Is the 6x45 case more prone to neck splits?

gmww

New member
Greetings all. I'm a long time reloader. I just had a 6x45 rifle made by my gunsmith. He was not familiar with the 6x45 but one of his clients gave him some ammo. When I picked up my gun, he forward me the following advice from the other client.

He said that 6x45 tends to have neck splitting and that I should anneal my .223 cases or they will split after the first firing. He also suggested that after I resize the cases I should replace the primer decapper rod for the next reloading. He said the sizer on the original rod causes the cases to get brittle going back and forth. I purchased a RCBS 6x45 die set. I have some fired .223 brass ready to go.

Are the resized 6x45 brass necks brittle compared to other calibers? I can get four or more reloads in my other calibers before I start to have issues. Should I anneal before I resize to 6x45 or after I resize. This information caught me by surprise since I read the 6x45 was a simple resize and reload round like any other without a lot of time spent resizing up from .223.
 
With my limited experience with the cartridge over the past 25+ years and making and shooting it over thousands of rounds in 3Gun and PD shooting I can say I have never split a case neck. Up until three years ago all were loaded with standard Hornady dies. I've never annealed one yet and won't in the future. I don't load to firewall levels but they aren't pansy level either.

I'm just not seeing the issue. YMMV.

Greg
 
I have reloaded several thousand rounds of 6x45and have yet to have necks split after shooting.
Some of my 6x45 brass has been reloaded way over 20x.
I don't anneal either, ever.
Replacing the decaper rod...sounds like internet BS again..
 
Thanks guys. I was a bit skeptical but since I have no experience with 6x45 I figured I better ask. I have had necks split on my 7mm Br. This was after many firings but since they are now obsolete I had anneal them to save what I have left.
 
I very rarely have a neck split of any kind, and it's usually after 8-10 firings. They don't actually even "split" they just develop a tiny crack maybe a pencil lead wide that's normally only detectable on very clean brass.

I am a big fan of annealing for accuracy, as I have seen the adverse effects of neglecting it- though it makes very little difference in the groups. Just a nice touch on already good loads.

However, the necks will split if they want to regardless if the cases are annealed or not, though likely less frequently.

The short answer here is NO, DONT WORRY ABOUT IT.
 
Well I just resized a large coffee can of .223 to 6x45. Only had 2 that had necks split as a result of the resizing.
 
I just got into reloading the 6x45 as well, but my father has been doing it for years now. Most the brass I got is from him, and has been loaded at least a dozen times, if not more, and I have loaded most of it 3 or more times myself now.

Have not had an issue with anything. Only splits I got are just from old cases finally giving out.

Sounds like he wants you to spend some money at his shop maybe.....no reason to buy a new primer decapper rod. That would get expensive, quick. Cases will be fine. If they split, they split, it's bound to happen at some point or another.
 
GMWW, what your gunsmith is referring to is the fact that the regular RCBS sizing die necks down the brass, then the expander ball expands it back out a bit. This "overworking" the brass can cause splits.

On thing that causes brass to split is the use of a regular expander ball in the 6x45 die when necking up 223 brass. If you get one of reddings long tapered expanders, lube the inside of the neck with a q tip, then this operation goes very smoothly.

A guy has to figure out just how much bs he is going to go through to satisfy his OCD. Dies that use bushings instead of expander balls were invented to help control a lot of stress in the neck. You can usually use a std 223 bushing die, and use larger bushings for this case...call Redding to verify this before you purchase.
 
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Originally Posted By: ackleymanGMWW, what your gunsmith is referring to is the fact that the regular RCBS sizing die necks down the brass, then the expander ball expands it back out a bit. This "overworking" the brass can cause splits.

On thing that causes brass to split is the use of a regular expander ball in the 6x45 die when necking up 223 brass. If you get one of reddings long tapered expanders, lube the inside of the neck with a q tip, then this operation goes very smoothly.

A guy has to figure out just how much bs he is going to go through to satisfy his OCD. Dies that use bushings instead of expander balls were invented to help control a lot of stress in the neck. You can usually use a std 223 bushing die, and use larger bushings for this case...call Redding to verify this before you purchase.

Some Redding 223 Type S bushing dies can load 6X45. Ritch has two that will not. I have one that will.

Greg
 
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