PMC brass

[Trickymissfit]

I'm the process of teaching a novice the black art of reloading. He gives be 300 cases in 44mag. Most were Remington and Winchester, and a bunch of PMC. Every PMC case showed me signs of over pressure. I asked Mike if these were range pick ups or reloads. He said factory loads! The primer pockets appear to be OK. I ran two hundred thru the case cleaner (pretty funky looking brass), and noticed right away that the PMC brass was very bright and shiny. Much brighter than the other brands. Tomorrow I'm going to take pressure signs much deeper and show him how to measure them. Still I have the feeling that the PMC brass is soft.

any thoughts?
gary

 

[Lefty7mmstw]

The PMC ammo I've shot has never been mild at all. Never absurdly high pressure, but never mild. I remember some PMC 300win loads that were faster than full throttle handloads but the brass lasted for many more firings.

 

[Sully2]

Never used PMS in 44 caliber but shot buckets full of it in 45 ACP. Never had a problem at all with it in that caliber..????

 

[Trickymissfit]

well I got Mike over yesterday, and we measured the rim thickness of the PMC cases. They are in spec, but also slightly thinner than a Federal. Mike's gonna learn how to use an RCBS hand priming tool tonight, and then get to try the priming device on my Forster press ( it's very nice). After that he'll get to use the K&M. I had a die setup already to expand the case mouth, and showed him how and why we do this. Also showed him a looming problem that we'd have to take care of next time around. The cases really needed trimming, even though they are barely within spec. Some case mouths were about .005" out of square with the centerline!

Next week we're going to do some .223, and 30-06. I have a bunch of brass that needs work, so we'll have plenty of 30-06 to learn on. I don't think he has much more than 60 cases. He must have close to a thousand LC match .223 cases!!!! Where he got them, I'd love to know! I'm going out of the way with this phase to make strait and accurate cases, and show him out to correct problems along the way.

Mike got to make a serious look at die sets yesterday, and was ready to pop the cap for several sets of Forster dies. I told him not to buy anything yet. He like the micrometer heads and all that stuff. I don't think he's close to being ready for that stuff.
gary

 

[jsthntn247]

Weigh those PMC cases and you'll find they are allot heavier than the others. PMC 338 Lapua cases are 38 grains heavier than Hornady cases. My buddy stuck a pmc case in a gun that had to be beat out with a ramrod and a hammer with a load that showed no pressure with hornady brass. It's very good, thick brass and will take a lot of shots, but it has less capacity and will take less powder to get the same speeds.

 

[Reloader222]

I had a primer blown from a .270Win case which was otherwise fine in Norma brass. Other PMC cases were fine. Found later that the primer pocket had stretched - this was after the 4th reload. These PMC brass is fine, but it does not like high pressure loads. The primer pockets stretch more easily than other brands.

 

[snox801]

Like others said, PMC is pretty good for reloads. I run pic for my plinking rounds and my tac con trigger and slide fire so I have thousands of cases. I use it for my 6x45 and everyone I knows 300blk. Like others said its a bit thick so start low on your ladder. But will usually reach book max.