Hornady Brass

[cdoc42]

I started with R-P brass in 1976 and only once had an initial box of 20 with some shorter than the rest which were immediately replaced by Remington. Since then I have used Federal and Winchester as well in rifles, and as long as I resize the shoulder back 0.002" after firing in the same rifle they were used, the life is extended until the neck cracks. At times the primer goes in more easily than expected, but I remove those primers and toss the cases. I've not noticed any differences in accuracy that can't be clouded by seasonal temp, barometric pressure, heat or cold of the day, or just me having a bad day.

When I started, it wasn't unusual for the case to fracture at the head, but only in my Remington Model 700 that had a chamber so long I could not seat a 100 grain .270 HP to 0.015 or 0.02 without it falling out of the case.

In handguns, .44 Mag R-P cases that I've had since 1976 are still being used today. In 9mm, I've had so many different cases I can't even list them here by memory. I did have some Winchester .45 ACP cases that had unusually large primer pocket holes but I just ditched them. But I've not yet had any problems with 9mm, .380 Auto, .45 ACP, .45 Colt, .454 Casull, .44 Mag, .38 special, and .357 Mag that I can trace to the cases.

 

[Unclenick]

Brass is tough to narrow down. The 2013 Norma manual explains the industry helps fellow members out. One brand may, for example, win a military contract that ties up their equipment for months on end and needs help producing other chamberings during that time. They said, for example, that they have produced Remington and, IIRC, a number of other European brands at times (and that Remington almost bought them out at one point). Norma produces Weatherby brass, of course. Some brass is so clearly different from past lots that it seems apparent other manufacturers have been contracted to make it. The bottom line is that we can generalize, but you still want to check samples from the particular lots you buy rather than just assuming they're the same as past lots were.

This article has some analysis of the composition of different brands, but, again, it's hard to be sure their samples were all average or typical for the brands involved.

 

[Rex Rugged]

Thanks fellas The one consensus seems to be Hornaday is not the best choice. 270 Weatherby brass is hard to find and pricey but I'll be keeping my eyes open.

 

[603Country]

I had a poor case life experience with Hornady 6.5 Grendel brass. I bought loaded ammo and had the intention of using the brass for future reloads. After the first firing, I loaded up some ammo (50 rounds). The next firing (#2), 49 of the 50 cases had neck splits and worse. Some of the necks shattered. One firing was a bit less than I had expected. I’m annealing the surviving brass after that first use, so we’ll see how they do after that. Just in case, I have some Starline and Lapua also.

 

[Wyosam]

I had a poor case life experience with Hornady 6.5 Grendel brass. I bought loaded ammo and had the intention of using the brass for future reloads. After the first firing, I loaded up some ammo (50 rounds). The next firing (#2), 49 of the 50 cases had neck splits and worse. Some of the necks shattered. One firing was a bit less than I had expected. I’m annealing the surviving brass after that first use, so we’ll see how they do after that. Just in case, I have some Starline and Lapua also.

49 out of 50 pieces trashed after 2 firings? There is something else going on. Hornady brass isn’t my first choice, but I’ve never seen that kind of failure rate.


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[603Country]

That was a surprise to me too, the case failure rate. I switched FL dies to Redding Bushing dies, which drastically reduced the amount of working the brass compared to the die I had been using. And I switched to Starline brass. I kept all surviving once fired Hornady brass from subsequent shooting, and I have annealed it all. So far, so good, and we’ll see how it works long term. The chamber is within spec, but on the high side. Worse case would be a new barrel, and a lighter one.