You are taking about a different thread but there is lots of evidence that some commercial factory ammo is made with cheaper lower quality brass - when the manufacturers can get away with it. Typically they are using brass with less than than the 30% zinc that is called-for in cartridge brass. They seem to do this especially for older calibers that aren't running at modern, higher pressures - like 303 British. I'm not the only source of evidence. Lots of useful comments from multiple people in that thread. No need to worry about some imaginary unknowing newb being lead astray.
Large pistol primers in 308 reloads
- Thread starter steelgray
- Start date
You are taking about a different thread but there is lots of evidence that some commercial factory ammo is made with cheaper lower quality brass - when the manufacturers can get away with it. Typically they are using brass with less than than the 30% zinc that is called-for in cartridge brass. They seem to do this especially for older calibers that aren't running at modern, higher pressures - like 303 British. I'm not the only source of evidence. Lots of useful comments from multiple people in that thread. No need to worry about some imaginary unknowing newb being lead astray.
That has never been an uncommon occurrence. I can't count the number of primer pins I've bent because of off center primer holes over the last 5+ decades. It happens and other than pistol cartridges, I'm very careful to check all of the cases I reload, that are range pick ups or even new in the bag cases. It happens no matter the manufacturer.
I recently culled 3 rounds of PRIVI, 303 Brit once fired, range pick up cases because the primer holes were off center to the point I didn't want to bother with them.
I have mostly been using Starline and Norma brass for the last 10-15 years and I don't think I've seen it at all. I bought a bunch of 30-40 Krag ammo ( Remington ) to convert to 38-50 brass and was surprised a few with incorrect primer holes in 3-4 boxes of ammo. Pretty unacceptable to me. But then that's the way of the new world. Nearly everything new is crap.
Chris.
Funny you should mention Starline brass and how concentric the primer hole are.
I just received a new bag of 444 Marlin brass, made by Starline and found "one" off center hole that was far enough off that I threw it out.
It happens to all manufacturers and thankfully it isn't nearly as prevalent today as it was in the past.
I found a lot of off center primer holes in the Chinese 5.56 Nato surplus that used to be available. Otherwise it was very good brass to reload.
I just received a new bag of 444 Marlin brass, made by Starline and found "one" off center hole that was far enough off that I threw it out.
It happens to all manufacturers and thankfully it isn't nearly as prevalent today as it was in the past.
I found a lot of off center primer holes in the Chinese 5.56 Nato surplus that used to be available. Otherwise it was very good brass to reload.
Out of all the different brass Ive reloaded in four plus decades, Ive never had one case of what any of you speak. But have friends with the same problems and its always directly related to cheap ammo or components. Ive loaded literally hundreds of thousands Lapua,Norma,PMC,Nosler ,Remington,Winchester and Federal brass, both virgin and factory fired . Like most things in life, YAH GET WHAT YAH PAY FOR. Buy cheap surplus and thats what ur gonna run into. Primers going off with no powder ignition because of no flash hole ring any bells??
You should buy lottery tickets
I punched through large pistol primers in 7.62x39 with h335 loads maybe 1/4rds in my batch. I got the courage to do it with h335 after IMR-4198 proved successful with good cycling and ejection and no punched primers and learned that nope they don’t work for every load.
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Umm thats like saying 30 Herrett is a pistol cartage. Sure loading data is under the pistol section, and was originally made for a pistol. That is basically a rifle.
It's a 3030 wildcat. It's hardly a lower pressure round. I might use LPP if I run like 5grns of pistol powder or reddot. But not when I load 22gr of H110.
