How good is Starline brass?

[Papaclaude]

I'm looking at buying new brass for my 45-70 and 44 mag rifles, and I came across Starline. My question is it any good and how durable is it? I'm not looking for Lapua-grade brass for high precision shooting, but I want something that will last using moderate loads.

 

[Andy]

I've used Starline in both 45-70 and 44 Mag and many other chamberings. I give it an "A". Can't think of any shortcomings.

 

[OldDude]

Same here... I have some in 44 Mag, and it's been good.

 

[B]

I don't think I have ever heard a single negative thing about it. I have used it for years and think it is excellent stuff.

 

[yomomma]

I buy their 38 S&W. Quality brass.

 

[hunter64]

Main reason people buy starline is because it is thinner than other brands of brass. This really helps for people who need a large diameter bullet that when loaded it would be too thick to chamber. I have a 1912 38-55 win94 that needs a .381 bullet, when I tried loading it in Winchester brass it was too thick and would not chamber. Same bullet in starline brass will chamber.

Last batch of 45-70 brass about 5% of the primer pockets were too large and I literally put glue on the sides to keep the primers from coming out. I marked the brass as such and when I reloaded them a second time the primer stayed in just fine. I mic'ed the primers and they were exactly the same from the same lot. Must of been a one off because I have never had that before.

 

[kg]

Thinner than Federal and Winchester in 44. It didn't give enough neck tension with my (LEE) dies when I sized @429, but would probably be fine now that I shoot as-cast.

 

[silverfoxdj]

I would have no reservations using it at all

 

[ryan]

I used to buy Remington brass for my rifles, but it's now hard to find, so I switched to Starline, and like it just as much, for about half the price of Remington too.

As far as thickness of brass, I found Starline to be thicker than Remington, and Winchester was the thinnest of the three, in the calibers I have.

Maybe there are variations in thickness depending on caliber?

 

[mudgunner49]

I have 500 new .45-70 cases and it is thicker than both WW and Remington. I have no Fed or Horn to compare it to...

 

[The Kurgan]

I use it for an antique pistol and WW1-era rifle... no reservations whatsoever. Highly recommended.

 

[donor]

I shot 38-55 long case with BP-awesome brass and thin enough to use .381 sized bullets.lasts forever.

 

[Eagleye]

I also use it in one of my 38-55 rifles. So far, it has proven to be great.

I will see how it is standing up after 8 or 10 reloads. Dave.

 

[HammerliSP20]

I use it for three pistols: .41 mag, .44 mag and .45 ACP. Great quality.

 

[jethunter]

I have 8-10 different varieties of starline brass, haven't had an issue yet. It's good stuff.

 

[silver 55]

I have a rimmed cartridge that I believe I am having headspace problems with. The brass is Winchester and the rim thickness has about .007 or .008 thickness variation and it averages about .010 less than the SAAMI spec for that cartridge.

I went to the local dealer and asked to see some Starline brass and it varied about .002 or .003 in rim thickness and averaged about .005 less than the SAAMI spec.

To me, a better quality brass and I wished they made the brass I need. Yes, I could convert some of what they do make but right now my plate is pretty full.

 

[gunlaker]

Starline brass is pretty good. I use it in a variety of single shot rifles.

You can get bad brass from any manufacturer though. I had a large number of Starline .45-70 cases with rim thickness of under 0.060" for instance. Most of my Starline .45-90 has pretty big rim thickness variations when measured at multiple points on the same case. The only rimmed cartridge brass I've seen that is extremely consistent is the Norma .45 basic stuff, but it's very pricey.

Chris.

 

[stevebc]

I use Starline for my .38 S&W, and in my TT33 I use their Starline 7.62x25 and .30 Mauser interchangeably. They make brass for some hard-to-find calibres.