Neck splits @#*&#!!

glang1

glang1

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Had the Enfield out at the range the other day. Fired a box of older Imperial .303 ammo. Almost every single one of the cases split at the neck.:mad: I was hoping to reload the brass. Is this normal for this ammo. Not certain of the age of the ammo, but estimate 20+ years. Has anyone else had this happen with old ammo?

George

 
You must really trust the gas handling on that enfied. Maybe in the future when things start letting go you should STOP shooting.

I would also humbly suggest that you take your firearms saftey seriously enough to do some self educating beyond asking if anyone else was silly enough to fire 19 rnds after they discovered a problem.

.
 
I was under the impression that a cracked mouth was okay, that incipient??(whatever it's called when the case goes near the base) is the one to watch for. But looking at the photo...I would've stopped after #2
 
No need to stop shooting because the necks split. Nothing dire will happen just because the necks crack. Any gas leakage from the neck will go right out the barrel.
When reloading cases, the normal way for a case to wear out after a lot of loadings, is for the necks to crack.
Old brass, even twenty year old brass, can do exactly as you state, sometimes, depending on how it has been stored. If that is the old CIL Imperial, it could be older, and I have seen old CIL ammo crack the necks on firing. In fact, I have seen cracked necks before they were even fired! Don't get me wrong, I am not saying CIL was worse than any other, but it is the brand I have usually used over a lot of years.
Probably nothing much you can do, short of pulling the bullets, the powder and the primers, annealing the necks and reloading.
 
I have a No 1 MkIII* and also had same results shooting old CIL/Imperial ammo.
I assumed it was the brass, as it didnt do it with other cases/ ammo that was surplus.
Could be a chamber issue, and shooting certain brass would have the splitting.
but as i said, it only did it using CIL stuff.
Maybe its thin brass?
I also dont beleive neck splits are a serious issue.
I have had new factory Win ammo split in my Stevens .223.
one round split when i was rough handling a cartidge after noticing the splitting.
Bad batch of brass, or age.
 
david doyle said:
You must really trust the gas handling on that enfied. Maybe in the future when things start letting go you should STOP shooting.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice David. The Enfield has a 10 round magazine, so I only fired the 10 rounds. When I picked up the brass I noticed the split necks & didn't fire the rest of the box. This particular rifle has fired 200+ rounds of Winchester & Remington ammo without issues. I appreciate your concern for my safety.
 
Ja, H4831 has it right. (as usual)
The neck splits are no big deal. Shoot-up the rest of the box. Or pull-and-anneal.
Brass sometimes "age hardens", that's all that's happened.
 
I once put 100 rounds of WWI vintage .303 through a couple of rifles along with a friend of mine. We encountered about 90% splitting. We kept shooting. As previously said, neck cracks are harmless.

I would write it off as marginal brass. 20 years is not particularly old, in ammo terms.
 
Splatter said:
Ja, H4831 has it right. (as usual)
The neck splits are no big deal. Shoot-up the rest of the box. Or pull-and-anneal.
Brass sometimes "age hardens", that's all that's happened.
Click to expand...

Yes, H4831 told you the truth. Split necks will not harm you or your rifle. Age hardening is the culprit.
 
I have a No1Mk111 and I have some older Imperial ammo to blast off, I expect to lose some of them to split necks due to older brass. If I use the old stuff to hunt, I don't keep the brass anyways......
PS, don't worry about the split necks, even with complete case seperations, you will never know it till you open the bolt to find the case in two pieces.
 
I have had new factory brass split at the neck in my 22-250 after the first firing. I just toss the cracked ones and reload the remaining ones.
 
Black & gold box right?

Old .303 Brit Imperial ammo in the black and gold box always had case neck splits... I really think it was the era of brass they used , perhaps poor quality...
If you try newer Imperial ammo , it won't happen I bet....
 
CIL produced some very good brass and they also rolled some pretty crummy ones. You just got some of the latter.
 
glang1 said:
Thanks for the advice David. The Enfield has a 10 round magazine, so I only fired the 10 rounds. When I picked up the brass I noticed the split necks & didn't fire the rest of the box. This particular rifle has fired 200+ rounds of Winchester & Remington ammo without issues. I appreciate your concern for my safety.
Click to expand...

That has to be the BEST way I've ever seen someone politely telling someone else to #### off.:rockOn:
 
you have a big problem with that chamber. or its not a straight .303 british, you sure its not a .303 epps? cuz your getting huge bulges in the base of the shells not to mention the neck splitting. have you shot this gun before ? or is this the first time ?. if its the first time id take it to a smith to get looked at as im betting the chamber is borked.
 
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