Brass quality question

[ramsdude47]

This is a general question, so I’m curious to know for any manufacturer, but I’m going to ask about Federal since I’m going to buy some.

Is the premium/match ammo brass the same as the cheap blue box/American eagle brass?

 

[WeiserBucks]

Probably.

 

[Pickettpuncher]

I’m sure the brass is the same. If there was any difference it could be that they done a little extra prep to the brass. Most likely the difference is the bullet used, not the brass

 

[PaCarbine]

Just stay away from hornady- i known of (2) 6.5s savage actions that drop hornady brass every 10 rounds

 

[Stu]

Just stay away from hornady- i known of (2) 6.5s savage actions that drop hornady brass every 10 rounds

I’ve had good experiences with hornady. What do you mean by “drop?” Fail to eject?

 

[SamsonMan22]

Best I could tell the brass from the gold medal match factory loads and the blue box stuff were the same. The biggest problem I have had with federal brass is it’s soft and primer pockets loosen up fast. I tried to reload some once fired factory brass for 260, 270 wsm, and 300win. About half of the 260s were useable for one more firing, none of the 270wsm were usable and primers could be easily pushed in with my fingers. Maybe a 10th of the 300 win would take one more firing after the initial factory loads. None of these showed any pressure signs in the rifles used. The brass seemed pretty consistent but just had no longevity, I never attempted to try to reload the gold medal match brass after my previous experiences.

 

[PaCarbine]

I’ve had good experiences with hornady. What do you mean by “drop?” Fail to eject

I’ve had good experiences with hornady. What do you mean by “drop?” Fail to eject?

extractor will pull it from the chamber then drop it on the next round - as if it loses grip on the case - i believe there is a study floating out there dtating that hornady’s diameters for the 6.5 is smaller than most and tolerances are loose. I will dig around to see if i can find it

 

[35WhelenAI]

I don't know for a fact but my thought is the match grade brass is the same stuff just measured for case weight, primer pocket uniformity possibly, case length. Then take the ones that best match up and call them match grade.

 

[Donutetr]

I don't know for a fact but my thought is the match grade brass is the same stuff just measured for case weight, primer pocket uniformity possibly, case length. Then take the ones that best match up and call them match grade.

This... "Match grade" translates to more consistent.... buy a box of Lapua or other high end brass and you can see there is not much weight variation between the cases (in that box). presumably that translates to more consistent case volume and more consistent pressures making everything more repeatable and "Match Grade".

 

[ramsdude47]

Hmm 270 WSM is the caliber in question here, and I'm reading lots of reports of Federal's WSM brass specifically being problematic.

Some folks report using a CCI primer instead of Federal fixes the problem, but I'm having second thoughts since it is not a fantastic price anyways for once fired brass.

 

[PaCarbine]

Found the forum i was referencing…..

Sometimes the brand of brass comes into play. If you look at the SAAMI drawings for the diameter of the case extractor groove, it shows as "0.409 -20", so 0.389-0.409. The vast majority of brass that I have in my reloading stash - Lapua, Federal, Remington, Winchester, Norma, etc. measure between 0.403 and 0.406, across all brands. Except Hornady. The Hornady 6.5CM brass I had meaured between 0.391, and 0.397 - so technically within SAAMI spec. But in my testing... under 0.393", and it wouldn't eject, but drop just like the OP described (which is why I asked @spudgun if he was using Hornady brass). Every time. Over 0.395", it ejected reliably. In between... maybe yes, maybe no, depending on how you stroked the bolt and if you were just lucky or not.
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[EdP]

It's been 5 years of so but the Federal Premium (gold box) that I bought were nickel plated whereas the blue box ammo was not.

 

[Stu]

Found the forum i was referencing…..

Sometimes the brand of brass comes into play. If you look at the SAAMI drawings for the diameter of the case extractor groove, it shows as "0.409 -20", so 0.389-0.409. The vast majority of brass that I have in my reloading stash - Lapua, Federal, Remington, Winchester, Norma, etc. measure between 0.403 and 0.406, across all brands. Except Hornady. The Hornady 6.5CM brass I had meaured between 0.391, and 0.397 - so technically within SAAMI spec. But in my testing... under 0.393", and it wouldn't eject, but drop just like the OP described (which is why I asked @spudgun if he was using Hornady brass). Every time. Over 0.395", it ejected reliably. In between... maybe yes, maybe no, depending on how you stroked the bolt and if you were just lucky or not.
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I have two savage actions. One of them has very rarely had failures to extract, though I’ve never used hornady brass in that one.

My other savage is as likely to “drop” the case as it is eject it. It has only seen Remington and Winchester brass. Very frustrating.

I rarely grab my savages anymore due to stuff like this. Thanks for sharing.

 

[PaCarbine]

I have two savage actions. One of them has very rarely had failures to extract, though I’ve never used hornady brass in that one.

My other savage is as likely to “drop” the case as it is eject it. It has only seen Remington and Winchester brass. Very frustrating.

I rarely grab my savages anymore due to stuff like this. Thanks for

Wolff firing pin 32 pound spring upgrade

SS-2402 Deluxe Savage Enhanced Extractor/Ejector Kit

The above (2) upgrades made significant extraction / ejection / and primer strike improvements for my Savage 11 short action -

 

[5MilesBack]

I've been reloading for my 7mag for a few decades. All I use is Federal brass. But the newest brass I've used is still two decades old. The oldest is from the 80's. So I'm sure there are large quality/spec differences between their old stuff and new stuff. I keep all my brass according to how many reloads it has on it, and the most I have is 5 times and it still appears to be good.

 

[PaCarbine]

I've been reloading for my 7mag for a few decades. All I use is Federal brass. But the newest brass I've used is still two decades old. The oldest is from the 80's. So I'm sure there are large quality/spec differences between their old stuff and new stuff. I keep all my brass according to how many reloads it has on it, and the most I have is 5 times and it still appears to be good.

What grain bullet are you shooting what spped for the 7mm rem mag?

 

[Stu]

Wolff firing pin 32 pound spring upgrade

SS-2402 Deluxe Savage Enhanced Extractor/Ejector Kit

The above (2) upgrades made significant extraction / ejection / and primer strike improvements for my Savage 11 short action -

Awesome. Thank you.

 

[ramsdude47]

I've been reloading for my 7mag for a few decades. All I use is Federal brass. But the newest brass I've used is still two decades old. The oldest is from the 80's. So I'm sure there are large quality/spec differences between their old stuff and new stuff. I keep all my brass according to how many reloads it has on it, and the most I have is 5 times and it still appears to be good.

Do you buy new brass or acquire it from buying Federal factory ammo?

 

[35WhelenAI]

The question wasn't asked specifically to me however with rounds such as a 270 or 30-06, others, I get inexpensive brand name factory loads, practice with them and that's my brass. I keep them separated based upon the lot number of the cartridges or better yet keep them together within the same box.

284 winchester, 35 Whelen, 45/70 not quite as inexpensive. I typically reload component brass for those. With respect to those cartridges, I bought brass years ago. I'm not paying high prices currently but the concept is still the same, under the premise that brass is available.

 

[SamsonMan22]

Hmm 270 WSM is the caliber in question here, and I'm reading lots of reports of Federal's WSM brass specifically being problematic.

Some folks report using a CCI primer instead of Federal fixes the problem, but I'm having second thoughts since it is not a fantastic price anyways for once fired brass.

With the 270wsm I was loading for I tried cci, federal, and Winchester primers. None would seat with any kind of force after firing the factory loaded ammo once. All of the primers could be seated with one finger. I tried both nickel plated and regular brass cases with the same results. I loaded some up using new Winchester brass and had no problems even after 4 firings, with federal primers.

The 260 brass I was using cci primers and I believe the 300 win I was using cci as well if memory serves me right.