.223 neck splits

30 December 2002, 05:29

bughole

.223 neck splits

I have been using Winchester brass and only neck sizing. The gun is a Rem700 ADL synthetic. The load is 50gr vmax over 27gr w7748. Inspecting brass this morning I noticed some necks split after 4 firings. Also, the necks are fairly black.

Is this common with these thin necks?
Is rem or federal brass better?

30 December 2002, 08:26

Hot Core

quote:
Originally posted by bughole:
Is this common with these thin necks?
Is rem or federal brass better?

Hey bughole, It can happen with "ANY" caliber. But, you may or may not have a specific Lot of Cases with "hardened Casenecks".

You can probably extend the case life by Annealing the Casenecks. No guarantee this will totally solve the problem, cause it could also be due to either an oversize chamber-neck or the resizing die you are using may be overworking the caseneck.

Take 5 non-split fired cases and measure their diameter as precisely as possible. Rotate them between the spindles of a 0.0001" capable Micrometer if you have it, or a 0.001" capable Caliper and record the "high spot" or widest measurement. Average those numbers.

Resize those cases with the Expander removed, remeasure and average.

Reinstall the Expander and run them through the Die once more, remeasure and average.

Seat bullets, remeasure and average.

Now, look at those values and you can see how much the Caseneck is being "worked" as you perform each step. If anything appears excessive, we should be able to tell it from those values.

If the Chamber Neck is oversize(probably not), the only "cheap hope" is to find thicker neck cases, maybe nickle plated. But, I don't like to normally recommend them because of other problems they can create.

Or, if your Dies are "over-working" the cases, that is a simple matter to resolve with a new set of Dies - maybe the Bushing Style from Redding.

But, best of all would be for the Annealing to work. I like to Anneal every 5 reloads anyhow.

...

Nearly forgot, the WW748 is a doublebase powder which is prone to giving you those "fairly black" casenecks. Does it on mine too.

For Velocity, I've found WW748 or BL-C2 to be tops. For Accuracy, I used to prefer H4895 or H322. But my Accuracy Champ is now Hodgdon's Benchmark.

[ 12-29-2002, 23:29: Message edited by: Hot Core ]

30 December 2002, 11:49

<.>

Nickel plated brass splits more than brass brass.

The nickel is hard and makes for a brittle case. Nice in the 38 special police revolver. Looks great on the holster belt . . .

I turn necks on my .223 Ackley. This to ensure the thickness in the neck is concentric. Out of concentric neck walls lead to splits.

I'd wonder about your neck size die and to what degree it's resizing the neck. Of course this means knowing what size the bore/chamber is "sizing" the neck when fire forming.

I've seen necks split after a few shootings. And I've seen necks that seem to keep going forever.

Winchester brass seems to get the nod from shooters as being the best "factory" stuff. Lake City Armory is good military brass. Then there's the stuff like Lapua at a buck a case.

30 December 2002, 14:51

<kannon>

Hot Core I also use the benchmark powder for my 223 with good accuracy. Use ballistic tips in 50 grn.And a bl-4 primer. Got the load out of Shooting Times magazine. I use 25.5 grns of benchmark. I loaded 5 rounds went to the range. They weren't grouping to my liking so I loaded 5 more but dropped 1/2 grain of powder. That put me at the 25.5 grains. They shoot better than me.
Have a nice New Years

31 December 2002, 16:59

Hot Core

quote:
Originally posted by kannon:
Hot Core I also use the benchmark powder for my 223 with good accuracy. Use ballistic tips in 50 grn....They shoot better than me.
Have a nice New Years

Hey kannon, With the 50gr B-Tip and Benchmark(my, "Who buys me a BBQ Supper Load?"), the combination shoots better than me too.

Happy New Year to you too.