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Brass and Primers

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    Posted: December/15/2007 at 11:35
I have really found brass brand to be a difficult decision for me. With winchester I get inexpensive brass that preforms well and lasts pretty good, it seems to hold slightly more powder in the calibers I've been loading for as well. Take the time to match prep it and its a deal in my experience....than I buy some lapua brass. Wow, weight sorting is pretty much unneeded and the brass is uniform in every way, I'm over 25 reloads on some and it shows no problems in any way. Expensive but great brass. My 308 loves the lapua and my 22-250/7mm-08 loves the winchester....oh well.

Primers seem to always be federal gold match or CCI BR's, just less deviation and guilt edge accuracy no matter what. Now the federals get hard to find and everybodys hoarding them this year.

Any opinions on brass and primers or any old brand is good? Lets get these boards popping...its after season now and time to hash this unimportant stuff out....

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tahqua Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December/15/2007 at 12:14
Most of my brass is Remington and Federal. I generally resize factory ammo I have shot and very rarely have bought virgin brass. I have never had any problems with either hunting or service rifle rounds. I get seven reloads from fairly hot 7mag rounds and don't see any signs of seperation. I don't use them after that, regardless.
My primer drawer is full of Federal and Remington, too.
I know that if I was a bench rest shooter that Lapua would certainly be used. Their brass is universally recognized as top drawer.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pyro6999 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December/15/2007 at 12:15
i have had some really bad luck with some remington brass, in my 6.5 rem mag and thats bad because they are the only company that makes the brass, i have had to anneal every case i buy cause most of it has been sitting on a shelf somewhere for the last 25-30yrs and if i dont anneal them they crack in neck after one shot. i like winchester brass, lapua is way to spendy for me, primers i have always used cci but federals burn cleaner, but i will continue to use cci i think. as far as benchrest primers go there have been several tests done and i have done them myself and to be honest i havent seen any hard evidence that bench rest primers make your groups any smaller, at least in anything i have tried, i shot an ass load of cci br's and compared them to the cci 200's and groups didnt change. and from what i have read this is pretty standard result.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote RONK Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December/15/2007 at 12:22
 
 Well Focus, your timing on the reloading threads you've got going couldn't be better. No better time of year to dust off the loading bench!
 My experience with brass parallells yours, but I can't really afford much of Lapua's perfection. For me it's Winchester and some elbow grease. Remington-too soft and too thick. Federal-too soft and poor consistency from lot to lot.
 I have had very good results with Remington primers, not so much with CCI. I just haven't used Federals much lately so I can't say yay or nay without digging through my journals.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dale Clifford Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December/15/2007 at 12:22
and cabin fever will be starting soon, and everyone will be------ edgy.
depends alot, for me its primers from the same lot that is most important, and if the brass for 223 is crimped, can usually get winchester without swaging pockets. target guns benefit from lap brass, but rarely gas guns. br primers same-- you're probably using a hand seating , use one on target, but practice gets the dillon.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Focus Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December/15/2007 at 13:23
I never could see buying the lapua brass due to cost, but I ran out of winchester in a load working session this summer and a tactical fella at the range offered to sell me a dozen lapau brass in 308 on the spot. Let me tell you it opened my eyes, first I resized it to 7mm-08 and loaded 10 of em 7 times each while working up the 7mm-08 load. Than later I opened em' back up to 308 and used them 20 more times each to work up two different 308 loads, one target and one hunting. I loaded them up for deer season and just finished that, they still are perfect....I only had to trim once and no separation or neck splitting at all. No weight differences much (all within 1/2gram) and with the way they have lasted I can only imagine how long about 50 would last me. Remington brass is too soft for me and as said the federal is way to all over the place on weight. Winchester has always did me well though and the powder capacity is very nice.

I have a savage 12bvss in 22-250 that really shows a preference for old winchester white box primers or CCI BR2's.....other brands and types open groups up as much as double.

   Focus

Edited by Focus - December/15/2007 at 13:23
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cheaptrick Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December/15/2007 at 14:47
Same for me, Focus. Lapua brass for my .308 with CCI BR2 primers.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Focus Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December/15/2007 at 15:01
Yep its the trick, hey what powder do you use? RL15 - varget - 4064 - or 4895?

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cheaptrick Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December/15/2007 at 15:39

Varget with 168gr. SMK's.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Corky Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December/15/2007 at 20:08
Nosler is selling 30-06 brass for a reasonable price.  You can get  500 for around $160.  They normally sell for $35 for a box of 50.  You will have to weight sort them though.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Longhunter Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December/16/2007 at 02:06

Brass is a lot more uniform than it used to be.  Remington, and Federal premium (from fired rounds), have both worked well for me and are now pretty uniform in weight.  We've come a long way since the 1970s, when I found Remington's .30-06 brass to vary in weight by up to 8 grains or more!!!  

I use Winchester primers in my hunting loads.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Focus Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December/16/2007 at 06:41
I consider a 3 gram weight spread to be pretty bad myself. The nosler brass is weight sorted by the 50 count box to within 1/2 gram.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pyro6999 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December/16/2007 at 10:19

if i could talk about primers for a second, the only difference between the br primers and the normal ones is this, only the most skilled primer substance mixers are allowed to do the br primers, i cannot remember where i read that, but they were at  federal plant discussing it

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Focus Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December/16/2007 at 10:25
Originally posted by pyro6999 pyro6999 wrote:

if i could talk about primers for a second, the only difference between the br primers and the normal ones is this, only the most skilled primer substance mixers are allowed to do the br primers, i cannot remember where i read that, but they were at federal plant discussing it



Thats correct Pyro, also they are subject to much more critical quality control and the less uniform or off weight ones become std primers. Same primers other than that,thats why during the shortage of match federal primers this summer most guys hoarded the std primers of the same brand, they shot pretty much the same.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pyro6999 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December/16/2007 at 10:27
right thats the way i understand it also
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote charlie Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February/11/2008 at 19:58
I have never used BR primers.  Are they interchangable with standard primers for general hunting loads? From what I am reading here it seems as if Large Rifle BR are the same as CCI 200 but more uniform.
 
I have a fair quantity of military 30/06 brass.  Besides taking the crimp out of the primer pocket and checking OAL, is there anything else I need to do to them before I reload them?  I also have quite a few 30/06 military blanks.  Are the cases used for blanks the same as those used for cartridges with bullets?  Should the be reloadable?     
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pyro6999 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February/12/2008 at 07:42
as long as they arent berdan primers in that millitary stuff i would think you could treat them as any other brass, br primers are interchangable with standard primers
They call me "Boots"
375H&H Mag: Yeah, it kills stuff "extra dead"

343 we will never forget

God Bless Chris Ledoux
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote J!m Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April/07/2008 at 07:02
Originally posted by charlie charlie wrote:

I have a fair quantity of military 30/06 brass.  Besides taking the crimp out of the primer pocket and checking OAL, is there anything else I need to do to them before I reload them?  
 
Keep in mind that the Military brass tends to be much thicker in the web area, and therefore have less internal volume.
 
Because of this, there are two things to keep an eye on:
 
1) Internal volume- i.e. the space for the powder to occupy below the base of the bullet when seated. Make sure there is room!
 
2) Pressure- because of the reduced volume, you will have higher pressure at the same powder charge of the same powder. I think the rule of thumb is one grain less in mil brass from civy brass. I am learning the intricacies right now myself, and thought I'd mention this...
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote VN350X10 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April/13/2008 at 16:25

charlie,

I'd avoid using the blank brass for loading. I seem to remember that it gets relegated to "blank" status when it doesn't pass inspection to become ball ammo. I think this came out of an older "Ctg's of the World", in the section on military small arms ammo.
I know that the .223 blanks have a rose petal crimp & a cannulure around the body of the brass to ID it; If the '06 brass has this crimp, it will be too short to load.
.30-06 brass is so common, it's not worth risking !
 
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