Was shooting some .32's yesterday:

• S&W 31-1 snubby in .32 S&W Long
• S&W 16-4 in .32 H&R Magnum
• Ruger SP-101 in .327 FM

Variety of ammo:

• .32 ACP FMJ in 31-1 and 16-4
• Georgia Arms .32 S&W Long JHP in all 3 guns
• Remington Green Box .32 S&W Long LRN in all 3 guns
• American Eagle .327 FM in SP-101
• Federal .32 H&R 95 Gr LSWC (32HRA) in 16-4 and SP-101
• Federal .32 H&R 85 Gr JHP (32HRB) in 16-4 and SP-101

It all worked as expected, except the 85 gr 32HRB, which:
Gave a beautiful and satisfying fireball of muzzle flash, heavy recoil, just about impossible to extract, and split cases. Every one of the 20 I fired had a split case.

I asked Federal Technical Support about it (I provided the lot numbers). They said that my 32HRB was produced in 1990, and that 28 year old ammo should be discarded. Sounds like BS to me. Any thoughts?

I had some problems with case splitting with the early federal brass and it was new at the time. I bought some starline and had no more problems.

I'm still shooting some stuff I loaded in the 80's with no problems. Factory ammo from WWII is still being used lots of places. If Federal thinks 28 yr old ammo is no good, I don't want to buy any more of their ammo.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

I had problems with Fed stuff splitting in a Ruger Single 6 several years ago. The stuff was NOS I found hitting older gun shops.

I had this exact same problem with Federal Classic .32 S&W Long splitting, which bummed me out as I reload the cases. I called Federal and they told me it was old brass. What a crock! I have greatly cut back on buying their ammo as a result of the runaround they gave me.

I'm so sorry for your hassle. Please enjoy the thread I posted on the subject, and know you're not alone:

Displeased with Federal's response after ammo problems

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Now go make God proud...

If you find a batch of ammo, old or not, that is splitting cases, then quit shooting it. Rupturing cases can damage your chambers.

Really? How do you figure?

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Now go make God proud...

When I had this problem in 1990 in a new model 631, I sent a sample of split cases with the lot number back to Federal. A few weeks later, I received a package with 3 boxes of replacement ammunition and a letter from Federal. The letter apologized for the problem and explained that the first run of 32 H&R cases had been improperly annealed and were brittle and prone to splitting.

I have been reloading later lots of Federal 32 brass since 1990 without problems other than normal neck splits on many times reloaded brass.

Experience, with damaged chambers from gas cutting from ruptured/split cases.

I find that difficult to believe in something as low pressure as a revolver cartridge, as I have yet to see the steel chamber that wasn't stronger than the brass cartridge casing. Do you have photographs of this remarkable occurrence?

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Now go make God proud...

Well, I have the replaced revolver cylinder I use as a paperweight but I have no idea how I'd get a picture of the inside of the chamber. I probably still have the service receipt from S & W for the repair, somewhere, but as usual it didn't say much. If you choose to not believe me my feeling won't be hurt.

well obviously you want to use whatever ammo functions best in your gun... It does say that in the owner's manual.. And apparently this particular brand/make doesn't work too well does it?