- Thread starter BurtG
- Start date
It’s not an impact action. That’s why.
Defective case? Was it a high mileage case?
New barrel? Chamber out of spec? 
Has a couple hundred rounds through it nowNew barrel? Chamber out of spec?
Seems like the only reasonable explanation.
I had a batch of once fired lake city 223 brass do that to about 5% of the cases during fireforming to 223AI.
Every case that split like that was from one specific year, no other year cases failed. There were 3 different year headstamps in that batch. I figured the one year of brass with the failures was less ductile due to alloy composition or something happened to it during storage or processing at the supplier I bought it from, and it didn't like expanding during fireforming.
I switched to Lapua brass and fireformed 800 with zero case failures, and they're now on their 4th firing and getting ready for #5, so I'm pretty confident it was a brass issue and not a chamber issue.
Also, the same year headstamp LC brass that was splitting bodies during fireforming to 223AI started showing some neck splits on the second and third firings in a 223 bolt gun and AR, but no body splits in the straight 223s. The necks were bushing sized and not over worked and they were annealed every firing, which also points to a brass issue IMO.
Every case that split like that was from one specific year, no other year cases failed. There were 3 different year headstamps in that batch. I figured the one year of brass with the failures was less ductile due to alloy composition or something happened to it during storage or processing at the supplier I bought it from, and it didn't like expanding during fireforming.
I switched to Lapua brass and fireformed 800 with zero case failures, and they're now on their 4th firing and getting ready for #5, so I'm pretty confident it was a brass issue and not a chamber issue.
Also, the same year headstamp LC brass that was splitting bodies during fireforming to 223AI started showing some neck splits on the second and third firings in a 223 bolt gun and AR, but no body splits in the straight 223s. The necks were bushing sized and not over worked and they were annealed every firing, which also points to a brass issue IMO.
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I don't like nor buy (or keep) Hornady brass. I shot and reloaded a bunch of government-purchased Hornady 308 Win and 338 Lapua brass and it's not worth the drama and ass pain.
I don't use Hornady brass. Every time I see some odd brass failing here it's with Hornady brass, or it seems that way.... If you've shot a few hundred rounds and all of that brass measured out fine, then I'd say the chamber being the cause is very unlikely. Probably just a bunk case.
Send it back to Hornady with a WTF letter.
Let us know what they say and do. Free ammo or swag. Send lot #
Let us know what they say and do. Free ammo or swag. Send lot #
