bktk Posted April 8, 2017 Report Share Posted April 8, 2017 I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced LC 308 brass splitting along the body. Very seldom do I get a split neck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Armed Eye Doc Posted April 8, 2017 Report Share Posted April 8, 2017 Welcome to the forum. A few questions to start before the people who know come along. What rifle are shooting? Is it factory built or assembled? What is the parts list if assembled? Does it shoot and cycle normal? Where does the brass eject? Is this factory ammo or reloads? Any pictures of the brass? That should get the knowledgeable people started when they get here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sisco Posted April 8, 2017 Report Share Posted April 8, 2017 Has it happened since you first got or built the rifle? If yes, have you had a gun smith check the specs on your chamber? If reloads, what powder charge and bullets are you using? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bktk Posted April 9, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2017 I forgot to mention this brass was once fired military. Its common for this brass to split after around five reloads. The barrel is DPMS 20 inch. The gun seems to cycle and shoot fine. Lately I've been loading 48 grains of CFE 223 behind a 150gr Hornady FMJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sisco Posted April 9, 2017 Report Share Posted April 9, 2017 That looks to me like a flaw in the brass. Your load is the recommended starting load for CFE 223 and 44,000 pounds of pressure should be ok. You might take the head stamp on the brass and do an internet search to see if there are any other reports on this issue with that lot of brass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
98Z5V Posted April 9, 2017 Report Share Posted April 9, 2017 (edited) 3 hours ago, bktk said: I forgot to mention this brass was once fired military. Its common for this brass to split after around five reloads. The barrel is DPMS 20 inch. The gun seems to cycle and shoot fine. Lately I've been loading 48 grains of CFE 223 behind a 150gr Hornady FMJ Y Fuk, that's a hot load! 48 grains of anything in a .308 Win case is alot of powder, and that split in the case is a sign of excessive pressure. Get pics of the primer and post them up. Those primers are gonna be flat as hell. STARTING load with 150s and CFE223 is 42.4gr fpr 2300fps, and Max load is 49.6gr at 2800fps. 48.2gr would have you at 2700 fps with that projo, and you've been pushing that for 5 loads. Back that charge off, big time, or that brass will never last. EDIT - Something is gonna blow up, and right now it's the brass. That barrel chamber is only gonna take SO much of that shiit, and then it's gonna give up. When that happens, that gun is coming apart - in your hands, with your face all pressed up close to the receiver... EDIT #2 - those powder numbers I gave you are identical from the last two Hornady load manuals, and they make the bullet. That's from 9th and 10th Editions... That's my general range bullet for .308 Win, and my primary bullet for 300BLK, so I load it alot... Edited April 9, 2017 by 98Z5V Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bktk Posted April 9, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2017 So far Ive only loaded ammo using the military brass because I have a lot of it, I should probably buy some new brass and see what happens. After completing the build about a year ago I was loading a milder load, 43.5gr of 748 with the same case problem. So far I havent seen any classic pressure signs, no brass flow, and the primer pockets are tight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sisco Posted April 10, 2017 Report Share Posted April 10, 2017 I went on Hodgdon's website looking at starting loads for 308 as I couldn't find 7.62. Their starting load was 48.4 grains of CFE 223 with a maximum of 51.5 gr. I thought it was a high charge myself, as I am used to 41-42 grains of the powders I use for 308. Primers look good. I might suggest trying a different powder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mineralman55 Posted April 10, 2017 Report Share Posted April 10, 2017 Very, very rarely does a case split like that. Usually it's a worn/old case that splits like that. You said it is 1x-LC, and it's NM, you can see the case checkering around the circumference of the body about 1/4 of the way up. I suspect it is an old case, possibly weathered/exposed for a long time before being picked up for recycling. If this is happening a lot to your cases, you've got a batch of bad cases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sisco Posted April 10, 2017 Report Share Posted April 10, 2017 Good points MM and 98. Where did you get the brass? I am guessing it might have been loaded more than once, and maybe to near max loads. You mentioned loading to a lighter load, but as you used a different powder, that is comparing apples to oranges. Can't really compare the two charges. Interesting that 98's data on starting loads from the Hornady Manuals for CFE223 were tremendously different from what I found on Hodgdon's web page. Were the primer pockets swaged of their crimps when you got the brass? If it was once fired military, the primer crimp would be intact, but if it had already been reloaded, they would have had to swage out the crimp to put a second primer in. If that is the case, it has been loaded at least twice. All my older military brass I lighten the powder charge a little and use for range plinking. I save my once fired newer brass for when I want to seriously shoot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnOldBiker Posted April 10, 2017 Report Share Posted April 10, 2017 Welcome to the forum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
survivalshop Posted April 11, 2017 Report Share Posted April 11, 2017 (edited) Primer shows a lot of Cupping around the Firing Pin indentation( High Pressure sign ) , the reason its not flattened is because the Case ruptured & pressure dropped inside the case , but not the Chamber . How much were the cases stretching ? Trim to length ? What Sizing Die are you using , SB or FL ? Head space checked lately ? Edited April 11, 2017 by survivalshop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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