ADI Brass Defects

[Jorlcrin]

So, firstly, I'd state that I have many thousands of ADI/OSA brass cases, in .308, .243, and .223.

In the past, I've rated ADI as only being slightly behind Lapua, Norma and Sako, for quality and consistency.
And over the past 10 years, I've loaded maybe 5,000 ADI .223 cases.
One of my QC checks is to weigh the finished cartridge, and I've always been impressed with the low variance, when loading ADI brass.
I do check over brass multiple times through the reloading steps; looking for anything out of the norm.

So, last night I'm loading up a batch of 100 ADI cases; 3rd reloading since factory, so 4th in their whole life (incl factory loading).
This would be the third loading with 75gn pills.

Case prep:
1). De-Prime,
2). Wet Tumble clean,
3). Primer Pocket uniform,
3a). Inside(Flash-hole) uniform (Done once during first reloading from factory),
4). FL Sizing using Imperial Die-Sizing wax.
5). Check Case Length is under max.
6). Check Headspace (-0.002"),
7). Inside chamfer,
8). Outside chamfer,
9). Spin up steel wool on the neck to polish and remove any burrs.

Ready to Load:-
10). Prime (CCI 400 SRP),
11). Load (24.0gns AR2208),
12). Seat Rexem 75gn F-Bomb BTHP,
13). Check COAL,
14). Weigh and tally loaded cartridge,
15). Document steps and notes,
16). Batch into ammo boxes,

Ready to use.

OBVIOUSLY, this is MY reloading regime; not likely to be anyone else's cup of tea.
But it works for me, and it gives me enough control to know that I'm confident the ammo I produce will work as intended reliably.
[And thats big for me, as I load ammo for my overseer to use as well]
On average, I get around 10 reloads out of my .223 ADI brass, which I think is pretty reasonable.

So, this current batch is from a can of 840 rounds of the .223 55gn ADI/Sierra ammo, that I bought a few years back.

Just loading powder into cases last night, and I feel a rough section on the neck.
Thought it might be a bit of crud stuck to the neck, but eventually found a hairline crack about a third of the way up the neck, and extending maybe 1/3 of the way around the neck.
One end looks to have started down near where the shoulder forms into the neck.
I've polished the case and established the crack hasnt penetrated inside(that I can see), but it's beyond me being confident in loading it.

So, Initially, I assumed I simply had a dud case, as it happens in all types of brass.
Not common in ADI brass, but it's bound to happen..

But I thought I'd have a more detailed examination of the rest of the 80 rounds that I've finished in this batch.
And I found another that I'll have to reject and pull apart.
Plus another 10 or so that I expect will need rejecting by the next reloading.
It LOOKS like the same defect in each suspect case, which makes me wonder if they had a defective mould when making the brass.
I cant be absolutely certain that the suspect ones will form a crack, but given the 2 dud ones look to have formed from roughly the same spot on the case, I wont be surprised.

So, I guess I'm suggesting that anyone with ADI .223 brass made in the recent past, it might be worth examining it closely on the necks, especially if you are 2 or 3 reloads in.

[Oldbloke]

They may have had a run where the annealing was not quite right??

I had similar with a winchester case a while back. So, all brass I get I anneal before loading.