all the "dirty" ones had neck cracks! Now I have only been reloading these cases since the 1990's and figured they oughta last longer than 30 years! Then neck cracks were mostly short cracks in the middle of the neck. Only one was split at the case mouth.

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After I looked at the photo I saw the little cracks off to the right!

One was cracked across the neck.

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The rest were lengthwise cracks.

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The majority of the cases were R-P headstamp. These are the other headstamps of the cracked cases.

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I had a total of 18 cracked cases ... That is about 40% of what I fired yesterday.

[Walt]

I have boxes of .44 mag ammo that I've loaded for decades and shot only in revolvers, a number of which are headstamped R-P. A couple of weeks ago I brought out my Marlin m94 and experienced for the first time two complete case separations. Luckily the front half came out of the chamber in each case so it didn't tie up the gun but I did go out the following day and bought a couple of bags of Starline brass.

[Bill in Oregon]

Well phooey, Jim. They do wear out, just like we do.

[GunnyMack]

My 257 Robert's Ackley improved tends to split cases. I've also been loading these since the 90s. After I learned about annealing I've (knock wood) not had a neck split.
We all know brass work harden so I now anneal all old brass. Some of which is 60s vintage 218 Bee , factory primed that I've deprimed and annealing- in hopes of keeping the old Bee running.

[Ysabel Kid]

Took Y2K out (well, actually it is the other way around since we go to the club he belongs to) last month. I've been trying to bring something we haven't shot in a long time, and he had requested that I bring the SMLE, so I did. Didn't shoot it much; .303 British ammo is not as cheap as it once was (nor is anything else). But I noticed when I go back that 50% of the cases had neck splits!

I guess I won't be reloading those...

[Old No7]

...303 British ammo is not as cheap as it once was (nor is anything else). But I noticed when I go back that 50% of the cases had neck splits!

Shoulda shota Schofield!

Old No7

[Ysabel Kid]

...303 British ammo is not as cheap as it once was (nor is anything else). But I noticed when I go back that 50% of the cases had neck splits!

Shoulda shota Schofield!

Old No7

Yep, I doubt I'll split .38 Special cases. This was before it arrived though. And given I am on "round 2" of the crud going around (was diagnosed with walking pneumonia Monday), the Schofield is going to have to wait a bit longer!

[Paladin]

I guess you will have to switch to the new two-part steel cases to get them to last longer.