Which brass to use?

Tex S · December 1, 2008, 07:41 PM

I will be working up some test hunting loads for my Browning A-bolt chambered in 270 Win. I have 8 boxes (158 total pieces) of once fired factory brass. Manufacturer breakdown is as follows:

Hornady- 20 cases
Remington- 58 cases (two are missing from one box)
Federal- 80 cases

I will be working up some loads and testing for accuracy. All cases are fire formed for the A-bolt's chamber. Which brass would be best to use? The factory Remington loads shot the best in my rifle. Should I start with them, or does it matter? I will probably load up 6 rounds for each powder charge weight, (that will give me two three shot groups) so I figure I will be loading 35-45 rounds. What do you guys think?

rn22723 · December 1, 2008, 08:31 PM

You can not interchange loads amongst brass head stamps. Traditiionally Federal has a short case life cause of enlarged primer pockets after just few firings. So, you are sort of in an interesting spot. Since you can buy Remingtion 280 brass I would suggest you trade the other brands off and go with the Remington to work up loads.

crowbeaner · December 1, 2008, 08:45 PM

Having reloaded for a couple days now, I'd try thr RP stuff first; it is a bit harder brass than the FC, and will hold up longer. The FC is usable, but the newer production stuff is NOT the brass of 25 years ago. The primer pockets will enlarge before anything else goes wrong, and the brass is a bit softer like miltary brass. The Hornady stuff is drawn by RP and should be fine. I like to uniform my rifle brass all the way before loading to insure the best performance over the life of the cases. 270 brass is common, and most is good to go. I personally prefer WW as it tends to have the most capacity, and it holds up very well.

Tex S · December 2, 2008, 01:46 AM

Guess I'll go with the Remington then.

FrankenMauser · December 2, 2008, 01:21 PM

With what you have available, I would suggest using the R-P, as well. It is considered one of the harder brands of brass on the market, but that will help you out as a reloader. R-P brass has one of the longest reloading life-spans out there. (Usually only exceeded by Norma) Don't be surprised to get 15+ reloadings from the R-P.

Your Federal brass ... well, it's been covered. Federal brass isn't what it used to be. When you do get around to loading it; don't expect more than 7-10 reloads. Pushing it past that, is flirting with case head separation.

As for Hornady brass.... there are a few different head stamps you'll find on it. Depending upon the time the brass was made, the manufacturer could also have been different.
Last I heard - Winchester is producing the Frontier/Hornady headstamps.
So, it's worth keeping (especially in original lots), but I would avoid mixing lots together.

ForneyRider · December 2, 2008, 01:58 PM

Remington has had several excellent reviews in Handloader Journal and some of the bench rest online sites for being accurate and long-lived.

I bought Nosler, supposedly made by Norma or Federal, and finished by Nosler for .22-250 and it is the best out of the box for reloading. The mouths are chamfered, and did not need to be resized, annealed or cleaned. The packaging prevented any mishaps in shipping.

Every time I buy new Remington brass, it is dented severely and requires a lot of prep, but it is excellent in the quality loads. There is a sheet of paper that discusses the dented case mouths in the boxes of brass I get.

Winchester has been excellent for my 270 Win loads for my brother's Husqvarna for hunting in 130gr Hornady SST and RE 22. We are trying to duplicate factory loads and doing well at 3100fps, performance has been accurate, but these are hunting loads.

I'd go for Remington for the accuracy testing and save the rest for plinkin/hunting.

wncchester · December 2, 2008, 02:21 PM

If we weigh/cull cases and develp loads with the most consistant ones I doubt anyone will find any accuracy differences between brands. I sure haven't, not that were attributable to the brand anyway.

All brass work hardens as it is used. Hard cases will split sooner than soft cases because it has a head start! But hard stuff usually has thinner walls, so it has more internal volume for more powder and faster speeds. The reverse is true for softer cases. Which is "better", hard or soft, depends on what you want, not the brand itself.

There simply ain't no hard and fast rules about ANYTHING in this business and anyone who demands otherwise is still an amature loader with a lot left to learn.

December 1, 2008, 07:41 PM	#1
Tex S Senior Member Join Date: November 12, 2008 Location: Fort Worth, TEXAS Posts: 909	Which brass to use? I will be working up some test hunting loads for my Browning A-bolt chambered in 270 Win. I have 8 boxes (158 total pieces) of once fired factory brass. Manufacturer breakdown is as follows: Hornady- 20 cases Remington- 58 cases (two are missing from one box) Federal- 80 cases I will be working up some loads and testing for accuracy. All cases are fire formed for the A-bolt's chamber. Which brass would be best to use? The factory Remington loads shot the best in my rifle. Should I start with them, or does it matter? I will probably load up 6 rounds for each powder charge weight, (that will give me two three shot groups) so I figure I will be loading 35-45 rounds. What do you guys think?

December 1, 2008, 08:45 PM	#3
crowbeaner Senior Member Join Date: June 4, 2007 Location: Upstate SC Posts: 1,943	Having reloaded for a couple days now, I'd try thr RP stuff first; it is a bit harder brass than the FC, and will hold up longer. The FC is usable, but the newer production stuff is NOT the brass of 25 years ago. The primer pockets will enlarge before anything else goes wrong, and the brass is a bit softer like miltary brass. The Hornady stuff is drawn by RP and should be fine. I like to uniform my rifle brass all the way before loading to insure the best performance over the life of the cases. 270 brass is common, and most is good to go. I personally prefer WW as it tends to have the most capacity, and it holds up very well. __________________ If you want your children to follow in your footsteps, be careful where you walk. Beware the man that only owns one gun; he probably knows how to use it. I just hope my ship comes in before my dock rots.

December 2, 2008, 01:58 PM	#6
ForneyRider Senior Member Join Date: December 4, 2007 Location: Forney, TX Posts: 725	Remington has had several excellent reviews in Handloader Journal and some of the bench rest online sites for being accurate and long-lived. I bought Nosler, supposedly made by Norma or Federal, and finished by Nosler for .22-250 and it is the best out of the box for reloading. The mouths are chamfered, and did not need to be resized, annealed or cleaned. The packaging prevented any mishaps in shipping. Every time I buy new Remington brass, it is dented severely and requires a lot of prep, but it is excellent in the quality loads. There is a sheet of paper that discusses the dented case mouths in the boxes of brass I get. Winchester has been excellent for my 270 Win loads for my brother's Husqvarna for hunting in 130gr Hornady SST and RE 22. We are trying to duplicate factory loads and doing well at 3100fps, performance has been accurate, but these are hunting loads. I'd go for Remington for the accuracy testing and save the rest for plinkin/hunting. __________________ When all is said and done, there is a lot more said than done.

December 1, 2008, 08:31 PM	#2
rn22723 Junior member Join Date: December 10, 2001 Location: Burbs of Minneapolis Posts: 676	You can not interchange loads amongst brass head stamps. Traditiionally Federal has a short case life cause of enlarged primer pockets after just few firings. So, you are sort of in an interesting spot. Since you can buy Remingtion 280 brass I would suggest you trade the other brands off and go with the Remington to work up loads.

December 2, 2008, 01:46 AM	#4
Tex S Senior Member Join Date: November 12, 2008 Location: Fort Worth, TEXAS Posts: 909	Guess I'll go with the Remington then.

December 2, 2008, 01:21 PM	#5
FrankenMauser Senior Member Join Date: August 25, 2008 Location: In the valley above the plain Posts: 13,424	With what you have available, I would suggest using the R-P, as well. It is considered one of the harder brands of brass on the market, but that will help you out as a reloader. R-P brass has one of the longest reloading life-spans out there. (Usually only exceeded by Norma) Don't be surprised to get 15+ reloadings from the R-P. Your Federal brass ... well, it's been covered. Federal brass isn't what it used to be. When you do get around to loading it; don't expect more than 7-10 reloads. Pushing it past that, is flirting with case head separation. As for Hornady brass.... there are a few different head stamps you'll find on it. Depending upon the time the brass was made, the manufacturer could also have been different. Last I heard - Winchester is producing the Frontier/Hornady headstamps. So, it's worth keeping (especially in original lots), but I would avoid mixing lots together.

December 2, 2008, 02:21 PM	#7
wncchester Senior Member Join Date: December 1, 2002 Posts: 2,832	If we weigh/cull cases and develp loads with the most consistant ones I doubt anyone will find any accuracy differences between brands. I sure haven't, not that were attributable to the brand anyway. All brass work hardens as it is used. Hard cases will split sooner than soft cases because it has a head start! But hard stuff usually has thinner walls, so it has more internal volume for more powder and faster speeds. The reverse is true for softer cases. Which is "better", hard or soft, depends on what you want, not the brand itself. There simply ain't no hard and fast rules about ANYTHING in this business and anyone who demands otherwise is still an amature loader with a lot left to learn.