What the hell happened
- Thread starter Bghunter338
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Bghunter338
Well-Known Member
Scary thing is that's how I found them. I was going to check his zero for him and when I grabbed one out of the box it literally came apart in my hand. And that was the first one so none got fired.
derfssor
Well-Known Member
Time and humidity IS the culprit. I have seen this several times through the years. In every case the rounds were old and the bullets were locked to the neck. Pressure and corrosion together weaken the neck shoulder area and you see what happens. If stored in a dry area this will not happen. I have personally had reloads that i have shot that were 35 years old and worked just fine. After inspecting the case after shooting, they looked just fine. just my 2 cents from an old man. The old sayed, keep your powder dry, still stands.
I don't know how old these were, but I still have my father's 45 and 30 cal ammo in US boxes from WWII and still look OK.
Curious on that. I called Hodgon years ago on powder shelf life and they told me that it will last years as long as you keep it closed and in an environmentally safe area (out of the sun and high humidify). I have some H414, H4895, H4350 from 15+ years ago and it still shoots extremely well. I guess I'll have to dig up the 500lbs I have burried in the back yard and start using it.
Did something heavy get set on the MTM box?
Bghunter338
Well-Known Member
Yeah I have loads that I have loaded from the 90's and never seen this.Time and humidity IS the culprit. I have seen this several times through the years. In every case the rounds were old and the bullets were locked to the neck. Pressure and corrosion together weaken the neck shoulder area and you see what happens. If stored in a dry area this will not happen. I have personally had reloads that i have shot that were 35 years old and worked just fine. After inspecting the case after shooting, they looked just fine. just my 2 cents from an old man. The old sayed, keep your powder dry, still stands.
baggy270
Well-Known Member
Powder is stored in plastic containers….what's the difference between that and a hopper?
bullet man
Well-Known Member
good point not sure but its in the instructions to not leave it in the hopper I think its because its not sealed as well as in the container. I have noticed if I forget to empty it it sticks to the hopper.
A few weeks ago, I opened a new box of .223 Hornady Tap ammo that a swat buddy of mine gave me a about a year ago. 8 had some corrosion on them. The pic are the worst of of the bunch. I cleaned the one on the left. It looked like there could have been a pin hole in the brass causing the circular corrosion on the sides. Seems to be of a similar nature as the OP, but these are <2 years old and only 8 of the 20 in the box were like this. Any thoughts on this?
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I was out in the woods doing some long range work about two years ago. The spot where I set up my 900 yard target had a shiny pile of Federal 223 brass, all split necks. It happens, but broken stuff like those new 223 rounds is scary schnitt.
Were they stored with Duraleak batteries, or near where something leaks? The corrosion appears to be from the outside, not in. Pull them and check.
