Need help. Splitting brass necks. A lot.

[snowranger]

Hey all,

New hunter here headed west in a few days for elk. So I borrowed a buddy's 7MM Mag and have been practicing with the same ammo for months. I have been learning by trial and error at the range and have shot about three hundred rounds because I was having trouble with consistency at 500 yds. I am pretty solid out to 400. I am ashamed to admit it but today I realized the necks of my Remington Premier 150 gr rounds have been splitting. I noticed a few splits in the weeks past but thought it must be a magnum issue (the biggest I had shot in the past was a 30-30) and I never inspected the casings. Today I shot 20 rounds and all 20 were split at the neck. I went back and looked at the last 5 boxes I shot and 80% were split. Most had 1 split and one I found had 3. I am 90% sure they were all from the same batch despite the box labels (I put random spent cartridges in different boxes. I ran to the store and picked up the only ammo they has which was Winchester Super X 150gr. I only had time to put 6 rounds down range and none of the 6 split. So 20/20 on the Remington, 0/6 on the Winchester. No ejecting problems. I either have a gun issue or an ammo issue. I can buy a gun tomorrow but only have a couple boxes of ammo (one of which may be bad). 7MM Mag is scarce around here and the stuff I can find is less that 150gr. I can get new ammo in ID but won't be able to shoot it in a new gun. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks!
Eric

 

[Trogon]

I recently had a bad lot of 223 that split the cases; about 1 in 5.

But whether it’s over pressure, bad brass, or out of spec chamber I couldnt say. Be interested to hear what the big dogs say on this one. I’d stop shooting that ammo though.

 

[Rob5589]

Either a batch of bad ammo or a chamber over spec. Just because the Win didn't split does not necessarily rule out the chamber. Rem 700 by chance?

 

[snowranger]

Yes Rem 700. The gun owner said he never had an issue with split cases. What could cause the chamber to be over spec?

 

[CPD]

Yes Rem 700. The gun owner said he never had an issue with split cases. What could cause the chamber to be over spec?

Just the way it was machined from the factory, if that is the issue. Must say I’ve never had that happen. I wouldn’t shoot any more of that ammo though. The primers and the heads of the cases don’t look to be showing pressure signs from what I can see. I haven’t used Remington brass in a long time, but from what I recall, it was rather thin. Might be more prone to splitting in a chamber that’s a little loose in the neck area.

 

[Rob5589]

Yes Rem 700. The gun owner said he never had an issue with split cases. What could cause the chamber to be over spec?

Bad chambering from the factory. I had some minor issues with a 700 and knew a couple other guys with the same. If the owner never had an issue, could be a bad run of ammo. I would contact Rem and speak to them. They may know about an issue and if not, be a great idea to notify them.

 

[cjl32]

Just to clarify, this is factory new, not reloaded ammo?

 

[snowranger]

Yes factory new ammo, bought from Buds. I have shot 120 rounds of thius batch and no pressure signs, no ejector issues, no bolt cycling issues, just split necks. I called Remington and they said they did not have any other reports of faulty 7 Mag ammo and asked me to send back all of the ammo now (they emailed me a fed-ex label) and send the gun back in a few weeks after their Chapter 11 closes. So what to do in the meantime? I have 14 rounds of Winchester 150 grain Super X (jacketed soft point) and a couple boxes of the suspect Remington ammo. I leave in 2 days and will have a tough time finding suitable elk ammo locally to take to the range, Option 1: pick up some Hornady Superperformance 154 gr loads in Idaho (they have very similar balistics to what I have been shooting and a box of the same Remington ammo, hopefully different batch, shoot them both in Idaho the day before we pack in; or Option 2 take the gun to a gunsmith to have the headspace etc. checked; or Option 3 buy a new gun (might have to be a 30-06 so I can get ammo here) and shoot it as much as I can the next 2 days. Yes, I am kicking myself for not buying a new gun months ago...

 

[SDHNTR]

Borrow a gun. Send yours back. That’s the prudent course of action. Rem did have a period several years back where chambers were cut poorly. But I still think odds are on bad ammo.


If it were me, I’d try new ammo. Could just be a batch of brittle brass. Ditch the idea that ammo Xyz (Hornady Superformance you mentioned) will shoot similarly since paper numbers look similar. That means little. It could shoot way off. You always need to resig

If you are worried about safety, bungee cord that gun to a big old truck tire. Point it into a hill or something safe. Tie a string to the trigger, get a safe distance away and or hide behind something, and pull the string. Then go look at your ammo.

But ultimately, you don’t have time to be jacking around. Should’ve had all this worked out months ago! Borrow a proven gun, go on your hunt, and get this worked out afterwards.

 

[Erict]

If you have access to Cerrosafe I would do a quick cast of the chamber to check dimensions. Just because the Winchester ammo is not splitting tells me little, as maybe their brass is softer and able to expand a bit more without cracking. I would have stopped long ago when I saw that much brass being ruined. Good luck.

 

[Trogon]

It’s not the whole story, but case head and primer look ok from the photos. If it was a pressure issue I would expect at least some minor plunger moons on the case head or cratered primer.

 

[WCB]

It is not a pressure issue and am confident it is not a chamber issue. I would say it is a brass issue of some sorts. Nothing you are showing would concern me safety wise.

Option #1 Does your buddy have any ammunition for his gun that he normally shoots through it?

Forget bringing it to a smith waste of time at this point.

You could by a gun and scope and hope whoever mounts it does it right and you get lucky and happen to by ammo that shoots good in it.

What I would do...Hopefully you didn't just shoot the 6 rounds of Winchester into a hill side but actually shot them at the target. I would get it sighted in with that ammo 1.5ish at 100 hold upper lungs at 300 and your good. If you know where those 6 rounds were hitting you should easily be able to get it set in 4 more shots. That would give you 10 rounds to hunt with. By another box of the same stuff on the way out somewhere.. Lot variance should not be off enough out to 400 for the elk to know if you by a box on the way out.

Where are you driving from?

 

[snowranger]

It is not a pressure issue and am confident it is not a chamber issue. I would say it is a brass issue of some sorts. Nothing you are showing would concern me safety wise.

Option #1 Does your buddy have any ammunition for his gun that he normally shoots through it?

Forget bringing it to a smith waste of time at this point.

You could by a gun and scope and hope whoever mounts it does it right and you get lucky and happen to by ammo that shoots good in it.

What I would do...Hopefully you didn't just shoot the 6 rounds of Winchester into a hill side but actually shot them at the target. I would get it sighted in with that ammo 1.5ish at 100 hold upper lungs at 300 and your good. If you know where those 6 rounds were hitting you should easily be able to get it set in 4 more shots. That would give you 10 rounds to hunt with. By another box of the same stuff on the way out somewhere.. Lot variance should not be off enough out to 400 for the elk to know if you by a box on the way out.

Where are you driving from?

My brother-in-law is driving. I am flying into Boise. Didn't practice with the Winchester rounds as I wasn't considering using them at that time. SO I looked a little more closely at the unfired Remington rounds. Is this seam/line on the neck normal?

 

[5MilesBack]

So what to do in the meantime? I have 14 rounds of Winchester 150 grain Super X (jacketed soft point)

You've got 14 rounds.......if I had to use anywhere near 14 rounds on a hunt, I'd buy a bow.

 

[Trogon]

My brother-in-law is driving. I am flying into Boise. Didn't practice with the Winchester rounds as I wasn't considering using them at that time. SO I looked a little more closely at the unfired Remington rounds. Is this seam/line on the neck normal?

Doesn’t look good. I would get my money back.

shoot the Winchester ammo. Take an extra time or rounds you have to get a good zero. Then check a few cabelas on the way out. Shouldn’t be too hard to find win 7mag

 

[SDHNTR]

My brother-in-law is driving. I am flying into Boise. Didn't practice with the Winchester rounds as I wasn't considering using them at that time. SO I looked a little more closely at the unfired Remington rounds. Is this seam/line on the neck normal?

Those necks are already split! Wow! Send that garbage back to Remington! I have no idea how brass could already be split on unfired ammo!

 

[Rob5589]

Yikes! Those necks look split already. Definitely stop shooting that garbage. There is no guarantee another brand will shoot the same, or anywhere near it. You have to squeeze in some range time before you hunt.

 

[snowranger]

You've got 14 rounds.......if I had to use anywhere near 14 rounds on a hunt, I'd buy a bow.

Rounds I would prefer not to use nor enough to be confident in how they shoot out of the gun.

 

[snowranger]

Just got back from the range. The gun is not the problem. Ran the rest of the box of Winchester and a half a box of Federal I found (both soft point) and not a single split. I feel a little better knowing it is not the gun but hate wasting so much range time over the last couple months on that crap ammo! I have to drive 2 hours to shoot over 200 yards. My brother-in-law is going to get me a couple boxes on the way and I will rezero when I get there. Thanks for all of the input and advice!

 

[rayporter]

you guys do realize there is no Remington to send it to!!!

get someone to take a chamber cast or get some cerosafe and do it your self.

other wise hope it is the ammo.