Atomic .308 Ammo -- Please read!

[RickRandR]

Got some Atomic 308 when the getting was good
down to bottom of the can and I'm getting neck splits & rim splits
shooting in a SA M1A NM
What causes this?
do I need to clean the gas cylinder?
Had 7 necks and 2 necks with rims and one about 3/8" above the rim
One of the rims blew the magazine down (and apart)
not fun single shooting standing free at the time in a match today
Gotta couple of plastic cans 200 left
Thanks

[rcolarco]

Does the rifle do this with other ammunition? If not, it's the ammunition. I'm betting on an ammunition problem.

Do you need to clean the gas cylinder? Maybe. That is a functioning issue, a dirty gas cylinder is not going to cause what you are seeing.

[edwardm]

From Atomic's FAQ pagehttp://atomicammunition.com/faqs.html)

"Will this ammunition cause wear and tear on my firearm?
Any ammunition will cause wear and tear on your firearm. Atomic ammunition is powerful and will accelerate the wear on your gun. We recommend replacing the recoil spring on pistols with increased power springs and checking all parts regularly."

That right there would make me FLEE from their products. Assuming the general statement at hand, what, are they loading +P 308 Win? :P

The neck splits look like bad annealing, if your rifle doesn't do that with other quality ammo (Winchester, Remington, Lake City, whatever...) The splits at the head/rim are could be bad annealing or poor alloying, or both. I wouldn't shoot that stuff in any of my rifles. I might pull it down and use the projectiles for something else, but that's it.

[RickRandR]

They sold it as once fired brass
168 GR match load
Mostly LC brass
It does not do that with other reloads that I do
168 g LC mostly 41 gr IMR 4064
It was a very windy day didn't want to send my pretty
Nosler poly tips down there
I did shoot 20 of mine no prob the 20 prone last position
shot 35 Atomic sight in, Standing Free slow, Sitting rapid and Prone rapid
Glad it didn't bust my mag with 8 in the can

[Shomway]

Wasn't the Atomic that CMP sold reloaded military cases? Could that have been the problem?

[Moorem1s]

Exact same issue shooting atomic ammo out of my m1a yesterday at the trophy team match. Blew mag guts out with first shot in offhand. I'm pulling mine and reloading.

[zippysrifle]

I've got a can of it. After reading these comments, I'm going shoot it in a bolt gun. I bought it to try in my 308 M1. Not anymore. Just don't need the grief.

[Old SGM]

I bought a can from CMP when it was available. I got splits and slits on the brass and one round cracked the stock on the right side.
Since CMP had evidence that I had bought the ammo and the .308 rifle from it the stock was replaced.

[GGaskill]

Splits in the head area are very dangerous and should not be fired in any rifle. They let high pressure gas loose in the action which can do nothing but wrong. Pull the bullets and demill the cases.

[GotSnlB28]

Ugh. I have a few cans of this ammo that I bought from CMP. I have run through about 200 so far without any issues but this post has me worried. Was there a specific headstamp, mfg/year on your brass that failed or was it mixed? Unfortunately I don't see any lot # stamping on my boxes.