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Split necks - Grendel
#8788230
01/26/23 03:58 AM
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Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 15,711
603Country
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OP
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After shooting a hog this evening, I put the brass back in the MTM case, but noticed that one case had a split neck. I examined the other fired cases and found that 14 were split and only one was not. These are Hornady cases (I think twice fired previously) and have not been annealed. Over the years I’ve used a lot of different brass, but never Hornady. Is short case life the usual, or maybe my barrel chamber is out of spec?
This is the new (used) 6.5 Grendel upper. Ballistics Advantage barrel.
Not my monkeys, not my circus...
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Re: Split necks - Grendel
[Re: 603Country]
#8788238
01/26/23 04:27 AM
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Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 32,507
kmon11
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I have read of people getting 10 plus loads from Hornady brass, most I have loaded any Hornady is 5 so far. I did anneal after 3 shots though.
The Grendels lower pressure SAAMI Max is about 52,000psi IIRC and most published data is around 50k psi.
lf the saying "Liar, Liar your pants on fire" were true Mainstream news might be fun to watch
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Re: Split necks - Grendel
[Re: 603Country]
#8788309
01/26/23 12:12 PM
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Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 6,925
GasGuzzler
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I messed up on quoting this one and edited. Sorry Gasguzzler somehow lost your post.
You are correct 50 K is very high compared to many cartridges handgun and rifle alike no doubt. I should have been much more detailed with my thoughts on that post.
But compare 50K to some of the other modern rifle cartridges it is many run at 60K and some at 65K so it is considerably lower than those.
Bill Alexander the man behind the Grendel said you would have no issues other than shorter case life running the Grendel at 58k in a boltaction rifle.
I have loaded cases 5 times without any issues without annealing and that seems to be common with this cartridge.
Kmon11
Last edited by kmon11; 01/26/23 01:40 PM.
Pass the gravy.
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Re: Split necks - Grendel
[Re: 603Country]
#8788323
01/26/23 12:30 PM
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Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 3,775
P_102
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With all but 1 split I’d say you have a chamber problem.
Do not trifle in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy and taste good with ketchup.
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Re: Split necks - Grendel
[Re: 603Country]
#8788353
01/26/23 01:34 PM
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Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 3,638
DStroud
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Check what your fired brass measures outside diameter then size it and check it. Could be your die versus your particular chamber‘s neck is causing an over worked situation. I have ran into that on Peterson brass that I know is good brass but one of my 22Creedmoor dies sizes .003 more in the neck than the other so if I use it with a rifle that has a looser neck the brass may only go 3 firing unless I anneal.
Last edited by DStroud; 01/26/23 01:36 PM.
"Anyone taking up handloading necessarily plays with unknown factors and takes chances. But so does anyone who drives a car,goes to a cocktail party,eats in a restaurant,or gets married."
Jack O'Connor 1963
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Re: Split necks - Grendel
[Re: 603Country]
#8788366
01/26/23 01:55 PM
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Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 15,711
603Country
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After mentioning the split necks and wondering why, and if it’s a chamber problem, I realized I had 2 Grendel ARs. The grandson’s is in the safe. If I fire some rounds in each rifle and only get split necks from mine, then it has to be a chamber issue. I got the upper for a good price. Maybe that’s why the good price.
Anyway, I’ll post what I find.
Not my monkeys, not my circus...
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Re: Split necks - Grendel
[Re: 603Country]
#8788477
01/26/23 03:52 PM
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Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 41,173
J.G.
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I have seen Hornady 22-250 ammo split the neck on one firing.
Point being, they do make some brass that is brittle on the case necks.
Maybe, had you annealed it after the first firing you would have had zero split necks.
The next step I would take, before worrying about chamber or dies, is to anneal some more once fired brass, size and load it and see if it splits the necks again. As is the case with so much in hand loading, when trying to correct a problem or develop a load for a firearm, only change one parameter at a time.
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Re: Split necks - Grendel
[Re: 603Country]
#8788532
01/26/23 05:08 PM
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Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 18,954
ChadTRG42
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If the brass was twice fired previously, that means this firing was #3 when they split. I know from experience case mouths need to be annealed after the second firing (sometimes the first firing, depending on the caliber) if you plan to prolong case life. The answer is to anneal your case mouths. You are experiencing normal wear on brass that has been loaded multiple times and not annealed. Case necks will get work hardened and become brittle, then crack after firing or when sizing. I HIGHLY doubt something is wrong with the chamber. If you think it's the chamber, measure the fired cases at the neck and see how much expansion you get. Also, AR's are much harder on brass than a bolt gun is.
Also, Hornady brass has not been the best quality. It's softer, like the Federal brass is. I generally see the Hornady brass wear out in the primer pocket first, when using a large rifle primer. The Grendel is a small rifle primer pocket, which helps prolong the life of the primer pocket, since there's more "meat" around the primer pocket at the case head.
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Re: Split necks - Grendel
[Re: ChadTRG42]
#8788559
01/26/23 05:33 PM
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Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 15,711
603Country
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It isn’t the chamber. I took some of those reloads and fired them in the grandson’s Grendel (Odin Works) and got the same split necks. It has to be the brass. And some of those neck splits were also cracked at the junction of the neck and shoulder. No case head issues.
And next I fired some factory Hornady 123 gr SST ammo in both Grendels and had no neck splits. I’ve never had brass fail on me so quickly, but I can’t remember ever using Hornady brass for reloads. The problem now is that I had planned to use all the Hornady brass for reloads in the future. I’ll anneal and see if that gives me more case life.
I have some new Lapua cases but maybe I should acquire some more good brass if I can find it.
Good to know that my problem isn’t the barrel, so there’s that bit of good news.
Not my monkeys, not my circus...
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Re: Split necks - Grendel
[Re: 603Country]
#8788590
01/26/23 06:12 PM
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Joined: Aug 2021
Posts: 500
65x55
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Tracker
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Get some boxes of PPU and see how that does for reloading. It shoots pretty well as loaded ammo for me too. I don't reload yet but I'm saving all my brass.
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Re: Split necks - Grendel
[Re: 603Country]
#8788628
01/26/23 07:13 PM
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Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 531
Hogflyer
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To elimnate your problem if it is your gun, shoot another brand of brass, load the same load and go from there. If it splits brass again, you may have a problem. Then get some one to measure the chamber area, barrel headspace. On the brass, im getting about 6 to 7 loads per brass on some old Lake City stuff i landed years ago for use my Match grade M1A, load the standard 41grn of 4895 mil spec loads. I know Lake City can take a beating more than commercial smaller calibers.
Thats my rant for the aftrernoon, back to polishing 10mm stuff......
shoot safe....
"Buy more ammo, save it for a rainy day."
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Re: Split necks - Grendel
[Re: ChadTRG42]
#8788780
01/26/23 09:47 PM
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Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 3,568
garyrapp55
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The answer is to anneal your case mouths. Yep. I use Hornady in my kids 6.5Grendel and I have 5-6 loads on some of them. Semi-autos may be harder on brass but I don't think the neck is affected any different, maybe I'm wrong. Regardless, anneal and go back to whatever you were before.
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