223 case separation.
- Thread starter sillbeam
- Start date
I use ppu with no problem. And it's cheap and can be changed regularly.
Bo Diddley
Well-Known Member
I'm on 24.4 with 60 grain Vmax
@sillbeam do you anneal your cases?
I'm on 6 reloads with donated once-fired Hornady cases, and they seem fine when I checked the last 100 I reloaded. I use a blowtorch & socket to anneal.
Brass is Brass , however Lapua are more "sorted " , anealed necks on the lapua . You need to check your load I feel rather than put this down to the brass quality .
Bo Diddley
Well-Known Member
I keep reading that Hornady brass is carp... but when you get it for nothing 
Had my first case separation, PPU brass, 55grn vmax with 25grns of vitN135. Case reloaded 5 times, no obvious abnormalities on inspection prior to loading..
The cheaper brass has served well, but there's a reason Lapua is more expensive
View attachment 470344
Does your reloading check include running an opened up paperclip with one end nipped over (3mm ish) to about 60 degrees up and down the inside of the case.
It takes a couple of seconds and gives prior warning of the likelihood of a case separation. I reload around 1500 rounds a year and have had no issues of case separation since doing so.
If I feel and sort of blemish or ridge, I discard the case.
I Anneal prior to reloading, however annealing would, or should if done correctly, have no effect on the case separation you show.
Annealing does IMHO give fewer cases of neck s splitting.
Heym SR20
Well-Known Member
Brass is a usable commodity with a finite life. The whole point of using brass is it expands and seals the chamber and stops gas blowing back. When you think about it really does a pretty good job. Open up a 223 case it’s probably about 1” square in area. Put a 30 tonne weight on it - that’s the sort of pressure it’s subject to (60000 per sq in) so no wonder it moves and squigges etc. Modern brass is really very resilient and reliable compared to brass of earlier generations. PPU brass is low cost, but it works. It’s not the longest lived, but then PPU ammo is often priced where it’s hardly worth reloading - albeit with the caveat that it doesn’t work in all rifles and in those it does it may not shoot tiny little groups, but shoots well for gong bashing etc.
Smellydog
Well-Known Member
How's that then? Was copper and zinc different back then ?
I think the author was referring to modern alloying,refining and manufacturing processes.
MTheaded but happy
Well-Known Member
Had my first case separation, PPU brass, 55grn vmax with 25grns of vitN135. Case reloaded 5 times, no obvious abnormalities on inspection prior to loading..
The cheaper brass has served well, but there's a reason Lapua is more expensive
View attachment 470344
How far are you bumping the shoulder?
Smellydog
Well-Known Member
Not really, they melt copper and zince ores and keep taking the dross off until little to no more appears then they mix the two together.
Possibly add a fluxing agent possibly a pinch of lead but don't tell 'him' that or he'll be up all night.
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All brass has annealed necks; it's part of the manufacturing process. Lapua just doesn't tumble the discolorization off like some do.
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