Originally Posted By: WVDanimal Is it safe to assume that I can still use the rest of the box of ammo? Hoping just that round was the only culprit in the box.
Your failed case is almost certainly nothing more than a case which has been stretched too far/too many times and which finally failed.
This is a more common occurrence when shooting range pickup brass which may have been fired in a loose chamber and the number of times reloaded is unknown.
A case expands to fit the chamber everywhere except the solid case head, then is sized back to SAAMI specs. Repeat this a time or four and it is the equivalent of bending a piece of copper wire back and forth in order to break it.....the brass case becomes brittle and breaks at the "expansion ring" (where the case walls join the solid case head).
I suspect that is the situation here. I don't know how the ammo re-manufacturers avoid this, but, as a reloader, it is simple. I bend a paper clip w/a small 90* hook and use it to feel inside the cases for the groove that forms as this progresses. Often times a visible line will show up on the outside of a case just before it fails, but not always.
I have personally never had a case failure of this nature (but I do have both .308 & 30-06 GI broken case extractors somewhere that I bought many years ago when shooting competition.
) because I haven't shot any ammo other than my own handloads for over 50 years and I inspect every case carefully before each reloading as described above.
Quote:Call the ammo manufacturer and tell them what happened. They would probably like the ammo back for inspection and will replace it if so.
Wouldn't hurt^^^^^^
Regards,
hm