[azmick]

trying to come up with a load for a guy's 7MM mag and all he had was Federal brass. After trimming the 20 pieces, I found that there is a 10gr. difference in the brass {high/low} and no two pieces are the same. I have always used Winchester or Remington brass in my rifles and have never had this much variance in brass weight. What are the experiences of others?

 

[c pierce]

Azmic I have found winchester brass to be the most consistent in weight. And fed rem to be Effie.

 

[straightshooter1]

I've not found that to be the case in '06 or 308, but don't load 7 Mag. Federal has always been very consistent and accurate in the two calibers mentioned.

Bob

 

[Guest]

I always tried to get Federal brass, and found it usually was very consistent. Recently I've been loading a fair amount, building up a supply for a Prairie Dog trip in 22-250 ans 243. Due to availability, I've been using Winchester brass. I find I have to do a complete prep of the brass before loading. Very inconsistent primer pocket depth, lots of inner flash hole burs, at least one split neck per bag, up to .020 variance in length. It usually takes me a half a day to totally prep 50 rounds before I would consider loading it. Once I've gone through all this, it usually does pretty well.

 

[azmick]

Thanks guys, ended up going with Winchester brass. I think I may be on to a good load too

 

[AdoramaMike]

I use Winchester brass, but have reloaded Federal after I shot them with no problems.

 

[Bill56]

Mick, I have not reloaded Federal rifle brass. I have "heard" that it didn't stand up to as many reloadings as other manufacturer's brass. In the past, say about 8-10 years ago when I was cranking out 1000's of 223 and 22-250 rounds for a prairie dog hunt, I used Winchester brass with good success. I still have much of that brass. Recently, their quality hasn't been quite as good. Lately, even though quite a bit more costly, I've been sticking with Lapua brass if at all possible, esp. in 308.

 

[danc46]

I bought several hundred once fired 308 Federal brass a couple of years ago. With one loading on them I have had several cases separate, some wouldn't hold the primer from the get go, etc.
I will no longer use Federal brass.
I do have some Federal brass in 30/06 I have had for over 20 years and it still works fine.
But the new stuff isn't worth bringing home.

 

[AdoramaMike]

Ok I will keep an eye open on my Federal brass, Thanks danc46 and Bill56.

Mike

 

[bruce]

When first I began reloading, I bought Federal Hi-Power .30-06 ammunition because Schwegmanns sold it for $9/box, which in 1979 New Orleans was a good price. I shot the flying hound out of it! It worked just as well as Winchester (which I could rarely afford) and Remington. Over many years of shooting I never noticed any difference in the different brands of brass except that Winchester brass appeared to have a greater internal volume since with equal loads, the primers seemed to show less pressure indications. Accuracy, etc. with properly prepared brass was equal, regardless of the brass used. In 1996 I bought a Remington SF-VS in .308 Winchester. Over the next 9 years I fired many many thousands of rounds through that rifle. Other than 200 Remington factory loads, all rounds were handloads. I used Remington brass. The only problem I ever experienced with this rifle was with loads using Federal Gold Medal Match brass. Using identical procedures and components, the FGMM brass simply would not stand more than two loadings before the primer pocket would loosen to the point that a new primer could be seated with almost no pressure at all on the handle of the Lee Auto-Primer tool that I used. This occurred only with the FGMM brass. Remington bulk brass bought at the exact same time gave no problems at all. That is the only time in 30 years that I have ever had a problem with Federal brass.