I recently bought a sporterized Norwegian Krag rifle which was re-chambered to 6.5 x 54 Mannlicher Schoenauer using a chamber insert.

I've learned that these were done by a Canadian Importer back in the 50's due to the scarcity of 6.5 x 55 ammo at that time. 6.5 x 54 M-S was plentiful and common, unlike the opposite today.

Along with the rifle, there was mixture of old handloads and brass. 2 boxes of Dominion, 2 boxes of Norma and 4 boxes of the old Midway in orange boxes.

When inspecting and cleaning the brass I ran across 5 Midway cases that had longitudinal splits around the base, one also has splits in the neck. All of the other brass appears to be sound. All has been fired in the same rifle.

I was told by an old gunshop officinado whom I have known for years, that Midway stopped selling their house brand brass because of this problem. While the Gentleman in question is very gun knowledgable, he tends to "fabricate" at times to promote his expertize.

My question is, what are the causes? Does anyone know if the "bad Midway brass" story is founded in fact? Or is this just a case of "over-worked" brass? There aren't any other obvious excessive pressure, excessive head space or oversized chamber symptoms or signs.

Thanks for any knowledge or comments...

Ron

By golly, that's a new one on me. I've never seen cases fail in that manner. I'm waiting to hear what the experts have got to say.

Why don't you cut one in half, lengthwise and see what it looks like. Maybe do the same with one of the ones that look okay.

I've been reloading for nearly 40 years. I don't recall ever seeing uniform splits like this. It almost appears to be an intrinsic flaw in the forming of the cases. I hope not, because I have 75 of them, and they are expensive and hard to find.

The others were all fired in the same gun. None of them show any sign of a chamber defect, etc.

Thanks...

I have seen this more often than not in old Danish smokeless military ammo.
The case being: Bad powder (Oozing excess asids into the cartridge) and then depleting the brass of zink.

Maybe shotty brass, but bad powder for sure!

quote:

Originally posted by D B Cooper:
I've been reloading for nearly 40 years. I don't recall ever seeing uniform splits like this. It almost appears to be an intrinsic flaw in the forming of the cases. I hope not, because I have 75 of them, and they are expensive and hard to find.

The others were all fired in the same gun. None of them show any sign of a chamber defect, etc.

Thanks...

Plus poor quality brass to start with, and, brass can become brittle with age

Your guess is as good as mine. Take your pick- 1.Over pressure load in brass that was damaged on forming. 2.High pressure load fired in a very large chamber,can happen in both web area & neck splits. Seen neck splits when fire forming a wildcat, if brass has not been annealed.3. +1 on this one "Plus poor quality brass to start with, and, brass can become brittle with age"

Not enough barrel setback?
Case head .454 for 6,5*54ms vs .478 for 6,5*55.

I saw that a long time ago in some mil-surp brass. Its from chemical attack along the axis of the grain like The Dane said. It is possible that corrosive primers contributed to the problem but not a necessity.

The only way I know to inspect the other cases it clean them really well and beg, borrow or steal a bore scope to look for insipient failures develping in the rest of them. You may or may not be able to tell but it would be worth it to try.

Otherwise its shoot and hope for the best or toss 'em.

I've had that occur with some old military surplus 7x57 ammo and some old 30/06 surplus ammo. The brass has weakened with age. It is not safe to shoot it. New 6.5x54 brass and ammo are available, don't risk injury or death shooting that stuff.

i believe that i would start my measuring the cases and comparing them to factory specs. my tendency is to believe that it is brittle brass, but it also could be a chamber that is oversize

This is relatively common with poorly manufactured cases. George Frost explains this well in Ammunition Making (NRA Press). A push pin shoves the case off the head turning mandrel and hits the inside of the case head off-center. This locally hardens the case metal and sets up a stress point. Upon firing the strain causes the case to split precisely at this point. It is considered a major defect by the military, one reason this is seen so often with foreign "surplus" ammo. Someone in the supply chain sells the "to be destroyed" ammo to a surplus dealer under the table. His family gets a new car, and the consumer gets the shaft.


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I suspect TXNimrod is closest to correct in his analysis. Without having the actual brass to examine,"close" may be the best we can do here.

I had an apparently identical problem with some Herter's brass in the early 1960s. I sent it to the NRA to get their opinion. They sent it to a major firerarms brass manufacturer's lab.

The written response I got back from the NRA was that the brass was excessively hardened during manufacture, and not properly annealed afterward.

YThey also said that numerous such complaints were why Herter's was not allowed to continue advertising in American Rifleman at that time.

Well, I contacted Midway asking if they had complaints. Got a standard Boiler Plate CYA, "Don't have a clue" response.

I have since been informed that this was a common problem with Midway brass. One reason they have stopped selling it.

The brass has been returned to the original owner for a refund. I also informed him that if he tries to re-sell it, he could have a big time liability problem.

I would think the mfg and/or the original supplier would have the liability rather than the current owner. But then again, I'm not a 22WRF.

Liability is now determined by who has the deepest pockets. Truth and light doesn't enter into it.