Ruger Forum

Seneca · July 22nd, 2012, 06:23 AM

I've had good luck with Winchester .308 brass, Though it's possibly there could be an out of spec case or cases in the lot, measuring the cases will turn them up.

I'd be more inclined to suspect the shell holder, I have several Lee shell holders and on occasion, have had the problem you describe. Mostly with brass that's been shot through a semi auto (7.62x39), all it takes is a bit of a burr on the rim and a tight shell holder to create a bind.

Come to think of it....I use Winchester .308 brass exclusively and It's worked well for me. Though....I do have a tendancy to mix and match my dies sets to get the features I want...with the .308, I use an RCBS shell holder and small base dies along with a LEE seater die, and the indespensable wilson case gauge...

NorwegianHunter · July 25th, 2012, 11:30 AM

I use Win brass for rifle reloading, have for years, and for different calibers. No problems.

Had one of those hand priming toools, difficult to use, and it finally broke. Went back to the priming arm on my Lyman press.

Seneca · July 27th, 2012, 03:58 PM

I recently broke the lever on my lee auto prime and had to buy myself a new one. I'm not all that thrilled with the newer style Lee auto prime. The good news is they're not that expensive and the new lever will work on the older style. I'll probably order another lever from Lee and then sell the newer one.

Darkker · July 28th, 2012, 07:20 AM

Few things to consider about this.
1) Winchester sold their brass cartridge bid-ness around 2007. So it's just like "their" powder, they don't make it anymore. It is IIRC World Wide Brass.

2) The whole "military holds less" issue. I can't say it never did. But grab 2-3 cases from half a dozen brands and measure it. DON'T weigh it, if you want to know volume, then test that, NOT the metalugical weight. What you will find is that there is a very very slight difference. The volume DOES differ between some brands and lots. However the largest I've personally seen in the 308, is 0.2 gr water capacity.
In the small 223 case where the differences will mean more for pressure changes, here is a weigh-up that was done:

Seneca · July 28th, 2012, 08:16 AM

Could that possibly be Global brass Corp?
Instead of World Wide Brass?

Spike12 · July 28th, 2012, 08:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TMan51

While you have your vernier out, measure the dimensions on your Lee shell holder.

My Lee shell holders for .30-30, and .38/.357 are both at the minimum, and will not accept some cases from any maker.

It's not likely the brass.

+1: I have had to replace my LEE shell holder for 223 because it was out of spec. I'm also not real happy with some other LEE equipment that I have too.

I've loaded maybe 1K of Winchester 45ACP brass without problems. While I think their head stamping is pretty sloppy (the worse of any other brand in my experience) it all feeds just fine.

303lithgow · July 29th, 2012, 02:07 PM

Winchester brass is my favorite for non-Nato calibers.

punkinlobber · July 29th, 2012, 02:54 PM

I bought 200 rounds of 32-40 brass from Winchester and over 10% of the cases split on the first firing. I went to someone far more knowledgeable than myself and they told me the brass was too brittle and needed to be annealed. I was a little miffed at Winchester but that is the first and only time I ever had an issue with any of their products.

Darkker · July 30th, 2012, 07:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seneca

Could that possibly be Global brass Corp?
Instead of World Wide Brass?

Sorry, was watching an old Letterman eppisode.... "World Wide Pants"....

Yes,
Global Brass(KPS Capital Partners is their holding Co.)

Seneca · July 30th, 2012, 01:26 PM

It's all good...
I wasn't even aware there had been a change. I do like using the cartridges produced under the Olin/Winchester Brand. Though in all honesty I have been known to sneak in some Starline and Remmington pistol brass from time to time.

Seneca · July 30th, 2012, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by punkinlobber

I bought 200 rounds of 32-40 brass from Winchester and over 10% of the cases split on the first firing. I went to someone far more knowledgeable than myself and they told me the brass was too brittle and needed to be annealed. I was a little miffed at Winchester but that is the first and only time I ever had an issue with any of their products.

How's the annealing going?
I annealed a bunch of 45-70 brass, it was a pain to do yet worth it...

NorwegianHunter · July 31st, 2012, 12:48 PM

Have used different brass, Norma, Remington, Winchester, Federal, Lapua and S&B, in different calibers.

Only brass I was really dissapointed with was S&B 7 mm X 57R.

Presently Ihawe two rifles in 270 Win, and use Winchester brass for one of them, not to mix brass inbetween the two rifles. Have also used it in 375 H&H.

No complains about Win brass, whatsoever.

Master Chief · July 31st, 2012, 03:00 PM

Great handgun brass, not sure on Rifle I normally go Rem or Lapua or Lake City with the Rifles.

oldfart1956 · August 4th, 2012, 07:30 PM

And here I thought it was just me. Not .308 but the same issue as mentioned. I've got 50 pcs. of Winc. brass and 50% of them gave me fits going into the shell holder. The other 250 pcs. (Starline and some Rem.) slide right in. Go figger? I think Winc. is a bit generous with their rim dia. on some cases. (mine is .45 colt) I ended up shoving a cleaning brush in the cases, spinning it with a drill and holding the rim down on wet-n-dry sandpaper to stop the problem. It's not that they're too thick....they're too wide. And this isn't a condemnation of Winc. brass....I'm fine with it. It also seems the primer pockets in the Winc. is a bit snuggish compared to the Starline but considering how many times I reload em' this might be a blessing. The Starline was also considerable less expensive. Audie...the Oldfart...

Spike12 · August 4th, 2012, 08:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oldfart1956

And here I thought it was just me. Not .308 but the same issue as mentioned. I've got 50 pcs. of Winc. brass and 50% of them gave me fits going into the shell holder. The other 250 pcs. (Starline and some Rem.) slide right in. Go figger? I think Winc. is a bit generous with their rim dia. on some cases. (mine is .45 colt) I ended up shoving a cleaning brush in the cases, spinning it with a drill and holding the rim down on wet-n-dry sandpaper to stop the problem. It's not that they're too thick....they're too wide. And this isn't a condemnation of Winc. brass....I'm fine with it. It also seems the primer pockets in the Winc. is a bit snuggish compared to the Starline but considering how many times I reload em' this might be a blessing. The Starline was also considerable less expensive. Audie...the Oldfart...

yoiu didn't say, but if you're using Lee shell holders, buy another and give it a try. Been there, done this.