What the hell happened

[Philward]

At least you didn't try shooting them

 

[Bghunter338]

At least you didn't try shooting them

Scary thing is that's how I found them. I was going to check his zero for him and when I grabbed one out of the box it literally came apart in my hand. And that was the first one so none got fired.

 

[derfssor]

Time and humidity IS the culprit. I have seen this several times through the years. In every case the rounds were old and the bullets were locked to the neck. Pressure and corrosion together weaken the neck shoulder area and you see what happens. If stored in a dry area this will not happen. I have personally had reloads that i have shot that were 35 years old and worked just fine. After inspecting the case after shooting, they looked just fine. just my 2 cents from an old man. The old sayed, keep your powder dry, still stands.

 

[243winxb]

This IMR 4895 went bad on me. Federal has said, shelf life is 10 years for components.

 

[Coyote Shadow Tracker]

Just curious.. Do you have any idea how old they were?

I don't know how old these were, but I still have my father's 45 and 30 cal ammo in US boxes from WWII and still look OK.

 

[Coyote Shadow Tracker]

This IMR 4895 went bad on me. Federal has said, shelf life is 10 years for components.

Curious on that. I called Hodgon years ago on powder shelf life and they told me that it will last years as long as you keep it closed and in an environmentally safe area (out of the sun and high humidify). I have some H414, H4895, H4350 from 15+ years ago and it still shoots extremely well. I guess I'll have to dig up the 500lbs I have burried in the back yard and start using it.

 

[One Hole]

Did something heavy get set on the MTM box?

 

[Bghunter338]

Time and humidity IS the culprit. I have seen this several times through the years. In every case the rounds were old and the bullets were locked to the neck. Pressure and corrosion together weaken the neck shoulder area and you see what happens. If stored in a dry area this will not happen. I have personally had reloads that i have shot that were 35 years old and worked just fine. After inspecting the case after shooting, they looked just fine. just my 2 cents from an old man. The old sayed, keep your powder dry, still stands.

Yeah I have loads that I have loaded from the 90's and never seen this.

 

[baggy270]

don't know they say if you leave powder in the plastic hopper too long it will cause the plastic to react with the powder if the bullets were not sealed well and stored in a plastic case maybe the same thing just a guess

Powder is stored in plastic containers….what's the difference between that and a hopper?

 

[dartem]

Different kind of plastic.

 

[bullet man]

Powder is stored in plastic containers….what's the difference between that and a hopper?

good point not sure but its in the instructions to not leave it in the hopper I think its because its not sealed as well as in the container. I have noticed if I forget to empty it it sticks to the hopper.

 

[jemo4570]

A few weeks ago, I opened a new box of .223 Hornady Tap ammo that a swat buddy of mine gave me a about a year ago. 8 had some corrosion on them. The pic are the worst of of the bunch. I cleaned the one on the left. It looked like there could have been a pin hole in the brass causing the circular corrosion on the sides. Seems to be of a similar nature as the OP, but these are <2 years old and only 8 of the 20 in the box were like this. Any thoughts on this?

 

[P7M13]

Weak brass; here's the same story from a "major" brass manufacturer this is recent with new unfired .223 brass,

I was out in the woods doing some long range work about two years ago. The spot where I set up my 900 yard target had a shiny pile of Federal 223 brass, all split necks. It happens, but broken stuff like those new 223 rounds is scary schnitt.

A few weeks ago, I opened a new box of .223 Hornady Tap ammo that a swat buddy of mine gave me a about a year ago. 8 had some corrosion on them. The pic are the worst of of the bunch. I cleaned the one on the left. It looked like there could have been a pin hole in the brass causing the circular corrosion on the sides. Seems to be of a similar nature as the OP, but these are <2 years old and only 8 of the 20 in the box were like this. Any thoughts on this?

Were they stored with Duraleak batteries, or near where something leaks? The corrosion appears to be from the outside, not in. Pull them and check.

 

[jemo4570]

Since I have had them they were in the factory box inside a 50 cal ammo can with 500 or so other factory and reloaded rounds.
These were the only ones with corrosion.