federal brass for reloading

[gohring3006]

What do you guys think of federal brass?
I loaded up 50 federal brass that I pulled the factory components from and loaded 58gr. Imr 4350 and 178gr. Amax its getting close to max wondering if I'll get very many loads out of the federal brass

 

[jjmp]

federal brass is better then no brass, case volume varies from maker to maker which in turn affects pressure.

for many years all ive used for brass has been a mixture of FC, R-P and W-W brass.

they have all been VERY good, its good to have choices, regards jjmp

 

[MagnumManiac]

I don't like Federal brass, it is common to have the primer pockets loosened on factory loaded ammoon the first firing.
I was given 49 once fired cases in 300WinMag, all had loose primer pockets. I only use this brass for testing bullets, not worth the effort, IMHO.

I wouldn't recommend it to my worst enemy.

Cheers.
gun)

 

[MudRunner2005]

I try to avoid Federal and Remington brass, at all costs. The reason for avoiding Federal is because I've had horrific amounts of case/head seperations when using Federal 7mm STW brass after just a couple firings (seems to be VERY thin wall thickness). The rason for avoiding Remington, is because when I was younger, I had 3 Remington .22LR bullets get stuck in a row inside a pistol, and almost ruin the barrel. The cause, was because Remington ammo dept's QC sucked and they were duds, and didn't have any powder in them. Luckily they were all 3 duds, and the gun wasn't harmed, and a friend of mine who did some of his own gunsmithing was able to knock them back out without hurting anything. After that incident, I have avoided Remington ammo or reloading components at all cost.

 

[Outlaw6.0]

I think you will find the answer to your question will lie in the results of your own testing. Why do I say that? Because I've personallly loaded hundreds if not thousands of rounds in Federal brass without so much as a hiccup. On the other hand, many of experienced shooters have had problems....

Pockets stretch, that is a fact. But, in all fairness, I can stretch the living chit out of Lapua too if I decide to push it that hard. Keep your pressures under the ludicrous level & see how it treats you.

Is it the best brass out there? no. Then again, in today's market, the best brass out there is the brass you can actually get your hands on.



t

 

[gohring3006]

I think you will find the answer to your question will lie in the results of your own testing. Why do I say that? Because I've personallly loaded hundreds if not thousands of rounds in Federal brass without so much as a hiccup. On the other hand, many of experienced shooters have had problems....

Pockets stretch, that is a fact. But, in all fairness, I can stretch the living chit out of Lapua too if I decide to push it that hard. Keep your pressures under the ludicrous level & see how it treats you.

Is it the best brass out there? no. Then again, in today's market, the best brass out there is the brass you can actually get your hands on.



t

I hope it works out I have 50 brand new cases loaded up with a accurate load its a little warm but not at max I didn't get any pressure signs at max but found accuracy 1 grn. Under

 

[rdsewell]

+1 for what outlaw said, I've personally have had great success with Federal brass in my 7mm mag. Using 73grs. of Retumbo and a 168gr. Berger VLD. Which is a fairly hot load and I'm getting 8 to 10 reloads but I just neck size my brass. Get a neck split once in a while, then its time to aneal.

 

[Lefty7mmstw]

I haven't had bad luck either with fed. brass, but I only use it in standard calibers lately with rather mild loads. I've gotten rid of my belted mag fed brass for the most part. Some would crack necks sitting there, some had uneven neck tension after just a couple of firings; some were fine but I don't shoot the caliber any longer. The standard cal's like 270 and 223 seem to be just fine though.

 

[Waynard]

I have some federal brass that is nickle plated and is supposed to be less tolerant than regular brass that I shoot in my Browning A Bolt. I've loaded these 8 times with 59grs. of H4350 and 165 gr. Sierra bullets which is on the warm side and have not had any problems. Also have regular federal brass loaded the same and as many times, no problems. gun)

I like one shot kills where possible and prefer to do all my hunting before I shoot. Elmer Keith

 

[gohring3006]

I'm starting to feel better about my choice it seems like a ford / Chevy thing and some like fed. Brass and some don't. I'm going to test the new brass Saturday. The once fired brass had a faint ejector mark but it was very hot outside and I noticed that my chamber had some CLP that I forgot to swab out before I fired the gun. So I assume that between the heat and oil that I can't judge my brass on that particular load test. That brass was fire formed to my chamber already and this is new brass so we shall see.....

 

[MudRunner2005]

It might have just been their 7mm STW brass, but the rest of the Federal brass i have hasn't been an issue. So, could have just been the luck of the draw. Or something to do with that 1 caliber.

 

[Outlaw6.0]

It might have just been their 7mm STW brass, but the rest of the Federal brass i have hasn't been an issue. So, could have just been the luck of the draw. Or something to do with that 1 caliber.

Every once in a while a guy just has chitty luck & ends up with a bad batch. I had a very nasty go with the first batch of Norma 6.5x284 brass I bought, it took me a while before I could buy it again. I'm now running Norma exclusively in my 6.5WSM, it's been very good to me.... so far


We all know that Lapua is where it's at & we all know that Fed is nowhere near Lapua standards.... A little extra elbow grease at the bench & a little less pressure, most brass runs pretty well.


t

 

[MudRunner2005]

Every once in a while a guy just has chitty luck & ends up with a bad batch. I had a very nasty go with the first batch of Norma 6.5x284 brass I bought, it took me a while before I could buy it again. I'm now running Norma exclusively in my 6.5WSM, it's been very good to me.... so far


We all know that Lapua is where it's at & we all know that Fed is nowhere near Lapua standards.... A little extra elbow grease at the bench & a little less pressure, most brass runs pretty well.


t

I would normally agree with it being a bad batch, however, only about 20 pieces at a time were all of the same lot #, because they were all mixed and matched from multiple boxes of loaded ammo that I had shot over many many years. So there's no telling what was or was not each individual lots. LOL

I just wish Lapua would make belted mag cases. Then maybe we could talk them into making STW brass.

But for now, my Nosler brass works great.

 

[Demon061]

I use it but it's not my favorite. At least in .30-06 it seems... soft.