.38 special case cracked on factory ammo?

[Slips73]

Hey everyone, I was out shooting today, and had a case split on me from new factory ammo, i was shooting 158gr fmj std pressure .38 special rounds from Geco (german company) in my 70's era model 15-3 revolver. I never have seen this before in hundreds of rounds through my revolver. what happened to it? and should i be concerned about my revolver? I didnt notice any swelling or bulges on the cylinder and when firing it, no excess recoil was noted, the case extracted fine, though felt a little stiff. How should inspect the gun for any damage?

thanks,

Adam

 

[1historian]

brittle brass...not the gun...

 

[k22fan]

I would assume that one brass case was not heat treated correctly and go on with my life.

Usually longitudinal splits occur after a case was reloaded many times using a resizing die with a diameter that is a bit small for the revolver's chambers. Explained differently combine a resizing die that is on the small side of tolerances with chambers that are on the large side of tolerances and you get splits with less reloads. I had quite a few splits in standard pressure .38 special reloads from a commercial supplier years ago. They had no effect on accuracy or the revolver.

 

[ContinentalOp]

That happened to me a few months ago with Remington factory ammo.

In my case I had to use pliers to remove the case. I did check the chambers using a bright light and a magnifying glass and couldn't find any damage.

I contacted Remington and they sent me a shipping label to send it back to them at their expense. They got back to me last month and said it was defective brass and they sent a reimbursement check for the ammo.

I recommend contacting Geco and letting them know what happened if you haven't already.

 

[Arik]

If it was one case I'd chuck to "It happens" and continue on.

That being said I don't think they are made in Germany any more. It's no longer owned by a German company.

1966/67 Consolidation of the brands GECO, Rottweil and RWS under the umbrella of Dynamit Nobel

1972 Relocation of Durlach to Stadeln

2002 Acquisition of the Dynamit Nobel AG by the Swiss tech company RUAG

Made in Hungary at the MFS plant. Some possibly made in Switzerland

 

[tomcatt51]

...I was out shooting today, and had a case split on me from new factory ammo, i was shooting 158gr fmj std pressure .38 special rounds...

It happens. It means you throw that case out instead of reloading it.