Thread: Split brass

Greetings again all,
I could have been clearer in my earlier post. The early head separations in belted cases can be as much a rifle problem as a case problem. The belt recess in some belted chambers is cut overlength and the belt on the case can be undersize. The case just ahead of the belt can expand into this space. If the case is then sized just enough to chamber we can set the shoulder back to create excess headspace to the shoulder. If we set the shoulder back the optimal 0.002" using a comparator and not by feel then the case won't chamber due to the bulge in front of the belt. The bulge needs to be dealt with seperately.
When the US major manufacturers started developing their own line of magnum cases after WW2 they all had belts because the American public believed tha a magnum case had to have a belt to reinforce the case head. This was all crap of course but loose tolerances for the belt and the shoulder of these cartridges plus skimping on brass has resulted in the problems with head separations that many handloaders have today.
Regards Grandpamac.