Ever seen a .44 mag crimped like this?

[troutjunkie]

Had the case split so badly on 2 they wouldn't eject.

 

[dw1911]

i've seen this with factory loads from winchester and remington. never shot it though

 

[David Sinko]

I don't see any problem here. Are you referring to the crimp at the case mouth or the knurling midway down the case? Both look normal to me. If the cases are splitting, it's probably for other reasons.

Dave Sinko

 

[troutjunkie]

A friend and I were shooting today, he had these, 240gr winchesters, I was shooting 180 Remington's...he ended up with a total of 4 cases splitting from the base of the shell up about 3/8 inch..they were new, not reloads...

 

[358156hp]

Sounds like annealing issues when the case was drawn.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I don't see any problem here. Are you referring to the crimp at the case mouth or the knurling midway down the case? Both look normal to me. If the cases are splitting, it's probably for other reasons.

Dave Sinko

I agree, I see no problem with that round. If factory ammo is splitting cases something else is wrong. Contact Winchester because I'm sure they want to find out if there's a problem with their ammo.

 

[troutjunkie]

Will check with them tomorrow...he asked if I wanted to try them to see if it happened in my gun..ummm no thanks.. I'm good.

 

[358156hp]

I thought I saw longitudinal cracking at the base, but after taking a closer look, I too see nothing wrong with the case. I think I was seeing a reflection in a really grainy cell phone pic. What are you referring to as splits? Do you have good pics of one of the split cases?

 

[troutjunkie]

hope this pic helps..

 

[ddixie884]

Is there any chance that ammo is factory, but is of older manufacture. I have heard of older brass splitting in factory loads with a little age on them.

 

[rwsmith]

Clearly to me

Clearly (to me) this is a bad batch of ammo. I've never seen a straight sided cartridge with a kink in the middle like that from a quality factory. (I've seen it in my reloading press ) It's good that it chambered but major brand ammo shouldn't split like that, especially considering how puny most factory ammo is nowadays. I mean this has TWO problems. First the kink and then the splitting. I agree with the annealing diagnosis as it could cause both problems, but I'm not expert in that department. They need to know about it. Heck, maybe they'll send you a coupon for another box of ammo or something. These days I think you are more likely to talk to a robot on the phone that asks strings of impertinent questions.

 

[arjay]

I'm guessing those are some old loads.I remember that line around the middle of the shell from about 30 years ago.They may have been exposed to something that's made the brass brittle.

 

[SMSgt]

Like polishing your cases with Brasso?

 

[mscampbell2734]

The crimp or ring in the middle of the case is called a case cannelure. Mostly seen in rounds loaded for auto pistols. The purpose is to prevent the bullet from being pushed down into the case when chambered.

With this round the purpose is the same because a lot of lever action rifles are chambered in .44 Mag. The overall shape and style of the round is nothing unusual in the least.

As for the split, I'd guess its a combination of your friend's gun has a chamber on the generous side and the brass is a little brittle, causing the case to split when it swells under pressure.

 

[rwsmith]

case cannelure

The crimp or ring in the middle of the case is called a case cannelure. Mostly seen in rounds loaded for auto pistols. The purpose is to prevent the bullet from being pushed down into the case when chambered.

Thanks, I've been loading for over 30 years and haven't see that. Still to me it looks like the cannelure is too far down the case and that the bullet could still be pushed in pretty far. Makes sense, though