Split Case

So I did some trading and picked up a used New England Firearms .22 Mag.

I took it out tonight and on the first fired round the case failed to eject. I figured that this was the reason the guy got rid of the rifle.

Pulling the case out with some needle nose pliers, I noticed that the case was pretty tight in the chamber. After inspecting it, I noticed that it was split from neck to base.

"Not good" I thought to myself.

Firing another round no problems with ejection, the group was starting off good.

Round three, flier and stuck split case.

All in all, 7 out of 26 round split.

Now the ammo, not sure of the specifics, I got them in a baggie with the rifle, Winchester HP is all I can tell you.

There were a few FN Winchesters and CCI Solids, I had no problems with.

The only thing that I can figure is the possible storage issues (exposed to Low/High temperatures) on the previous owners end?

Let me know what you think...

One thought. I would measure a spent unsplit case vs an unfired one and see if it shows alot of growth in diameter. I don't know what normal would be, but I would think .001-.003", maybe? Could indicate an out of spec chamber.

This may not even be in the right direction to help you. Good luck.

If the above checks out I'd consider the ammo suspect and try some fresh stuff to see if the problem goes away.

Thanks guys... I talked with a few guys and they also think that there is a problem with the batch or ammo... All the others fired and ejected w/o problems...

I did just buy two boxes of CCI Green's ($16.00 for 50) OUCH! So I'll see how they do...

I had the same issue with some 17hmr ammo a couple years ago. I've always kept several boxes handy. For whatever reason, more than half of the brass in one box split. Went to another box and things were normal. Who knows....maybe a hot batch.
Scooter

I wouldn't think storage of the ammo would be the problem. I have for many (read in excess of 30) years carries 22 ammo around in my truck and on the dash and never had a problem other than the plastic boxes sometimes warp from the heat so my money would be on out of spec ammo in some way. Maybe the brass was not annealed during the stamping process and it is just brittle.

Thanks for the reply's guys...