S&B 8x57 brass?

Joel

Joel

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Does anyone have any experience reloading Sellier & Bellot 8x57mm brass?

I am looking at picking up a few boxes of ammo to run through a K98 and to have some brass for after, but PPU and Hornady both seem pretty anemic. On the other hand the brass seems to last long.

I'd appreciate hearing from anyone who uses S&B brass about how long it holds up, concerns etc.
 
Not specific to 8x57 but I've found S&B brass in other calibers to be good brass. Major criticism from me being that I've found the primer pockets to be overly tight. I have had to use the priming lever on my press at times instead of my LEE hand primer. On the other hand I've always found PPU to be excellent brass. If your buying factory rounds as a source of brass to reload I would probably go that route even if the initial loading is anemic. Hope this helps
 
Thanks for the info, Red Iron.

I have a primer pocket unifier (a Hornady I think) set up in a drill press to take the crimp out of military primer pockets. Maybe that can open up the S&B primer pockets enough? If thats the only problem with S&B brass anyway.

Pain in the arse...I love PPU brass as well, but I don't fancy shooting 100 rounds of 32 Special through my Mauser.
 
Joel said:
Thanks for the info, Red Iron.

I have a primer pocket unifier (a Hornady I think) set up in a drill press to take the crimp out of military primer pockets. Maybe that can open up the S&B primer pockets enough? If thats the only problem with S&B brass anyway.

Pain in the arse...I love PPU brass as well, but I don't fancy shooting 100 rounds of 32 Special through my Mauser.
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funny how others have the same experience with PPU. I have 3 rifles in 8mm and all of them shoot 1" or less at 100m with S&B SPCE and under 2" with those CanAM reloads..... I have no idea where the PPU ammo even lands. I fired about 40 rounds but never figured out where one went. I will never buy PPU ammunition again. S&B has me sold as the best 8mm ammo available. Hornady Customs are equally as accurate but land a full 8inches lower at 100m so for power the S&B rounds are flying faster and further before losing height as rapidly.

The brass looks slighting thicker on the PPU brass... it may last longer to repeated reloading. I'm waiting on a + critical volume of reloadable empty brass before jumping in to reloading equipment.
 
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Thanks for weighing in Philhut...good to hear I am not crazy then.

It looked like the Hornady International Custom stuff was loaded weak. Good to hear it really is so I don't have to spend the coin and find out for myself thank you. The box says "2500 fps" or something near there but...knew there was no way. Maybe they used a long ass barrel.

S&B it is I think. Maybe a few boxes of FMJ and one SPCE just in case a chance at a deer comes to pass.

The Can AM mil surp ball load looks really cool, as authentic as it gets for a K98 too...but not being able to reload it is a bit of a drag. Nice to hear its accurate though!
 
As for longevity of the cases...yeah thats an unknown ain't it? thinking about buying a Lee collet sizer and just not trimming until I HAVE to bump the shoulders back just a touch after a few loadings. PPU 303 brit is definitely thick!
 
The only issue I've have with the s&b brass is that it was hard to get them in the shellholders on my lee press for some reason
Have no issues with the PPU brass so not sure what the deal is with the s&b
 
My 303 S&B and 6.5x55 have tight primer pockets. The 303 brass is so bad the 100 i have i dont even use it as i have a few hundred PPU. I use the 6.5 though tight but you can get the primer in there
 
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S&B brass is excellent. Only one problem is primer pockets being tight at the top. I take my chamfer top and bevel the primer pockets the same as I would remove a military crimp. Works on nine , 44 mag, 45 Colt 6.5x55, 303 British so far. My 44 is on it's ninth reload with maximum loads. The rest are four or under so time will tell how many times they can be reloaded. So far it is excellent brass. 303 is on forth reload being fully resized and two different rifles.
 
long time ago in Europe SB was not well regarded for brass and durability. i did try the 7x64 brass but that was not good so they may have change the process ...
 
Deathrawt said:
The only issue I've have with the s&b brass is that it was hard to get them in the shellholders on my lee press for some reason
Have no issues with the PPU brass so not sure what the deal is with the s&b
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Try using a #11 shell holder (RCBS). This is what I have to use for their 8X64S brass.
 
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I've reloaded S&B and PPU 8x57, generally get several firings out of S&B, but it does show signs of impending separation pretty often. Never seen it do that with with PPU. Even that 197.5 berdan primed stuff Canada ammo brought in, doesn't do this. S&B brass must be not be all that ductile. I'm a little bummed about this last box, since more than half had issues before I even got a chance to reload them.
Checked headspace with a field gauge some time ago. I should buy my own "no go"...... and I think I will. But, as the only major variable here has been the brass manufacturer (one with a history of crappy brass).... I think we know who the culprit is.

From the outside it's really not that obvious, and I think that in early stages such as this, it would normally go unnoticed. How many people take a little light and look inside each case looking for this?
I was alerted last week when I noticed an obvious bright ring after maybe the 3rd or 4th reload. Decided to look inside ALL of my spent cases, and found grooves inside more than half of my S&B 8x57 brass (no other brand).
 
Can't speak to S&B large primer rifle brass but their handgun brass large primer pockets are tight. I ground the tip on a #4 drill bit square and use it to ream out the primer pockets on 45 ACP S&B brass I find at the range. Solves the tight primer pocket problem without making the pockets sloppy and the brass seems to stand up as well as any other brand. I wouldn't bother if it was a calibre like 9mm but range pickup 45 ACP brass is not common like it used to be.

Since large rifle & large pistol primer diameters are about the same I'm guessing the technique would also work with LP rifle brass.
 
Yikes Volhv, that looks like brass I've run through a sloppy chambered Nork M14 3 times, not a bolt gun! Wow.

Thanks for the pictures and detailed info! I was going to go with the S&B and just neck size but screw it....gonna pay a bit extra for the hornady. Incipient case head sep. is something I just don't need.
 
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