Microsoft ammo?

[Jim Watson]

Nothing means anything until some GOOD shooters get ammo and we can hope they get some primers, too.

Federal and CCI appear to be in cahoots on Blazer Brass = .FC.
I doubt they will have any trouble sharing primer mixes within Vista Outdoor.

I didn't know Olin made everybody's styphnate.

 

[Unclenick]

You are correct that the Vista Outdoor group brands do some sharing. I know Alliant does all of Speer's load manual pressure testing, for example, but then they do that for hire anyway. Norma, which is not owned by them, says that brass is something different manufacturers make for each other all the time. It usually happens when one of them gets a large contract for one chambering that ties up their capacity and so, to maintain stock for other chamberings, have someone else to run that brass. Norma says that in addition to making brass for other European countries and for Weatherby ammunition, they've made Remington cases. They also make Nosler Custom Competition brass. Anyway, I can't tell how much of this service trading is just industry standard and how much is peculiar to the Vista Outdoor group.

 

[Jim Watson]

Starline has made brass with various big name headstamps, too.

An example of collaboration that has stayed with me is the gunzine writeup when the 7mm '08 was new on the market.
The writer got a rifle and Remington 140 gr Corelokt ammo. At least that is what it said on the box. He pulled one down to check. The bullet weighed 139 grains and when sectioned showed distinctive internal structure. Yup, Hornady Interlock.
The powder was ball process. The same charge weight of WW 748 gave the same velocity. So much for secret sauce factory ammo gunpowder. They don't ALWAYS use stuff you cannot match.


It was once thought that some WWB identifiable by a suffix on the item number was made for them by IMI Israel.

 

[Aguila Blanca]

And I have read in more than two places that some Winchester "white box" ammo is made by Sellier & Bellot. And that may make sense. As I've commented, I shoot and reload primarily .45 ACP, and I get brass by scrounging the discard buckets at the range. On occasion I'll take almost anything in .45 ACP, but I'm always on the prowl for Winchester.

Most Winchester brass in .45 ACP has the "Winchester" and ".45 AUTO" stamped in clear, sharp characters. Sometimes, though, I'll come up with a fistful on which the headstamps are considerably less clear. The character strokes are wider, and the edges are less sharp. This could mean that batch was made with a worn-out stamping die -- or it could mean that it was made in a different factory.

 

[Marco Califo]

The newer lighter headstamping is laser etching. Norma (USA) is using it on their 223 cheap ammo. I noticed the same thing on recently acquired Win. I do prefer the old school deep stamp like S&B put on 45 ACP.
Guess which is cheaper to make and you will be seeing more of?

 

[Aguila Blanca]

The newer lighter headstamping is laser etching.

I'm not sure that I would characterize the clearer headstamp as "lighter." It certainly isn't newer -- it's what I've seen in Winchester brass for as long as I can remember. It's the thicker-stroke, "muddy" looking headstamp that's comparatively new (I just started seeing it a couple or three years ago, and not consistently) that's new(er).

 

[Unclenick]

They don't ALWAYS use stuff you cannot match.

Oh, for sure. It's just usually a single bulk lot rather than a blended canister grade. Winchester Supreme match .308 with the 168-grain SMK bullet used 748, too. An exception to the bulk approach is Federal's use of IMR4064 which they not only get blended for consistency but get flash reducer added to for military applications. The Federal GM308M round has used 43.5 grains of 4064 for as long as I can remember.