Starline 556 case head separation

[DShortt]

No. Shouldered prefit tikka action.

Have you measured case diameter prior to and after FLS?

 

[SKWERLZ]

No. Shouldered prefit tikka action.

did you check how the standard 223/556 brass headspaced in the chamber?

 

[DShortt]

It’s the brass. I know of 10’s of thousands of pieces that Starline has replaced.

Huh. I live in Missouri. Not far from Sedalia. I might just take an information trip.

Not sure how they could stay in business replacing '10's of thousands of pieces'.

 

[RabbitSlayer]

It’s the brass. I know of 10’s of thousands of pieces that Starline has replaced.

I actually hope this is it, cuz I feel like im crazy lol. I will toss the fire formed cases and get lapua for the AI. I'll just shoot book loads in sammi chambers with the other 1,250 pieces, ughhh lol.

 

[Old Navy]

Its a shouldered prefit, but it passed headspace with the gauges. My reloads and factory ammo both had a noticeable crush when closing the bolt. Ill clean the chamber really good and check it again when I out the barrel back on.

Try a different brand of brass.

 

[RabbitSlayer]

did you check how the standard 223/556 brass headspaced in the chamber?

Yes, best i could. Crush fit and doesn't close on the no go.

 

[DShortt]

Yes, best i could. Crush fit and doesn't close on the no go.

OK, so that still leaves the chamber diameter question.

Make no mistake, if Starline is to blame, I want to know. But it's important to be accurate.

Perhaps you have a sizing die that's off and you'll be right back here soon with a different brand of brass.

 

[RabbitSlayer]

OK, so that still leaves the chamber diameter question.

Make no mistake, if Starline is to blame, I want to know. But it's important to be accurate.

Perhaps you have a sizing die that's off and you'll be right back here soon with a different brand of brass.

I don't think i can accurately get either of those measurements.

 

[jelenko]

Starline replaced 4K pieces of 556 brass a couple years ago.
They sent me an email telling me to not use the brass with a certain lot number. They said it was a bad batch of brass. The cases would split longitudinally on the first firing.
They didn't want the brass back that I had.

 

[Old Navy]

I found the longest pieces and made sure not to move the shoulder on every firing. Which as usual, caused the shortest ones to grow slightly. I think my firing pin needs bushed. My other tikka 223 factory barrel craters just like that when there are no other pressure signs. I posted on here about it and everyone said excessive firing pin clearance.

That is not much of a crater. I remove the ejectors before setting head space and while fireforming.

 

[jelenko]

Huh. I live in Missouri. Not far from Sedalia. I might just take an information trip.

Not sure how they could stay in business replacing '10's of thousands of pieces'.

Understand what you're thinking. But, I think they sell millions of pieces. I think 10K would be a drop in the bucket.

 

[DShortt]

Understand what you're thinking. But, I think they sell millions of pieces. I think 10K would be a drop in the bucket.

I don't know. I'll ask how many pieces of .223 brass they sell and how many pieces of 5.56 brass they sell when I'm there.

 

[RabbitSlayer]

Starline responded.

I’ve talked to a couple of guys running 223 AI that have had similar issues. We did make a change in our brass about 9 months ago that thickened the case about .0035” at the transition in the middle of the case. How many of these do you have?



Regards,



Hunter Pilant

Process Manager

Chief Ballistician

 

[Rick300]

Hunter was the guy I talked to also. He seemed very interested in helping

 

[squarefour]

FWIW I had pretty much the same problem with 1x Lake City brass. Fireformed a huge batch and gradually lost about half of them to CHS by the 7th firing. The rest lasted almost forever. I fireformed with a light jam and a medium-light load. Next time I will try a lot of neck tension and a heavy jam.

 

[DLT]

Typical starline brass. I had it happen with their 223 brass numerous times. I’m not the only one either

 

[DLT]

I am not sizing too much! I have never moved the shoulder yet! It still chambers easy, so I have not bumped the shoulder yet.

When i bump the shoulder I only bump .002 also.

I didn’t size my brass too much either like others claimed.

 

[DLT]

Newer Starline 556 from a known good XTC loader and shooter. not the first time I am hearing this either.

I had the same results from starline 223 brass low number of firings

 

[RabbitSlayer]

Typical starline brass. I had it happen with their 223 brass numerous times. I’m not the only one either

Crazy. The 556 stuff has a reputation for being super tough. Im going to do the AI with lapua only if I can find some.

One thing with the starline is the neck thickness from one side of the case to the other varies so much I gave up on trying to measure it with the ball mic. I can say a min and max at best. In contrast, even Hornady 6 creed bass I get consistent easy measurements. I pulled 10 Hornady and after 8 they were all the same so I stopped. I pulled 10 starline and after 10 I gave up and cursed a lot.

 

[DLT]

Crazy. The 556 stuff has a reputation for being super tough. Im going to do the AI with lapua only if I can find some.

One thing with the starline is the neck thickness from one side of the case to the other varies so much I gave up on trying to measure it with the ball mic. I can say a min and max at best. In contrast, even Hornady 6 creed bass I get consistent easy measurements. I pulled 10 Hornady and after 8 they were all the same so I stopped. I pulled 10 starline and after 10 I gave up and cursed a lot.

I had very good luck with lapua brass holding up where lake city failed and Starline failed. Only problem I had then was the lapua formed doughnuts in the necks pretty early on.