223ai Case crack

[Rocketvapor]

Twice fired?
Time to anneal regardless.

 

[ImBIllT]

Could be just a bad case but it never hurts to anneal before you fireform an AI case

Sure, but you shouldn’t be annealing that low should you?

 

[L.Sherm]

Sure, but you shouldn’t be annealing that low should you?

No I didn't say that, each to his own I guess.
What will it hurt?

 

[Oaky]

This is my first time with a ackley case so I’m open to suggestions.
Are you guys annealing every time??

 

[ImBIllT]

No I didn't say that, each to his own I guess.
What will it hurt?

It’s dangerous to anneal too low. I don’t know EXACTLY how far down you can go before you soften the case head, but I try to barely get into the shoulder.

And while you didn’t say to anneal that low, I assumed that’s what you meant, because I don’t understand how softening the neck would prevent the body from cracking.

 

[Tommie]

I’ve had the same type of case failure a few times. Each time it happened when the ammo spent way too long baking in the sun.

 

[Oaky]

I’ve had the same type of case failure a few times. Each time it happened when the ammo spent way too long baking in the sun.

Ok I will keep an eye on that. This day it was raining and about 65*

 

[flatlander]

I've not used Starline in any of my 223AI rifles, but have used several other brands, without ever seeing body splits like that. I have bought a large quantity of Starline 6.5 grendel brass to neck down & fireform into 22 Grinch, and use a 2-step neck-down routine, using 6mm & 22 cal neck bushings in a Redding type S die, then neck turn, and then anneal before loading FF loads, and as long as I anneal, I haven't had any splits of that Starline, neck, shoulder, nor body - and no, I'm not annealing down past the shoulder area. However, when fireforming brand new Lapua 6BR into Dasher, I typically lose a couple of cases when fireforming, but there again, it's always in the neck/shoulder area, never in the body.

I don't anneal new brass before fireforming in any Ackley case - most commercial brass made in the U.S. has had the factory annealing colors tumbled off, but was annealed as one of the final steps before being packaged, so there's no advantage to annealing it again before FF.

 

[L.Sherm]

but was annealed as one of the final steps before being packaged, so there's no advantage to annealing it again before FF

You can definitely see it on ADG and Lapua after its tumbled and I can all brass I anneal then tumble.
I've had necks split that I didn't anneal either AI or necking down but each to his own I guess.

 

[L.Sherm]

I dont know about the 223 starline brass but the 19 Badger starline brass i was doing load development and fireforming was cracking necks and shoulders untill I annealed it.
R-P and LC didn't seem to be that bad, I think Starline is a hard brass compared to others but I dont think thats a bad thing after its formed.

 

[762willdo]

.223 or 5.56 starline?

 

[Zero333]

On the first firing... do you get a crush fit when closing the bolt ???
If not then you should JAM the bullets into the rifling or give them a false shoulder.

In the Lands and Jammed is not always the same thing. When it's actually Jammed, you don't want to open the bolt because it will hold the bullet in the rifling and if you force the bolt to open it will probably spill the powder in the chamber/action, and leave the bullet stuck in the rifling.
When you JAM a bullet in the rifling you have to back off the powder charge a little.

You can do a search on how to do a false shoulder.

Sometimes the annealing from the factory can be a little off and you'll loose a case here and there when forming to AI.
As long as the brass doesn't rupture above the case web you're OK.

 

[Twdmar]

Depending on when your cases were made, but in 2021 Starline had a known problem with their annealing resulting in cracks like this. Several people have reported this in the past.

 

[Oaky]

.223 or 5.56 starline?

5.56