What happened?
- Thread starter kiai63
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OKFC05
Member
I've had brass split on the first firing......and another one out of the same box last until I could barely read the headstamp from being fired and reloaded so many times.
Nothing particular "caused" it that you can fix.
Throw it in the copper recycle bucket with your spent pistol primers: $2.86/#.
Nothing particular "caused" it that you can fix.
Throw it in the copper recycle bucket with your spent pistol primers: $2.86/#.
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MichiganScott
Member
Bad brass. I bought a bunch of new .44 mag brass years ago and had half of them crack during the first firing. Called Sierra up because I was using their bullets and they didn't have anything good to say about the .44 brass from the manufacturer I was using.
I tossed them. The rest of that batch lasted through many other loadings.
I tossed them. The rest of that batch lasted through many other loadings.
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They are making what I call...
Some companies are making what I call 'one shot brass'. They are true brass but don't take to reloading at all. I pick stuff up at the range that is new, but cracked. I can feel and hear them. They make a high pitched 'ting' when you handle them. I've seen most of this in 9mm but I wouldn't be surprised to find it in other calibers.
Some companies are making what I call 'one shot brass'. They are true brass but don't take to reloading at all. I pick stuff up at the range that is new, but cracked. I can feel and hear them. They make a high pitched 'ting' when you handle them. I've seen most of this in 9mm but I wouldn't be surprised to find it in other calibers.
fredj338
Member
Brass Is just weird. I have had revolver cases split like that from one resizing, means nothing. If you segregate your brass by manuf & times fired, you would pay attention to the rest. If they all start showing stress fractures, then I would toss them all but a single case here or there, **** happens.
bluetopper
Member
It happened upon firing instead of resizing, I'd put money on it.
ontargetagain
Member
It's pretty easy to get one to split once you put a little nick on the lip of it. This one seems to show some chaffing markings along the lip? Maybe clean out your dies if they have not been cleaned internally. Are you doing a heavy roll crimp?
Karl
Karl
Wee Hooker
Member
You didn't use any ammonia based cleaners did you?
Qc Pistolero
Member
Just like Michigan said;some are junk.Even amongst the best ones,these can happen once in a while.Luckily,the good ones largely outnumber the bad ones.
Qc
Qc
No, just a crimp that the seating die does. And this was the first reload for this case.
I use a sonic cleaner with this fluid in the picture. I have not found any data sheet what it contains, but at least it doesn't smell like ammonia.
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I think I agree with you. It just came more visible when resized.
scooter123
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I couldn't ven find a net listing for the maker of your product so most likely it was "brewed up" in someones garage. Odds are it's a mixture of dish soap and white vinegar with perhaps a bit of salt. A mixture that will leach the Zinc out of brass and weaken it. Because white vinegar is Acetic Acid and when you mix Acetic Acid with some table salt one by product is Hydrochloric Acid. BTW, this formulation is VERY commonly recommended on the Net for ultra sonic cleaners and while it does clean brass it will also weaken it over time. I once had a case in a bag of "once fired" range brass picked up at a gun show that I could actually crumble between my thumb and fore finger because it had been cleaned so many times using a formula like this.
Note, I now clean my wet brass with Stainless Steel pins in a Thumlers Tumbler. My particular formula is 1 table spoon of dish soap, two cap fulls of Turtle Wax ZIP wax, and 1/4 teaspoon of Lemi Shine. While the Lemi Shine is Acetic Acid it's a very small amount and that 1/4 teaspoon is diluted in about 2 gallons of water.
Tip for spotting brass that has had Zinc leached out of it by using a cleaning solution that is too acidic. That is a pink or redish tint to the brass. If you see that you can still use the brass but it WILL split sooner than if you cleaned it with a milder solution.
Finally, reload any brass long enough and it will split. Good news is that I have never had any issues during firing that was the least bit concerning in terms of safety or injury. In fact every case I have had split was found during sizing because there is zero resistance when sizing a case that has split. I will also note that if you listen carefully enough you can actually hear a split case when you dump a baggie full of brass into a plastic bowl to make it easier to size. That bit about a split case going "Ting" is 100% correct and the sound is distinct enough to actually hear while a full bag of brass is being poured.
Note, I now clean my wet brass with Stainless Steel pins in a Thumlers Tumbler. My particular formula is 1 table spoon of dish soap, two cap fulls of Turtle Wax ZIP wax, and 1/4 teaspoon of Lemi Shine. While the Lemi Shine is Acetic Acid it's a very small amount and that 1/4 teaspoon is diluted in about 2 gallons of water.
Tip for spotting brass that has had Zinc leached out of it by using a cleaning solution that is too acidic. That is a pink or redish tint to the brass. If you see that you can still use the brass but it WILL split sooner than if you cleaned it with a milder solution.
Finally, reload any brass long enough and it will split. Good news is that I have never had any issues during firing that was the least bit concerning in terms of safety or injury. In fact every case I have had split was found during sizing because there is zero resistance when sizing a case that has split. I will also note that if you listen carefully enough you can actually hear a split case when you dump a baggie full of brass into a plastic bowl to make it easier to size. That bit about a split case going "Ting" is 100% correct and the sound is distinct enough to actually hear while a full bag of brass is being poured.
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Ole Joe Clark
Absent Comrade
Cracks happen. I just toss them in the recycle bucket. Over the years I have reloaded a lot of .38/.357 brass. As I resize and clean primer pockets I sometimes find one or two. If it cracks on the first load or two, it probably was not annealed during the forming process.
Have a blessed day.
Have a blessed day.
Alk8944
US Veteran
Strictly that is not a crack, it is a tear. A matter of insufficient ductility in that particular case. It didn't fail sizing, it failed on firing, and invariably on the first firing. Happens with both new factory loaded ammunition and component cases. Most likely cause is, as Ole Joe Clark said, it missed the final annealing leaving the case too hard. This happens with all brands of brass.
Might be your first, if you shoot for any amount of time it will not be the last! Throw it away and get on with life.
Might be your first, if you shoot for any amount of time it will not be the last! Throw it away and get on with life.
gwpercle
Member
If the brass was brand new , never fired by anyone, then it had a flaw in the metal.
If it was purchased as "once fired" brass sometimes they aren't "once" fired but just picked up many times fired and when you reloaded it , it cracked.
They do wear out , inspect every case during the sizing and loading and look for signs that a case is cracking.
Reload and look at cases long enough you will start to recognize the signs that a case is going to crack.
A flaw in the metal of a new case may not show any signs and just crack.
Mine that crack like that, lengthways , are usually old and reloaded until the sizing finally cracks the case. The work hardening of the brass makes it brittle and it eventually cracks.
Gary
H Richard
US Veteran
Back in the 80's several of us split an order of 45 acp brass, and we ordered 10,000. It was all military brass, but cleaned de-capped, and De-crimped. After just 2 or 3 loadings I would get side splits like that of maybe a dozen with every couple hundred I shot. It was my understanding was over hardened and brittle.
hdwhit
Member
Acetic acid is Vinegar
Lemi-Shine is Citric Acid.
scooter123
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You are correct. Two things really bug me about getting older, one is what has happened to my eyesight and the other is that my memory just isn't as good as it used to be. Good news readers help with the vision and buying them in bulk allows me to have a pair anywhere I might need them. As for the Memory, Notes and Reminders on my Iphone have been quite useful.
The brass case no longer has any X's or 10's left in it. Throw it in the recycle bin/bottle/trash. This is what old brass does.
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