.22 Mag = case splitting!!!

[Snakehunter]

Question for the sages here.
Today I had my Savage Model 25 in 22 mag out to shake the cobwebs off. Long time since I used last. I cleaned it throughly beforehand and was all set for an afternoon of plinking.
At the range I ran into a couple of failures to extract. Didn't think much of it until about the third failure when I closely examined the spent cartridge and found that the case had split about half the length from the neck back.
I gathered up a bunch of spent rounds and found about a quarter of them were split, some minor and some with major splits.

Any idea what could have caused this??
Ammo is off the shelf Winchester WMR in a 50 pack.
I have a box of CCI but I didn't have it at the range to see if it is a problem with the ammo or the rifle.

Thanks for any help offered folks,
Glen

 

[prosper]

I think the 25's have barrels pressed in, not threaded. If it's working loose, even just a little bit, you'll get excess headspace which can cause split cases and extraction issues. A smith ought to be able to sort this out for you, press the barrel back in, and pin it with an oversized pin to keep it in place. It's actually a doable DIY fix, if you're somewhat handy.

 

[Lodi]

It may be a batch of brittle brass, try a different lot number and see how they do.

 

[hometownhero]

There are lots of reports of this happening with winchester ammo and the savage 93r17. Could be the same thing as that but with 22 mag

 

[Chucker243]

Winchester cases (40 gr.) have split in my Savage 93 .22WMR as well. The CCI brand has not thus far and I am about to try the Hornadys soon.
C243

 

[dizzy]

It's the brass, pm me and I can give you the contact in Canada to call and send the ammo to. I had the same thing with 17 hmr Winchester ammo. All other brass was fine, its the Winchester brass.

 

[Snakehunter]

It would appear that it is a problem with the brass. Went out this evening and blasted a bunch of CCI through the rifle without a hitch.
Not going to buy any more Winchester ammo for this rifle. Just have to get rid of the remaining 80 or so rounds!

 

[spurs]

Case splitting may be too much oil

I read your comment about cleaning your gun and quickly thought you might have to much oil residue. It happened to me after a good cleaning and left too much oil. I talked to a gunsmith I knew and he said the barrel should be almost dry, too much oil caused pressure back into the shell and expansion has to happen. We imagine that oil makes things go easier. ANYHOWWWW.
have a good day.