cracked neck

[Trever]

Hey guys, I bought new brass about a year a year ago. I loaded it, fired all of them and reloaded them. I have just been taking a few shots here and there when I get a chance. Well yesterday I got my rig out to shoot and noticed that some (2-4) of the twice fired cases were cracked at the neck. I started inspecting the ,still loaded, once fire brass with disappointment. 7 out of 36 of my loaded cartridges had cracked in the necked. I fired the ones that weren't cracked and all but one cracked. This bothers me for numerous reasons but why are the first dozen not cracked and then all of a sudden they all cracked after that.

Specs
Ruger 277 mkii v/t
22-250
38.0 gr. H-380
Win cases
Hornady 55gr. Fmj
Cci br2

Help me out!?!

 

[gohring3006]

I would hope its just a bad batch of brass I would try different brands and see if it still does it I bet it won't if it still does it try anealing

 

[Mikecr]

What kind of case/neck sizing?
How much?

 

[Trever]

Lee 3 die set. I don't recall it taking much at all to size.

 

[lightflight]

annealing may help a little but it does sound like bad brass or they are getting over worked.

 

[Marble]

Annealing will extend their life a little bit.

What brand brass and what caliber?

I have found mine usually crack when I resize them, if they crack at all.

 

[Trever]

Specs
Ruger 277 mkii v/t
22-250
38.0 gr. H-380
Win cases
Hornady 55gr. Fmj
Cci br2

Help me out!?!

22-250 and winchester brass

 

[Deleted member 46119]

At the range in the brass buckets I have seen plenty of cracked necks.

I have experienced it once while sizing.

I do anneal and that is the best I can offer. Sometimes, when I know I'm going to be working the brass pretty hard, say for necking up or down, I will anneal new cases.

 

[Trever]

I need to anneal everything I'm sure. I am not set up for it right now though. By that I mean the reloading bench is completely packed up and will be for little longer. I had just never heard of cases just cracking over time from stress. Especially with not sizing up or down. It's just a normal run of the mill chambering. But now I know, hope annealing fixes this. Thanks

 

[Timber338]

Brass will age harden over time, but only 1 year seems a little on the fast side. of the case necks that split, can you measure the neck thickness at several points around the neck?

In the past I have had some winchester brass with horrible variations in neck wall thickness to the point that the worst ones cracked even after the first firing. The neck wall thickness on those cases were 0.016" at the thickest locations, and tapering all the way down to .008" (and over course to zero where they split) in the thinnest spots.

Without seeing your brass, my guess is that you got a bad batch where some of the necks have very thin sections. If you do have those thin sections, annealing might help a few from splitting, but accuracy is not going to be up to the rifles potential. If you measure your necks and find that neck wall thickness variations are large then just throw away those brass. And you might just be better off starting from scratch with new brass.

 

[Timber338]

I should add that with good brass, neck wall variations should be within .001" for a single piece of brass. Comparing an entire batch of brass I like all of the neck walls to fall within +/-.001" (.002" total thickness variation).

 

[Trickymissfit]

of all the cartridges I've shot or shoot, the 22-250 is the one I get some neck splits with. But that's usually after seven or eight shots unless I anneal the necks. I'd guess your necks are particularly hard, and need to be annealed. Also you may have a die problem magnifying this issue. Shoot a couple rounds and measure the unsized necks. Then size these necks, and see how much difference your seeing. Anything over .0045" means your moving a lot of brass. I see about .003" on one 22-250, and right at .002" on the other. On my .223, I see about .0015" or even slightly less for comparison. Another check is to measure the sized case and then measure it loaded. Anything over .004" might be a problem in that your over working the necks on the case.

So start out with a good anneal job using welder's temp sticks (500 degrees). Heat the necks and shock the brass in ice water.
gary

 

[Trever]

Thanks everyone. I will get some more brass and try your recommendations. It always seems like there is something else doesn't it.

 

[Mikecr]

Actually, it's usually something less that provides better results.
The best plans are rarely complicated