Against all odds I have had good luck with Bertram brass, including in some chambers that really should be retired.

The difference has been full length annealing, or at least up to the web.

Kind of an old school process, with modern controls. I use my casting pot. This allows setting an exact temperature and anything not submerged in the lead will stay cooler. I use 675.

Clean the brass, insert and fire a primer. This does two things. Fouls the inside of the case with carbon, and prevents air from escaping through the flash hole. This keeps most lead from entering the case. Placed neck first into the lead, the expanding air pushes the lead out.

Rubbing the outside of the case with beeswax prevents lead build up on the outside.

Holding the case head with large pliers also helps dissipate   the heat out of the case head keeping it cooler.

A good set of gloves are a must.

So far no splits or case head separation after 20+ firings of relatively low pressure loads.

I have Bertram brass that I have had for at least 30 years, no problems. Have some that I bought within the last couple years that has been a problem. 10-20% lost in first 5 firings.

One of the changes I saw, was some is now listed as "Basic". In General terms that has always meant not formed, trimmed to length or annealed. Some of the basic can not even be formed without splitting.

Zero problems after annealing this way and can keep the heat out of the case head.

Bertram brass is very good if you anneal it before use. I shoot mainly obsolete calibres and Bertram is sometimes the only option. My 300 Sherwood brass is about 15 years old now and has been reloaded many times. If I neck expanded a new case without annealing, it would split.
Fred

I have had the same experience with Bertram brass as everyone else.  If you don't anneal before firing or even putting it in a case forming die, a lot of it will split.  For me, the split usually came on the first firing.

I tend to do things simply.  Some 10 years ago, I bought 2 boxes of Bertram 28-30s.  IIRC, they fit in the chamber of my Stevens 47/44 without sizing.  Since I breech-seat, I really don't need sizing dies.  I annealed my 40 unprimed Bertram cases the old way, by stacking bricks in a bucket, standing the cases on the bricks and filling the bucket with water until the case heads and webs were submerged.  I did tilt each case, allowing water to enter through the flash hole.  Then I turned out the lights and lit a propane torch.  I heated each case until it started to turn color and then, using a stick, I knocked the case off the brick and into the water.

IIRC, the whole annealing process took less than 20 minutes.  No fancy turntables or any other gizmos.  I let the cases dry in the sun.  They were ugly, very stained.  Several hours in a tumbler with walnut shells left me with shiny stains.  36 of the 40 survived the first firing.  The other 36 are still usable.  And still ugly.