Is the brass from most factory ammo good for reloading?

Tactical Trunk Monkey

Tactical Trunk Monkey

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Hi,

Looking to get into reloading and was wondering which factory ammo brass is good for reloading. Looking at factory ammo in 30-30 ( Hornady, Federal, Remington, Winchester, etc ). I’m slowly building my brass collection just wanted to know the consensus. Also does it matter if the bullets are a different brand then the case, like mixing Sierra or Hornady bullets with Federal or Remington brass? I don’t believe it would make a difference, as long as all the measurements are to spec and bullet weight is optimized for riffle twist.

Thanks
 
Bullet/brass brand definitely do not need to match.

You'll probably get slight velocity variations between different brands of brass, but if you're not concerned about getting the absolute utmost accuracy out of a precision rifle, then most/any brand will work (As long as it's for the right cartridge. Don't mix .223rem with 5.56x45mm, or .308win with 7.62x51mm, as internal capacities differ). Some are more consistent than others, some last longer than others, but they're all reloadable (As long as they're not berdan primed- i.e. have the standard single flash hole in the middle, not 3 holes off center).

This is just my relatively uneducated opinion- hopefully someone like Ganderite shows up and weighs in.
 
I agree most factory brass are reloadable with no issues, having said that some are berdan primed. Those are also reloadable with some caveats , it's a real pain to work with those style primers. Yes I know some people do that, but it really is a pain to do. Steel and aluminum cases shouldn't be reloaded due to the issues of the material properties that they are made from.


heres my YT channel offerings

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFVkJ1KrFaH9Gi0vHt9GqwpXQ3QS9zqCD
 
Be real careful mixing brass , even the same brand - you should at least weigh the brass if it comes from different sources - I have seen 308 and 243 brass vary by 10 percent even for same name -.RP brass seems quite variable - not as many issues with 300 Wm as with smaller cartridges but a safe load with one brass might put you over safe with heavier -less capacity-brass
 
First of all, not all brass is reloadable. Only brass that features boxer primers (one flash hole) can be reloaded. Second, steel and aluminum cases cannot be reloaded. Nickel plated brass is OK to reload but it does not last as long, and brass is best. For pistol loads, brand of brass does not matter, as distances are not sufficient to notice differences in wall thickness, interior volume, consistency, etc.... For rifle cases, used factory brass is OK but depending upon the brand, it can be inconsistent. Based upon my experience, here is how I rank the brands of brass:

Best: Lapua

Very Good: Nosler, Norma, RWS, Metalverken

Good: Hornady, Remington (RP), Winchester (WW Super) PRVI, Starline, PMC, and Federal (FC)

Not so good: Chinese and Russian brass.

Supposedly very good: Lake City
 
Tactical Trunk Monkey said:
Hi,

Looking to get into reloading and was wondering which factory ammo brass is good for reloading. Looking at factory ammo in 30-30 ( Hornady, Federal, Remington, Winchester, etc ). I’m slowly building my brass collection just wanted to know the consensus.

Thanks
Click to expand...

For just starting out and reloading for your 30-30 I would just use one brand of brass. I have been reloading the 30-30 since 1982 and just used Remington brass and Hornady 30-30 bullets. If you are hunting in the woods the average deer is shot at 40 yards so you do not need bench rest accuracy.

Also remember any time you change any component like the brand of case or bullets to reduce the load by 10% and work up again.

The 30-30 is a lower pressure cartridge at 38,000 cup or 42,000 psi and you will see the fired primers protruding from the base of the case even at max loads. This is because the chamber pressure is not great enough to push the base of the case back against the bolt face. You may also see more carbon on the case necks of your fired cases due to the lower chamber pressures.

Bottom line, the 30-30 is a good choice for starting out reloading. This is because of its lower chamber pressure and not stressing the brass case. My 30-30 cases fail after many reloadings with cracked necks and never of a case head separation. Buy a good reloading manual and read the front part of the manual on how to reload safely.

Below my Longbranch .303 British and my Winchester 94 30-30 Trapper model with a 16 1/2 barrel.

eNMuChI.jpg
 
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Yes. North American rifle ammo use the Boxer style primer, which we all reload. Boxer brass can be identified by the single flash hole in the case head.

Berdan primed brass uses 2 small flash holes, and we do not re-load it. You are not likely to find any Berdan primed 30-30.

If you have a brand of ammo that shoots well in your rifle-stick to it, so all your brass is the same.
 
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TungstenJohn said:
Be real careful mixing brass , even the same brand - you should at least weigh the brass if it comes from different sources - I have seen 308 and 243 brass vary by 10 percent even for same name -.RP brass seems quite variable - not as many issues with 300 Wm as with smaller cartridges but a safe load with one brass might put you over safe with heavier -less capacity-brass
Click to expand...

That’s a good point, all my brass is fired from my 336 and not picked up elsewhere, it does like the Federal 170gr. 😀

pacobillie said:
First of all, not all brass is reloadable. Only brass that features boxer primers (one flash hole) can be reloaded. Second, steel and aluminum cases cannot be reloaded. Nickel plated brass is OK to reload but it does not last as long, and brass is best. For pistol loads, brand of brass does not matter, as distances are not sufficient to notice differences in wall thickness, interior volume, consistency, etc.... For rifle cases, used factory brass is OK but depending upon the brand, it can be inconsistent. Based upon my experience, here is how I rank the brands of brass:

Best: Lapua

Very Good: Nosler, Norma, RWS, Metalverken

Good: Hornady, Remington (RP), Winchester (WW Super) PRVI, Starline, PMC, and Federal (FC)

Not so good: Chinese and Russian brass.

Supposedly very good: Lake City
Click to expand...

Thanks, will stick with the better brand for when I start loading for precision.



bigedp51 said:
For just starting out and reloading for your 30-30 I would just use one brand of brass. I have been reloading the 30-30 since 1982 and just used Remington brass and Hornady 30-30 bullets. If you are hunting in the woods the average deer is shot at 40 yards so you do not need bench rest accuracy.

Also remember any time you change any component like the brand of case or bullets to reduce the load by 10% and work up again.

The 30-30 is a lower pressure cartridge at 38,000 cup or 42,000 psi and you will see the fired primers protruding from the base of the case even at max loads. This is because the chamber pressure is not great enough to push the base of the case back against the bolt face. You may also see more carbon on the case necks of your fired cases due to the lower chamber pressures.

Bottom line, the 30-30 is a good choice for starting out reloading. This is because of its lower chamber pressure and not stressing the brass case. My 30-30 cases fail after many reloadings with cracked necks and never of a case head separation. Buy a good reloading manual and read the front part of the manual on how to reload safely.

Below my Longbranch .303 British and my Winchester 94 30-30 Trapper model with a 16 1/2 barrel.

eNMuChI.jpg
Click to expand...

Ok will do!

Ganderite said:
Yes. North American rifle ammo use the Boxer style primer, which we all reload. Boxer brass can be identified by the single flash hole in the case head.

Berdan primed brass uses 2 small flash holes, and we do not re-load it. You are not likely to find any Berdan primed 30-30.

If you have a brand of ammo that shoots well in your rifle-stick to it, so all your brass is the same.
Click to expand...

Staying away from Berdan.
 
pacobillie said:
First of all, not all brass is reloadable. Only brass that features boxer primers (one flash hole) can be reloaded.
Click to expand...

BERDAN BRASS can be reloaded .. It is a pain and requires special tools . It's a very finicky method, and it's generally not done. Just to show you
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qH8pBybcTg
But as your doing a fairly normal north american cartridge you should not find those. These are generally found on throw away type cases military cold war types , Warsaw pact spam can stuff( Russian,Chinese, Yugo,Czech Romanian ) , GP 11 Swiss, etc.
 
Most of us replying here have been reloading for decades. We all had to start somewhere and it's best to not over complicate things or it won't be an enjoyable hobby at first as you'll get lost in the minutiae of small details.

Reload the brass you have on hand, and try to reload in batches using the same case manufacturer. I would venture a guess that 99% of average reloaders don't weigh their cases and sort by weight.

As far as .30-30 brass, you wont find Lapua as it's not made. You'll likely be loading cases from the big manufacturers (Win, Rem, Fed). These will all be boxer primed. I've had issues with OLD Dominion brass being brittle, best to avoid it.

Keep things simple and consistent. Your 336 will shoot just fine with average reloaded ammo and will likely be the limiting factor in the accuracy of your reloads.

Once you get more into the hobby, the quest for accuracy and extreme consistency will follow.
 
Steyr101 said:
Most of us replying here have been reloading for decades. We all had to start somewhere and it's best to not over complicate things or it won't be an enjoyable hobby at first as you'll get lost in the minutiae of small details.

Reload the brass you have on hand, and try to reload in batches using the same case manufacturer. I would venture a guess that 99% of average reloaders don't weigh their cases and sort by weight.

As far as .30-30 brass, you wont find Lapua as it's not made. You'll likely be loading cases from the big manufacturers (Win, Rem, Fed). These will all be boxer primed. I've had issues with OLD Dominion brass being brittle, best to avoid it.

Keep things simple and consistent. Your 336 will shoot just fine with average reloaded ammo and will likely be the limiting factor in the accuracy of your reloads.

Once you get more into the hobby, the quest for accuracy and extreme consistency will follow.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the wisdom.
 
I've had good luck reloading Federal and Winchester brass for a 7 mm WSM and .308. I've gotten up to 6 or 7 loads from the 7 mm WSM before the cases start to show signs of excessive wear (cracks, splits, excessive deformation, etc.). I've had some trouble with primer pockets on the Federal nickel plated casings. Even once fired the primer pockets tend to be on the loose side. I've also had good results mixing the federal and Winchester brass (1" groupings at 100 yards), however I do keep them grouped by the number of times fired. They tend to elongate at about the same rate and by keeping them "batched" i can trim them every 3rd or 4th firing when they exceed the length tolerance.

All of the modern cartridges from major ammunition manufacturers you listed will reload just fine.
 
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