Best pistol brass for cast bullets

BJung · January 4, 2021, 01:07 PM

Guys, I was sorting my .40 brass yesterday and was thinking, is Remington brass better than Winchester brass for bullet casters because the Remington has thinner walls? As you know, your cast bullet has been sized for a proper fit. Pulled bullets in the past show that tight internal brass dimensions swages the bullet slightly. So, a casing with a lighter grip on the bullet should be best on a lead bullet, yes? If you need to hold the bullet tighter, crimp it.

Has anyone compared their ideal load between Winchester and Remington brass and found a better group or lower SD?

Happy 2021

zplinker · January 5, 2021, 09:28 AM

Testing, along those lines, I found that Fed brass gave me sd's about 1/4 of about any other brass. Did it improve my PPC scores? Can't say, but I felt like it should have!

BJung · January 5, 2021, 11:07 AM

Zplinker, I appreciate you sharing your experience. When I want the most accurate pistol rounds, I like to group weigh my pistol brass and bullets. Besides separating your brass by head stamp, did you group your Federal pistol brass by weight or conducted a test to see if it made a difference?

**44 AMP** · January 5, 2021, 11:59 AM

I don't have a .40, no idea about that.

I have used Rem, Win, FC and others in .45 Colt, .45 acp, .44 Magnum, Special, .357 Mag .38 special, and 9mm Luger, and have found no significant differences between them.

Never bothered weighing the brass, though I do group by headstamp. If you're shooting a typical Browning type tilt barrel pistol where the open sights are not attached to the barrel, I doubt you'll see any difference between brass prepped like benchrest shooters and brass done normally.

ammo.crafter · January 5, 2021, 12:29 PM

Agree that Federal is the best I have used for pistols.

I separate by same head stamps as well as number of times each is reloaded.

BJung · January 5, 2021, 12:49 PM

Is there a change in consistent accuracy as you resize/reload your pistol brass more? I separated my range brass that was once fired to those that have been reloaded or show signs of excessive pressure on the base, and don't weigh these. But, these cases ( both Rem and Win ) are for lead bullet practice loads. Interesting report about the Federals. I've weighed Speer casings recently and will do the same for Federal pistol brass to see what kind of weight spread there is among the range brass I've collected. I'll get back with you later on it. From weighing rifle casings in the past, Federal brass was the most consistent of the three.

Grey_Lion · February 5, 2021, 08:36 AM

I reload WIN, Federal, and RP, but seem to favor win the most. I pick up more free WIN off the range and get it out of scrap buckets than I do Federal or Remington, so there's a bias there. I fire a .40 as well. On factory projectiles, I can expect a winchester brass to last 30+ reloads.

Only footnote that I have is that Winchester range once fired brass, you have a bur inside the flashhole in about 1 in 20 cases that should be removed. Remington has this as well in about 1 in 40 cases. But I don't see that bur in Federal brass.

zplinker · February 5, 2021, 01:59 PM

Nope, never segregated my match pistol brass by weight. Burrs in the flash holes are pretty common, but when tackling brass that is new to me, I run them through the Dillon 1050 to size, and swage any crimped primer rounds. That smashes the burr flat, and never has been much of a change in the flash hole size. Some of the best PPC scores I ever shot, were with mixed headstamp brass....so much for all the work and worrying, huh?

January 4, 2021, 01:07 PM	#1
BJung Senior Member Join Date: December 5, 2019 Posts: 773	Best pistol brass for cast bullets Guys, I was sorting my .40 brass yesterday and was thinking, is Remington brass better than Winchester brass for bullet casters because the Remington has thinner walls? As you know, your cast bullet has been sized for a proper fit. Pulled bullets in the past show that tight internal brass dimensions swages the bullet slightly. So, a casing with a lighter grip on the bullet should be best on a lead bullet, yes? If you need to hold the bullet tighter, crimp it. Has anyone compared their ideal load between Winchester and Remington brass and found a better group or lower SD? Happy 2021

January 5, 2021, 11:59 AM	#4
44 AMP Staff Join Date: March 11, 2006 Location: Upper US Posts: 28,820	I don't have a .40, no idea about that. I have used Rem, Win, FC and others in .45 Colt, .45 acp, .44 Magnum, Special, .357 Mag .38 special, and 9mm Luger, and have found no significant differences between them. Never bothered weighing the brass, though I do group by headstamp. If you're shooting a typical Browning type tilt barrel pistol where the open sights are not attached to the barrel, I doubt you'll see any difference between brass prepped like benchrest shooters and brass done normally. __________________ All else being equal (and it almost never is) bigger bullets tend to work better.

January 5, 2021, 12:29 PM	#5
ammo.crafter Senior Member Join Date: June 25, 2006 Location: The Keystone State Posts: 1,970	Brass Agree that Federal is the best I have used for pistols. I separate by same head stamps as well as number of times each is reloaded. __________________ "Peace is that brief glorious moment in history when everybody stands around reloading". --Thomas Jefferson

January 5, 2021, 09:28 AM	#2
zplinker Senior Member Join Date: February 21, 2011 Location: way out here Posts: 262	Testing, along those lines, I found that Fed brass gave me sd's about 1/4 of about any other brass. Did it improve my PPC scores? Can't say, but I felt like it should have!

January 5, 2021, 11:07 AM	#3
BJung Senior Member Join Date: December 5, 2019 Posts: 773	Zplinker, I appreciate you sharing your experience. When I want the most accurate pistol rounds, I like to group weigh my pistol brass and bullets. Besides separating your brass by head stamp, did you group your Federal pistol brass by weight or conducted a test to see if it made a difference?

January 5, 2021, 12:49 PM	#6
BJung Senior Member Join Date: December 5, 2019 Posts: 773	Is there a change in consistent accuracy as you resize/reload your pistol brass more? I separated my range brass that was once fired to those that have been reloaded or show signs of excessive pressure on the base, and don't weigh these. But, these cases ( both Rem and Win ) are for lead bullet practice loads. Interesting report about the Federals. I've weighed Speer casings recently and will do the same for Federal pistol brass to see what kind of weight spread there is among the range brass I've collected. I'll get back with you later on it. From weighing rifle casings in the past, Federal brass was the most consistent of the three.

February 5, 2021, 01:59 PM	#8
zplinker Senior Member Join Date: February 21, 2011 Location: way out here Posts: 262	Nope, never segregated my match pistol brass by weight. Burrs in the flash holes are pretty common, but when tackling brass that is new to me, I run them through the Dillon 1050 to size, and swage any crimped primer rounds. That smashes the burr flat, and never has been much of a change in the flash hole size. Some of the best PPC scores I ever shot, were with mixed headstamp brass....so much for all the work and worrying, huh?