Worst .308 brass?

I think it depends on year of production. One year I hear Federal brass is good, but a bit "soft". Then I hear Winchester cases are of similar hardness to milspec ones.
There's a bad story about everyones brass I'm sure, except for maybe Lapua.
 
Simple answer... Steel case Berdan primed.

Guys like Lapua because it is close in weight. I'm not sure if 2000 rounds will all be close in weight or if they are just close within the box of 100.

One mans junk is another mans gold though.

I like to buy large quantities of once fired military brass and full process all of it. I use small base dies and anneal. When I'm done I weigh every case and write the weight on it with a sharpie.

After maybe 3 or 4000 rounds I sort them into lots of identical weight. Then cases of the same weight are put into MTM boxes of 100 and they live together as long as I have them.

Weight variation per box of 100 is usually within 1/10th of a grain, but I'll get some of the odd weights where I might have a 3/10th grain lot of 100.

The more you buy, the more you will have of identical weight.
 
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I was going to say that surplus greek berdan primed stuff. Brass cases can fool you into thinking that you have reloadable cases, then you break your decapping pin and have to swear and buy a new one.

I try to use mostly IVI and Hirtenberger brass for my 308 reloads

commercial brass - I find federal has harder necks, and prefer Winchester brass
 
As stated I have found the same with Federal. With any caliber possible I just go to Lapua now if possible. Lots available for the 308...
 
It varies so much between lots its actually quite frustrating. The biggest issue I found is softness and case capacity. Federal usually results in a compressed load when running my 7mm-08 with 140gr accubonds. On other brands, it is not usually. Hornady brass I had split necks before others. That's why you technically should run all the same haedstamp and lot and weigh them for best results. But for my purpose, it's overkill. To each their own.

North
 
I wouldn't even waste my time with Federal Brass. I have seen primers pop out of Federal factory loads. When it come to brass choices I guess it would depend on what you are shooting it through. Semi auto I would use Winchester, for long range work out of a bolt gun, Lapua would be my choice.
 
If I acquire some Federal brass through trading, etc.
I just toss it into the discard brass container.
I have absolutely no use for it at all.

WW-Super headstamped Winchester is the best domestic
stuff, with R-P not far behind.

Off shore, Lapua rules, Norma is good, but soft in some
applications. RWS is good, but usually a bit heavier
.
PPU is OK, but varies in weight a fair bit. S&B has very
tight primer pockets. SAKO is good stuff, but not easily
found. Dave
 
Federal is the worst for me so far. I stay away from it

Lake city NATO brass on the other hand has proven very consistent and accurate. Lots of reloads with them too
 
I picked up a bunch mixed brass 223 from a sponsor
Rem has the best .. do not need to touch primer pocket... ie no crimp, best bevel taper for a new primer... they just feed in easy

clean and sorted it by head stamp
fed if it had a crimped in primer, it was fixed

win brass had app 1/10 with a split neck... you could run them through your fingers and hear the split neck tinkle ....
I annealed every one of those win brass that passed the first visual test

brass with the 3 dots or with a crimped primer pocket, after deprime had a visit to the dillon super swage

sorting by headstamp makes it easier to set up the dillon super swage to get a good pocket
 
Federal sucks. Primer pockets are basically blown out in the first factory firing. Never bothered with new federal brass because of that. Maybe it’s better? Winchester brass can be ok. Mostly been using IVI or lapua.
 
winchester... won't use it, it's the only brass I've seen case separation on, and it's common, you'll start to see a stress ring after about 2 reloads. I just don't think they designed it for reloading, as it's really reliable factory loaded ammo.

Federal isn't as bad as some people seem to think, but you do have to swage the primer pockets.

Hornady/lapua/ppu brass is great

7.62x51 cases I've found to be all over the map with weight, thickness, primer crimps and case length after full length resizing, BUT once it's processed, I've found that it rarely splits.
 
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Lake City and Lapua are my favorite.
I’ve had no issues with Federal or Winchester brass but that is mostly for my Garand loads.
Hornady is useless for me.
Split necks and sub SAAMI OAL dimensions.

Edit:I just noticed it said 308 brass. I only use Lapua or Lake City.
 
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