Federal Brass Primer Pockets

[hunter66]

I have been looking for 300 win mag brass for awhile, usually use Hornady or Winchester. Came across some new Federal Brass a while back and bought it. On the third loading the primer pockets were so loose I had to discard them. I have gotten 6 or 7 loads out of the other brass I have used. My loads are not real hot but had to drop down 3/4 grain of powder on the Federal brass as compared to Hornady or Winchester brass. Has anyone experienced this with Federal Brass?

 

[mtwarych]

I have had the same results with a few different chamberings.

22-250, 204 Ruger, 270Win and 257Rob.

I just don't use Federal brass if I can find any other brand.

 

[hunter66]

Thank you, that is the last Federal Brass I will buy. I guess that was why that was the only 300 brass available.

 

[Quintus]

Same here, Federal brass I have used in .243Win and .270Win has noticeably less capacity than others. I have not had the issues you had with the primer pockets though. I have loads worked up in those Federal cases and get 9 to 12 loadings out of them before the necks split.

 

[badthirtyone]

I've had equal experiences with primer pockets loosening up considerably after second or third firings on Fed brass. I never buy Fed to reload with, just reload factory ammo after having shot it once. Then, I just lower my expectations on the number of firings I will get out of it.

 

[WildBillG]

I have seen the primer pockets loose inFederal factory ammo I wanted to reload. They were so bad you could blow the primer out of them with your mouth.

 

[Dosh]

Same here, my friend's 300WSM many after just first firing. Told him to get some quality brass, so he buys Hornady. Not much better. Buy once cry once.

 

[Stammster]

Yep. I'm done with Federal brass. Some once fired 270 Win factory loads were so loose I didn't think a primer actual fed into my RCBS hand primer. Absolutely no resistance.

 

[Deviant]

I have been looking for 300 win mag brass for awhile, usually use Hornady or Winchester. Came across some new Federal Brass a while back and bought it. On the third loading the primer pockets were so loose I had to discard them. I have gotten 6 or 7 loads out of the other brass I have used. My loads are not real hot but had to drop down 3/4 grain of powder on the Federal brass as compared to Hornady or Winchester brass. Has anyone experienced this with Federal Brass?

Same here I only get 2 loadings in my 308 with Federal brass. I had a bunch of gold medal match factory ammo that I shot up and thats the only reason I had Fed brass in the first place

 

[BHP9]

I quit using Federal brass in the '90's for that very reason.

.223 before that.

The brass made in the '80's was never a problem.

I have seen once fired factory brass that wouldn't hold a primer.

 

[randonee]

I've found that using Federal primers helps with the larger primer pocket. I used to use Federal once fired factory brass in my 300 WM. I found I could just get 1 or 2 reloads with Rem primers. I then saw a post somewhere where someone said not all primers are of the same diameter and recommended Federal primers in Federal cases. That worked for me for an additional 2 loads. I then switch brass to get a bit more capacity so I don't know how many total loads I would have gotten.

Had anyone else found Federal primers to be a bit larger in diameter? I've wondered about this and have been puzzled.

 

[Jud96]

I use to use Federal brass in my .243 and most of it had loose pockets after 5-6 shots and some made it to 7 shots. I have since switched to Peterson and haven't looked back. For .300 Win Mag, I would look into getting some Peterson, ADG, or Gunwerks. Those are all solid choices and should handle a good load for 10+ reloads.

 

[RH300UM]

Peterson Brass 300 Winchester Mag Unprimed Box of 50 - Graf & Sons

300 Winchester Magnum All 50 count listings of Peterson Cartridge casings come in one of their plastic ammo boxes. Made in the U.S.A. Peterson makes the traditional SAAMI spec’d version that headspaces off the belt. But it also makes a version that headspaces off the shoulder. Peterson...

www.grafs.com

This brass is tough!!
You won't have bad primer pockets with it!!
10 hot reloads and still going on the first batch purchased.

Or get the long version for head spacing off the shoulder and not the belt.
it's what I use

 

[CA48]

The once fired federal brass I use in my 270wsm is like that. After first firing from factory ammo the pockets are just barely tight enough to hold a primer and some won't. So now that I have 2x on the brass I'm just going tighten the primer pockets back up myself with a ball bearing and a punch. I'm just running a mild load because that's all fed brass can take if you want to get more than 2 firings out of it. If you want the good stuff go Peterson or lapua when it comes out. Hornady seems to be much better than Winchester or federal.