Various Breeds of Brass

[WhelanLad]

Guys, Im wondering who out there has done up a Bunch of loads for a rifle, using different breeds of Brass.. Now I've got a bunch of old old reloads for a .223rem and some are Norma brass an some are Winchester, Im not confident in trusting the original loaders so its sitting out in the shed lol.

I also had 38 Rounds of once fired Winchester brass for my .270, So I went ahead an reloaded them up... All have been real good cannot complain..

Before going to the Win factories I used up 40 odd rounds of Federal factories, So I have around 40 FED brass, And wouldn't be surprised if I have some old RP brass on hand also.... Not to mention some Nikel plated Win stuff.

Without using the Nikel cases, Im wondering about Reloading up these other brands with the same load as Im using in the Win brass...

Im mostly a deer hunter, So havin 38 rounds ready to go is more than enough an I can reload them as I need, So not a huge problem, but now an then I use the 270 for spotlighting Foxes at home an can sometimes punch through 10 rounds a night.

The Question would be, who does have different brass all ready an loaded, an Do you have any issues with accuracy ?

Cheers
WL

 

[dead meat]

In the average hunting rifle i wouldn't expect to much if any difference with the brass in accuracy. I don't like to run a hunting rifle at max load capacity anyway. I will keep brass seperated into the different makes until i can check the loads at the range to make sure my loads are good. Have a mixed batch of 243 some win and some norma, usually i use my older brass for hunting then if i can't find the case oin the snow after shooting i'm not to upset. Being a cheap sob i don't like loosing a usable case.

 

[bearhunter]

OK, one thing about Winchester brass, it is made by various makers. The recent stuff is rumored to have been made by PRIVI for them.

I personally quit using Winchester brass for two reasons. One it hardened and started to split very quickly, even with proper annealing. Two, the capacity consistency from batch to batch was just to inconsistent.

What you want to do, is do a capacity test on your cases. Weigh the cases empty and record the weight. You can write the weights on the side of the case or on a sheet of paper. Just make sure you know which case is which. Then, fill the case with water and allow the convex meniscus to top the case mouth. I forgot, I use those 1/4 in or 6mm, round stickers available from Staples or any stationary outlet, on the outside of the bottom of the case to seal it. Anyway, weight the cases empty then full of water. Record the weights, subtract the difference and you will have the volume of water measured, that is held in each case. This difference will translate to powder volumes as well.

For a hunting rifle, this usually doesn't make a lot of difference, unless you are an accuracy freak and willing to go the extra length to achieve it.

I have found Winchester brass has way to much inconsistency from lot to lot in almost every aspect.

Federal isn't bad, Remington is better, Norma is next and Lapua is best. The old Dominion and Gevelot (Norma) brass is also excellent. I have some Dominion cases that have been reloaded over 60 times and reannealed at least 10 times. Every time, they come back to like new malleability. The main reason I lose some of them is that I resize about 1/3 of the upper case body and I find they tend to stretch in that area after a while. I've never had a problem with case separation though because of it. I have had a factory Winchester round that separated about 3/4 in up from the base though. I will admit, it may have been the fault of the No1 Mk III, rather than the case. Way to much headspace on that old Lithgow.

 

[bjmurata]

The average shooter using what is commonly referred to as a hunting type rifle,for all intents and purposes,will notice very little,if any,difference in accuracy in rounds loaded up to be used for hunting.I have lots of ammo loaded up in several brands of brass using basically the same load and this has been my general experience,others may get different mileage.

 

[WhelanLad]

Awesome.Thanks for the replys, Hope to hear more experiences.

Thanks for the tip on weighing etc, Im not THAT worried at this stage i will obviously try a few cases an confirm myself...one day

cheers wl

 

[kamlooky]

I check them, load them and shoot them.
I'm not into competition shooting and can't really understand why
folks do weird stuff to brass.
I chamber all my hunting loads to be sure there isn't any surprises there.
Also full length size them as well.

 

[stubblejumper]

Depending on the cases, there may or may not be significant differences. The case capacities can vary, and if you are loading to maximum for your rifle, changing cases, could cause pressure issues, as well as changes in the point of impact.