Split Case Winchester Ammo

Mumbles Marble Mouth

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I was sighting in my hunting rifle for the last weekend of spring bear season today when one of the cases I extracted I noticed as it rolled off the table was very dark. Went to pick it up and saw the case had split. The ammo being used is Winchester Power-Point .270win 130gr in a 2013 Production CZ 550. Would you guys blame the ammo or should I further investigate if there is something wrong with the rifle? I will be sending a picture of this to Winchester and possibly CZ as well.

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Wow!
I have had bad luck with my 300wsm and Winchester brass, the cases split at the shoulder though not down the middle.
I would cut the top off the case and look at the walls uniformity, you might be able to tell if there was a thin or malformed wall.
 
Does not hurt to check out the rifle,but if you have been having no trouble before,I would tend to think it was the cartridge.Be interesting to hear what Winchester has to say about this.
 
I had similar experience with Winchester 223 55gr fmj. 3-4 casings per 20 would look like the one in the picture. Never got an answer from Winchester and I havent used their products since.
 
A rifle chamber requires sufficient clearance from the cartridge to ensure ease of chambering, and extraction. I don't think your rifle's chamber dimensions are the problem, since brass should be elastic enough to change shape dramatically under pressure without issue, provided the headspace is correct. Fire forming to Ackley Improved dimensions is an example of this. If you had excessive headspace, the case failure would be circular, rather than linear, directly ahead of the web of the case. You photos to me suggests a problem with the heat treating of the brass.
 
I was sighting in my hunting rifle for the last weekend of spring bear season today when one of the cases I extracted I noticed as it rolled off the table was very dark. Went to pick it up and saw the case had split. The ammo being used is Winchester Power-Point .270win 130gr in a 2013 Production CZ 550. Would you guys blame the ammo or should I further investigate if there is something wrong with the rifle? I will be sending a picture of this to Winchester and possibly CZ as well.

Is this the first time you have fired this rifle? If not, has it happened before with other ammo?

Without hearing the answer to the above questions, it would be my guess that there was a discontinuity in the brass causing the rupture. If it continues esp with other brands of ammo, I would be concerned about the rifle.
 
As previously noted, unless this problem shows up with other brands of ammo the evidence points to the ammo, not the rifle. Also noted, Winchester ammo has some history of doing this. I have seen this most commonly in old ammo that has been in storage for many years, it seems to sometimes get brittle with age.
This condition can damage the chamber of your rifle and escaped gas could also impact your cheek, or worse, your eye so it's not a condition to take casually. If it was me I would not use any more from this box or any other box with the same lot number. Be prepared to ship the fired cases including the damaged one and all unfired rounds, in the original carton, to the manufacturer, along with a complete explanation, rifle details and good quality photos. Do not attempt to open, section, cut, split or otherwise alter the faulty case, they want to do that themselves and need to start with the unaltered case, just the way it came out of the gun. Contact the manufacturer with your complaint and be polite, explain your concerns and offer your assistance. They will do their best to cover their ass these days so be prepared to be ignored or at least stonewalled, they won't easily accept responsibility. If you can't get a response or if they blame you or your rifle your best bet then would be to persue it through a Winchester dealer (store) or a reputable gunsmith. Good luck.
 
I just threw out 50 Win 308 brass that I got new and loaded once. There were 7-8 ready to separate after 1 firing. Noticed the shiny ring about 1/2" up from the head after tumbling, and then used a dental pick to feel the ridge inside. It's a Rem 700 with a tight chamber so I know it's the brass.
 
Are these reloads?? I would guess that there's a problem with the case hardening/annealing. Further, I would suggest that there's a problem with winchester's qc. I bought brand new brass in a bag from them, and had to throw away 7 of 50. The necks were badly formed. Had wrinkles in them. The other 43 have been good cases...
 
Its factory ammo. I've actually only ever used Winchester Power-Point so I should try something else and see if the case stretches as bad as these do. The fired cases are all bulging where the shiny ring is in my photos. I never noticed this In the last box of Winchester ammo I had. Maybe I'll grab a box of Federal from the local shop here before we head out and just fire a round when we get out to the woods to see if it stretches exactly the same or not. My rifle is sighted for that Winchester ammo but I guess I could set up a target in the woods approx 25 yards away and see where it hits and if its close I could just use the Federal for our hunt. I've never shot anything over 75 meters away anyways and the lungs on a bear aren't exactly small.
 
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Its factory ammo. I've actually only ever used Winchester Power-Point so I should try something else and see if the case stretches as bad as these do. The fired cases are all bulging where the shiny ring is in my photos. I never noticed this In the last box of Winchester ammo I had. Maybe I'll grab a box of Federal from the local shop here before we head out and just fire a round when we get out to the woods to see if it stretches exactly the same or not. My rifle is sighted for that Winchester ammo but I guess I could set up a target in the woods approx 25 yards away and see where it hits and if its close I could just use the Federal for our hunt. I've never shot anything over 75 meters away anyways and the lungs on a bear aren't exactly small.

It is poorly formed factory brass that is the problem... Winchester will probably give you a box of ammo. It's no big deal and can happen with any maker. Clean your chamber. If you get another one from that box, don't shoot the rest...
 
^^ Different ammo gives different results in different rifles. ^^

To give a blanket statement and call one or two brands scrap based on limited testing in two rifles is biased & unrealistic.
 
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