rec-baller Posted February 20, 2011 Report Share Posted February 20, 2011 (edited) just been out bunny bashing , when i came home i.ve noticed 3 out of 5 empty HMR (17grn Hornady)cases are badly cracked, the crack is running lenghtways for about 10mm on 2 of the cases and on one its about 15mm long, any ideas shaun Edited February 20, 2011 by rec-baller Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apache Posted February 20, 2011 Report Share Posted February 20, 2011 It's been mentioned before. Nowt to worry about. Mine just land where they fall, I don't inspect them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdubya Posted February 20, 2011 Report Share Posted February 20, 2011 (edited) hornady gave an official response that it was down to the annealing process not being so critical in rimfire .17 this is the reply hornady gave on shooters forum (yank site)oh and i am not "mr pearson" cheers KW Mr. Pearson, I'm sorry, sir, but we have no record of receiving a package from you. It must have been lost in the mail. The 17 HMR cases may crack because of the annealing process when they are made. The annealing process is what makes the material brittle or flexible depending on the length of time and degree of the process. This is a precise procedure with any other case that can be reloaded, as we want the case to be hard enough to do the job but soft enough to stand up to several reloads. The 17 HMR case is dispensable and can not be reloaded, therefore the annealing procedure isn't quite as strict as with other cases. When the case cracks, it's because the neck was annealed a little harder than it needed to be, making it more brittle. This does not affect the accuracy or performance of the ammunition. Normally, the fired case will eject the same as any other, and unless they are picked up later, the shooter may never even know they had a case with a split neck. We would prefer that none of the cases split, (and the majority of them don't), but it seems redundant to spend the time and money on perfecting the case when it isn't practical or necessary. Our lab has evaluated cases with cracked necks, and the powder is fine, the case necks are just more brittle. I hope that answers your questions. Please feel free to contact one of our techs who are much more familiar with our bullets, cases and ammunition than I am. Most of our technical personnel are at the Grand in Ohio this week, but will be back next week. They can be contacted by email at webmaster@hornady.com or by phone at 1-800-338-3220. Cindy Edited February 20, 2011 by kdubya Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ace32 Posted February 21, 2011 Report Share Posted February 21, 2011 i had this on a few cases,didnt affect acuracy,just a bit unerving when you see it,on older stock,cant remember which type they were though,blue tips seem ok though,ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy. Posted February 21, 2011 Report Share Posted February 21, 2011 I've always said it's down to the breech. I never had any cracked cases. If the breech is a few microns wider, it's all the space to allow a case to split. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted February 23, 2011 Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 Its a strange one seems to vary how much you get it in different guns which suggests its breech related. I had one do it in mine that jammed the case but it was all the way down the side. Only one I've noticed and bearing in mind most empties end up in my truck I do look at a fair few Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onlyme Posted February 25, 2011 Report Share Posted February 25, 2011 i use remmington prems gold tips, and in the cold weather i get the occasional cracked neck, but in warm conditions i never seem to get one, they still hit the same place, but like has been said it aint a nice thing to see!! the only thing i have had so far out of a fair few thousand rounds is a slow firing on a handful of rounds in really cold weather ! -13 one night, where i pulled the trigger and 1/2 second later it finally fired with a few flames shooting out the moderator, out of curiosity i put 10 rounds through the lr on the same night and noticed the same flames out the moderator with unburnt powder being ignited in the silencer ! since its warmed up though not a single problem .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deputy dog Posted February 25, 2011 Report Share Posted February 25, 2011 Iv posted about this a good few months back. Still getting a few cracked cases now, but only a few mils an very narrow width not gaping cracks. Nothing to worry about though mate, and i hardly inspect them now i know its a little common fault in this caliber. Some one did post the had a severe breech blow in his gun where it actually damaged the gun. But he never materialized any proof by the way of pictures. In fact he never mentions any thing on the subject again, so i would say what he wrote was a bogus claim in the first place. And what i have researched since on the suject. Every gun breech is proofed to double or triple the pressure of any cartridge strength its intended to fire, so unless you manage to get a .308 round in your .17hmr breech an fire it. I wouldn't worry to much about it again mate. ATB Dd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick miller Posted February 25, 2011 Report Share Posted February 25, 2011 A cautionary note: I was out a few weeks back with the one seven, I noticed the odd round had a delayed reaction, you'd clearly hear the pin strike and then there was a half second delay before the round went off. Good job I always hold on the target. After a few rounds more I pulled the trigger and heard nothing, so I waited then opened the bolt and ejected the cartridge into my hand to check it. The bullet was missing. I was pretty sure I had loaded a live round so in the pitch black I disassembled the bolt, magazine and removed the silencer then held the rifle up to a distant light to check the barrel was clear. It wasn't. I packed up, got home and then had to use a rod and jag through the crown end to forcefully tap the bullet back into the breech, it was stuck quite well just forward of the breech. In removing it I bent the jag as I had to ram it quite hard. I examined the cartridge, it was split at the neck. Then I checked the box of rounds (Hornady) I had taken with me, out of the 38 left 8 had split necks. That's unfired rounds out of a box with split necks. Then I checked the other 4 boxes of Hornady I had and over 20% had split necks. They hadn't even been opened let alone seen a rifle breech. So in short, sometimes it has nothing to do with your breech and everything to do with the manufacturing process. I returned all the rounds to the shop they were bought from and exchanged them. As yet I haven't checked the new ones (also Hornady but with different packaging). It might be worth checking yours? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rem223 Posted February 25, 2011 Report Share Posted February 25, 2011 I suspect it is a combination of tiny chamber variation and different brass annealing. There was a run of duff Hornady ammo a while back. I like Hornady as it happens, but they have had some problems. In the US and Canada they have been selling their "super performance" ammo and I have seen a few examples of rounds where the primer has completely blown out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick miller Posted February 25, 2011 Report Share Posted February 25, 2011 As an aside...whereabouts in western Canada are you? I spent 3 weeks there last year (Vancouver to Vancouver Island to Banff, Jasper, Wells Gray, Moraine Lake and then out of Calgary), loved it. We're going to Labrador this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dekers Posted February 26, 2011 Report Share Posted February 26, 2011 It happens a lot on HMR and I am prepared to accept the manufactures reasoning. I struggle to believe why it shoud be the breach dimensioins/tolerances on HMR! ATB! A selection of manufacturers cases! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy. Posted February 26, 2011 Report Share Posted February 26, 2011 I struggle to believe why it shoud be the breach dimensioins/tolerances on HMR! Why? It never happened to my HMR cases and I know others who have never had this happen. If it was solely down to the case then everyone would be getting cracked cases. The consistency would be with everyone's rifle, not a select few. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdubya Posted February 26, 2011 Report Share Posted February 26, 2011 (edited) Why? It never happened to my HMR cases and I know others who have never had this happen. If it was solely down to the case then everyone would be getting cracked cases. The consistency would be with everyone's rifle, not a select few. its NOT the select few, its been happening since the inception of the hmr round, I know of it happening in annies, cz,s savage marlin weirauch etc etc so stop trying to convince someone that their gun is faulty when its not, the only person you are convincing is yourself,it happens from time to time in mine, not bothered about it one iota, I have seen the replies from a couple of ammo manufactures ( surprising thought that they may know a little bit more about it eh!) and accept their reasoning. KW Edited February 26, 2011 by kdubya Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dekers Posted February 26, 2011 Report Share Posted February 26, 2011 (edited) Why? It never happened to my HMR cases and I know others who have never had this happen. If it was solely down to the case then everyone would be getting cracked cases. The consistency would be with everyone's rifle, not a select few. Billy, why should the HMR Breach be any harder to machine accurately than any other calibre with todays technology, and why do you not hear about this to anything like the same extent with any other calibre, including the 17 centrefires? I have had maybe 20-30 split cases in thousands of HMR, many people would never know if they had split cases, they get lost in the field or people just never look! How many people do you know who have NEVER had a split case have inspected thoroughly EVERY case to check! And why then do the ammo manufacturers concede they know and accept the issue, if they thought they could pawn it off on the rifle manufacturers they most certainly would! ATB! Edited February 26, 2011 by Dekers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Elvis Posted March 2, 2011 Report Share Posted March 2, 2011 (edited) Thats a good point, Ive never found one but most of mine are still in the field!! Edited March 2, 2011 by Evil Elvis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorfolkPoacher Posted March 2, 2011 Report Share Posted March 2, 2011 I found a recent batch of Remington 17gr really bad so changed over to hornady "orange tips" all is ok at the mo! Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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