Split Casing

[dbrown3]

One of the 357 casings split about 3/4" long. Is this just a worn out casing or can it indicate a problem with the cylinder? I just bought the revolver so I was wondering if it might have a problem?

[versifier]

I'm assuming that since this is the Reloader's Guide you aren't talking about factory ammo, right? It's pretty hard to give you a definite answer without a lot more information. Either might be the cause, but going through it logically could lead you to the answer.

That is a pretty serious split. Usually they just go 1/8-1/4". Does the split include the neck, or is it all in the body of the case with the neck intact? How many times has the case been reloaded and how heavy a crimp do you use? How hot was the load and how heavy was the bullet/boolit? What did the fired primer look like? Are you seeing any small neck splits in other cases from that lot?

Brittle brass is the most likely cause, but just in case, tell us more about the revolver: what make, approximate age, etc. Are you having any difficulty in extraction of the fired cases from any of the chambers? Clean the cylinder and examine each of the chambers for anything obvious like tooling marks and measure all the throats. Compare neck and body measurements of fired cases from that chamber with those from the others. Any significant differences? Bulges?