Brass Failure

101sniper · #1 03-08-2011, 09:15 PM

I am wondering if any one has had any problems with Rem brass. This is 308 stuff after the third reload. The loads aren't hot 43g of Reloader 15 They are being shot out of a Rem 700P. They were full length resized the first loading and then neck sized the following two reloads. There is on more cracked case but it was a very small one. I only fired ten rounds and five of them ended up like this. any help would be great. Thanks Brandon

nheninge · #2 03-09-2011, 07:47 AM

looks like excessive work hardening to me . poor quality brass from the factory? Maybe . are your dies overworking the brass? is this brass neck turned? I would throw whatever brass you have from this lot and start again.maybe you should consider annealing the brass, but with that many problems I would seriously consider starting over again with new brass. reevaluate your reloading process to make sure you're not over working the brass .

MTBULLET · #3 03-09-2011, 08:20 AM

just curious, what bullet are you using ?
and yes, I have had bad batches of brass, but mainly from winchester, and some of the older federal.

rscott5028 · #4 03-09-2011, 09:16 AM

I'm no expert on this. But, a few thoughts come to mind.

Is the scale calibrated? Did we accidentally dump too much powder? What do the primers look like on these cases?

Is this a new rifle? Or, has it been fired many times without issues? Could there be an issue with the chamber dimensions that's overworking or overpressurizing?

Did you trim to length properly?

What's your bullet and seating depth?

Again, I would expect primers to show signs of pressure before seeing something like this.

What's the ID/OD of the necks on your fired brass?

What's the headspace measurement of your cases from the datum line on the resized/loaded brass relative to new and fired brass?

Have you run a box of factory ammo through it?

101sniper · #5 03-09-2011, 09:17 AM

I really don't think I am over working the brass. I have Rem brass that I have 8 to 10 reloads on, and I use the same neck sizing die on all my 308 stuff. No these cases are not neck turned. I have tried some neck turned cases in my 700P but i dont see a differance in the way that gun shoots. I am going to purches an annealer shortly from what I have read this can help alot. Do you anneal if so what method do you use?I am useing 168g SMK or 168g A-max these were loaded with the SMK's. Thanks for the help gents.

rscott5028 · #6 03-09-2011, 09:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 101sniper

I really don't think I am over working the brass. I have Rem brass that I have 8 to 10 reloads on, and I use the same neck sizing die on all my 308 stuff. No these cases are not neck turned. I have tried some neck turned cases in my 700P but i dont see a differance in the way that gun shoots. I am going to purches an annealer shortly from what I have read this can help alot. Do you anneal if so what method do you use?I am useing 168g SMK or 168g A-max these were loaded with the SMK's. Thanks for the help gents.

I would (do) buy Lapua and Norma brass long before getting into annealing.

It's far superior to RP, Win, and all others.

...better annealed from the factory.
... better in every respect.

Gene · #7 03-09-2011, 09:26 AM

The necks are stretching because you are F/L sizing the shoulders down too far, creating excessive headspace. Turn your die up a full 360 degrees, and go slowly down again about 1/16" at a time until die barely touches the shoulder. Try the case in rifle. If bolt turns down hard, move down another sixteenth. Do this until the bolt closes with very mild resistance. The bottom of the die should be somewhere near the shell holder, not necessarily tight against it. If bolt flops down, you sized case shoulder too far. Use very light lube in and out of brass neck -shoulder area.