Shot 5 rounds, and 3 split the cases. Is this typical for surplus ammo? I opened the tin and the packing slip said 1948, packaged in Russia.
I bought some surplus 1948 Bulgarian heavy ball ammo still sealed in the metal can. I've probably had over half of the cases split while shooting, but the gun didn't seem to care so I didn't either. When I asked about the ammo on MN.net I was warned that I may get some split cases because "old brass is brittle brass". I also had some Russian surplus from the 70's and it did not split, although right now I can't honestly remember if it was brass or not. Bottom line, the actions on these rifles are pretty robust, so don't lose any sleep over split cases, surplus ammo is too cheap to pass up