Probably not going to reload these

[NapalmCheese]

Maybe I could anneal them, but I'm not sure they'll shoot well.

Factory Winchester 25 WSSM 120grainers. Never had this happen with factory ammo before, guess I'll find a chamber brush now. At least Hornady is making .243 WSSM cases, so finding brass isn't so hard these days.

[rcslotcar]

Yea probably a good idea to toss them.

[Capt.Dunsel]

Maybe I could anneal them, but I'm not sure they'll shoot well.

Factory Winchester 25 WSSM 120grainers. Never had this happen with factory ammo before, guess I'll find a chamber brush now. At least Hornady is making .243 WSSM cases, so finding brass isn't so hard these days.

Set them up on a shelf where you can see them , every time you touch your press . Makes a nice reminder .

[Sir Toast]

That doesn't look right. Are you loading them too hot? Usually they split from the neck down. Those split along the shoulder into the neck.

The top of the necks look intact on both. What do the primers look like?

[NapalmCheese]

That doesn't look right. Are you loading them too hot? Usually they split from the neck down. Those split along the shoulder into the neck.

The top of the necks look intact on both. What do the primers look like?

This is factory ammo, not reloaded.

It's not a great pic, but it's the best I got that day. I still have the cases but don't have them with me at the moment to get another pic. Primers are pretty flat, but that seems to be SOP for factory Winchester ammo in this gun.

[NapalmCheese]

The load with the split neck was the factory loaded 120 PEP Winchester loading. However here's a comparison of a factory Winchester loading and my reloads, albeit a different factory load and different (nickel plated) brass.

In this picture we have the factory 115 grain ballistic tip Winchester load on the left, and two of my reloads on the right (87 grain speer and 100 grain SGK).


25 WSSM is turning out to be a learning experience.

[MarikinaMan]

split necks usually means heavily worked brass.

not only that its been fired a whole bunch of times, but in this case, where the brass is new, if new, then it was not made very well.

don't buy those again.

[NapalmCheese]

split necks usually means heavily worked brass.

not only that its been fired a whole bunch of times, but in this case, where the brass is new, if new, then it was not made very well.

don't buy those again.

I shot 10 or so rounds of this ammo back in April without a problem, not sure what happened here. It was hot out so I could see it being a pressure issue, but I'm not used to pressure problems causing this sort of neck splitting.

Better reloaders than I (on this forum as well as elsewhere) have warned me that split necks aren't uncommon with reloaded WSSMs and that I should plan on annealing sooner rather than later, but I wasn't expecting this with factory ammo.

I bought them for the brass originall, that they were already loaded was a bonus!

[MarikinaMan]

Get some Starline brass or at least Hornady factory ammo.

[NapalmCheese]

Hornady makes 243 WSSM which should size up to 25, but other than Winchester no one makes 25 WSSM, and Winchester only makes it occasionally. I'll probably end up buying a bag of the Hornady and resizing it, nice and slow with lots of lube just to see how it goes.

[JackEllis]

I've had .243 brass split like that but it was used and I assume it had been heavily worked. I would not expect new brass to split that way, which suggests it's either badly made or it's been reloaded too many times.

You *might* want to call Winchester and let them know.

[hambam105]

If you got a good deal on the purchase price then what's the big deal?

[Sub95]

The load with the split neck was the factory loaded 120 PEP Winchester loading. However here's a comparison of a factory Winchester loading and my reloads, albeit a different factory load and different (nickel plated) brass.

In this picture we have the factory 115 grain ballistic tip Winchester load on the left, and two of my reloads on the right (87 grain speer and 100 grain SGK).


25 WSSM is turning out to be a learning experience.

First one Is a little on the hot side

Your reloads look fine.

[NapalmCheese]

First one Is a little on the hot side

Your reloads look fine.

Hah, yeah. The WSSMs are loaded pretty hot. I'm actually unclear if they are SAAMI listed but I think they are around 62k PSI.

[ar15barrels]

split necks usually means heavily worked brass.

not only that its been fired a whole bunch of times, but in this case, where the brass is new, if new, then it was not made very well.

It's not uncommon to have a case with a vertical wrinkle in the neck from when the neck was being formed.
It happens more commonly when the caliber is considerably smaller than the case body and the shoulder has a steep angle.
I have run into it on brand new 243 brass.
They are supposed to get culled at the factory during visual inspection but some slip though.