Vertical Split in case body when fireforming

[Tac-O]

I fireformed 14 cases today, and had two of them split vertically in the body. I've never had this happen.

Lapua 284win virgin necked up to 30 cal, fireformed to Ackley improved. They chamber with a slight resistance.
55.0gr imr 4451
175 smk 0.020 off lands
Cci200

FF velocity average 2690 from 24" bbl. Velocity of the two that split was in line with the others.

This load is well within Max in Sierra's load manual for 30-06. My FF brass as a water capacity of about 70 grains.

Could this be caused by a defect in the brass? This load is definitely not high pressure.

Thoughts?

 

[Seabeeken]

I've formed a lot of AI cases and never had one do that. Harder than normal brass? I'd call Lapua and see what they say. I've seen heads separate from poor headspace but never split this way

 

[Shane Lindsey]

Have a few of these from forming 338 Sherman out of Peterson 270.

 

[Pdvdh]

That sucks. Must be unusually brittle case walls, compared to average cases. Fireformed a lot of different cartridges. Never had one separate like that

 

[nksmfamjp]

Can you anneal? I wonder if a normal neck/shoulder anneal would help that area enough.

Was it new brass?

 

[Koda_]

Could this be caused by a defect in the brass? This load is definitely not high pressure.

Yes, this is a manufacturing defect. You would get obvious pressure signs in all the usual places well before case body splits vertically like that, its manufacturer issue.
Ive had this same thing happen with brand new Nosler brass. Nosler never refunded my order.

And its happened to others:

Help with split cases

I've been slowly trying to find a good load for my .223 wylde AR, it's not easy these days. I was able to get some new Starline 5.56 brass from the manufacturer awhile back and tried a few loads this past weekend. Out of 15 rounds 8 split down the body of the case. Everything else was fine...

forum.nosler.com

 

[FEENIX]

I fireformed 14 cases today, and had two of them split vertically in the body. I've never had this happen.

Lapua 284win virgin necked up to 30 cal, fireformed to Ackley improved. They chamber with a slight resistance.
55.0gr imr 4451
175 smk 0.020 off lands
Cci200

FF velocity average 2690 from 24" bbl. Velocity of the two that split was in line with the others.

This load is well within Max in Sierra's load manual for 30-06. My FF brass as a water capacity of about 70 grains.

Could this be caused by a defect in the brass? This load is definitely not high pressure.

Thoughts?View attachment 538115View attachment 538116View attachment 538117

BUMMER! I commend you for your persistence in making the .30-284 build work for you despite all the challenges you have had with it.

 

[MagnumManiac]

This occurs from brittle brass, the annealing done during drawing is inadequate or too fast and the case doesn't expand correctly and splits vertically. Have seen this myself forming Weatherby cases from H&H brass.

Cheers.

 

[243winxb]

Case diameter before & after firing?

Another annealing may help. The case body needs to reach a minimum of 485F to stress relieve the brass.

 

[Tac-O]

Darn. If this is due to brittle brass and being an annealing issue while drawing.... I'd bet that this issue exists to some degree throughout my entire box. It was not cheap and i didn't buy it through Lapua or one of their dealers.

To answer a couple of the questions above:

I annealed before necking these up in an induction annealer to the point that they just start to glow, about 6.8 seconds (Peterson takes only 4.8!!!)

Diameter... At which point? The virgin shoulder is about 0.471-0.472... can't remember. My chamber is 0.4865 at shoulder and I'm also moving it to 40*. Head diameter at the edge of the extractor groove on virgin is 0.499- and on these cases that split it's 0.499.

I'll definitely contact Lapua to see if they'll inspect them if I send them in. I want to know if it's a brass defect for sure and if I should just abandon the rest of this box of brass. I don't want to damage my chamber or end up with an injury.

I'm wondering if I should avoid shooting the ones I've already fired. I've got 25 that are on their 2nd firing.

BUMMER! I commend you for your persistence in making the .30-284 build work for you despite all the challenges you have had with it.

Either I'm a glutton for punishment, or it's not that much trouble it's shot really well and I enjoy it. The only real issue I've found is that either my sizing die swells around the base on Peterson cases that have at least a few firings (causing the clicker issue) or the die is out of spec. The die kinda sucks and wasn't hardened. Anyhow, I've got up to 11 or 12 firings on Peterson with my 2825fps 185 juggernaut load, no donut issues, and the pockets are still tight. That load is very very accurate. Someone who knows what they're doing needs to pick this cartridge up and play with it!

 

[Mikecr]

It could be useful to measure thickness variance at necks (with a ball mic) to see if there is thinning inline with the splits.
This may have been mitigated with deep body dip annealing, but while the splitting brass is different than the rest in-lot, it's still bad.

 

[Seabeeken]

I've had cracks in the necks of Winchester in yrs passed but no other brand and never in the body.

 

[Sealesniper]

brittle brass, manufacture defect. Contact Lapua.

 

[Koda_]

And please let us know if Lapua doesnt take care of you, they should.