What's up with my brass?
 

Question for the reloading experts out there...what is causing my cases to split like this?

Details of load:
Both are 9mm, the one on the left is WWB and the one on the right is Federal (the cheap Walmart stuff).
Montana Gold 115 grain hollow point.
Accurate #5 @ 6.2 grains
OAL is at 1.1300"

I'm pretty anal about my brass, and sort it by number of times fired. This is what two out of a batch of about 500 looked like after being loaded and fired 4 times (included the factory loading).

6.2 grains is within the loading limits provided by Accurate Powder (loading data here: http://www.accuratepowder.com/wp-con...d_data_3.5.pdf). The recoil feels slightly softer than the factory ammo (again WWB and Federal). Also, I tried using slightly less powder at one point (at 5.9 grains), and it would not function in my well used G19.

I was under the impression brass was supposed to last for many reloads (10 times?).

I believe my loads are pretty soft, but it looks like it is too much pressure for the brass?

Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks.


http://i935.photobucket.com/albums/a...65nc/Brass.jpg

It happens, just toss them, or recycle them. Pressure, stress, Quality control during manufacture, any number of things. I just do a quick visual on mine before I prime them. Any cracks---> reject bucket. Any cracks after firing when I pick them up , tossed. It looks more serious than it is. I keep reloading my cases until they do this, that tells me their life is over.

In time you'll get over being so anal about your brass, there's too much good stuff on HBO to worry about sorting pistol brass.

Brass splits, some sooner than others but if you want to set your mind at ease that it may be something more serious take a dry Q-Tip and slowly run it up and down the chamber of your barrel.

If it snags anywhere yse a bore light and magnafying glass to check for the rough spot and possible pitted area. A very rough spot or pit will cause the case to split during extraction. The area can be buffed out with no problem so it's nothing to get worked up about.

Chances are you simply have a batch of weak brass but if it continues to happen with all brass find the problem through prosess of elimination.


Jack

Federal is some of the cheapest brass made, terrible for reloading. WWB used to be pretty good, but seems to also suffer from poor mat'ls lately. As brass comodaties become more expensive, the quality of the ultra cheap stuff goes down. If you are using an addative in your tumbler make sure there is no ammonia in it, causes the brass to become brittle.

I've had them. Novel at first, then not. It happens. Toss them and move on. 9mm is a high pressure load. Expect shorter brass life. I shoot mid-level loads. I never sort by times fired. Too much hassle; it all goes in the same bucket(s). No issues.

Thanks for all of the input.

I was hoping that this was normal. I guess I was expecting the "mouth" of the brass to crack first due to the flexing in flaring and crimping with each reload (I'm fairly new to reloading and this the first I have seen brass tear anywhere besides the mouth).

It seems I was worried about nothing.

Again, thanks.

Is that split really a problem? If so, I have to apologize to Jack. When I was loading 9mm on your 1050 last weekend there were a bunch like that. I didn't want powder to come out the side,so I just did a single wrap of scotch tape to hold it in...


:whistling:

You're supposed to use duct tape. Fixes anything! :supergrin:

I save that for something serious like a case head separation.

:rofl:

you are not supposed to use tape. Tape might keep the round from cambering. Super glue works better. It isn't like it that important. When you shoot it the bullet expands the chamber keeps all the pressure in anyway.:whistling:

Is all of your brass doing that, or just a few?

How about the "Mighty Mendit" stuff?

That's exactly what I told Zombie when he showed me some microscopic cracks in some 9's.

He thought I was kidding.

You young'uns are wasteful and don't fully understand what chambers do. More's the pity.


Jack

Just a few...so far only two out of about 500.
The 500 is a mix of mostly Speer and the rest is WWB and Federal. Speer seems to be holding up well.

Also, the Speer has a different color to it...it looks like there is some kind of film/oil on it from the factory.

Doesn't all the brass come from the same place (i.e. ATK)? It's labeled different, but I think its all the same company...

Speer and Federal are ATK. Some of their things are identicle but not all. Their products are like GM. A Chevy and Buick might have the same engine, but not necessarily the same breaks.

Winchester is Olin, a different company.

I agree with the others and think that a couple here and there is nothing to worry about. Those could even be someone else's brass that migrated into your collection and they might have beaten it to death before they left it behind. Entropy happens.

Ok I like the humor here. The mighty mend it, is destined to be a classic. Billy Mays (RIP) missed a whole market by skippin' us cheap a** reloaders didn't he.

A couple wouldn't concern me, but I've reloaded thousands and have come across maybe five or six like that. Keep an eye on it, your chamber may be out of spec or something.

You do that on purpose?

:rofl::rofl::rofl:

If he didn't he'll never admit it :tongueout:

Actually, I'd look smart if I tried to pass that off as a deliberate attempt at humor. I did spell it write, I just used the wrong word:whistling:

[QUOTE=WiskyT;17322057]Actually, I'd look smart if I tried to pass that off as a deliberate attempt at humor. I did spell it write, I just used the wrong word:whistling:[/QUOTE He did it again! :rofl: That is humor from what I here!