I think I recall an issue with LC brass being thicker walls and maybe loading about 10% reduction in powder for that reason. Am I recalling the correct info? I want to reload my M1 empties for my Steven 110E 30-06 bolt gun. I dont want super hot loads anyways....just enough to humanely kill up to 200 lb whitetails. Thanks
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Reloading LC military brass for hunting loads?
- Thread starter buymore
- Start date
GI brass is thicker than commercial brass, as a general rule. Thicker brass means less room inside. Less room and the same amount of powder means higher pressures. Thicker brass will also change the point at which you see pressure signs on the case. You might be overpressure before you see anything wrong.
Weigh a GI case and a commercial one. Since they are the same size on he outside, the difference in weight is the thickness of the brass.
Drop your load 10% (at least) and load a few test rounds. Then, if you want, work you way back up, cautiously. Odds are you will get pressure signs before you get all the way back to the top load you use in commercial brass.
Weigh a GI case and a commercial one. Since they are the same size on he outside, the difference in weight is the thickness of the brass.
Drop your load 10% (at least) and load a few test rounds. Then, if you want, work you way back up, cautiously. Odds are you will get pressure signs before you get all the way back to the top load you use in commercial brass.
Yep ,the military surplus stuff has a little less capacity , to check & compare just fill each case full with the same powder then weigh , not scientific or nuttin but will give ya an idee what your workin with .
I stopped weighin brass by itself to determine capacity when I had very hard bolt lift on my Ruger m77 in 308 usin milsurp brass & startin loads !!!!!
Some of my best groups with cast & the 06 has been with the HXP Greek brass !!!!
I stopped weighin brass by itself to determine capacity when I had very hard bolt lift on my Ruger m77 in 308 usin milsurp brass & startin loads !!!!!
Some of my best groups with cast & the 06 has been with the HXP Greek brass !!!!
AlaskaMike
New member
It's not always the case that military brass is thicker. You should check the water capacity to verify with your particular brass. I've got a lot of LC53 .30-06 cases that are virtually identical to a bunch of W-W cases I have. I guess it could just be that my W-W cases are thicker than other commercial though.
Checking weight isn't always reliable because of variances of the component metals in the brass (like the mil brass may have slightly more copper than the commercial, or vice versa). That would account for a weight difference without a volume difference.
Checking weight isn't always reliable because of variances of the component metals in the brass (like the mil brass may have slightly more copper than the commercial, or vice versa). That would account for a weight difference without a volume difference.
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If you open the Excel file on brass weight comparisons, the results might surprise you!
http://www.ar15barrels.com/tech.shtml
http://www.ar15barrels.com/tech.shtml
Checking weight isn't always reliable because of variances of the component metals in the brass (like the mil brass may have slightly more copper than the commercial, or vice versa). That would account for a weight difference without a volume difference.
A BIG +1. Weighing brass only tells you how much it weighs. It tells you nothing about case capacity. As you said, all brass is not created equal. Good Post!
A couple things with GI 06 brass. It is heavier than Comm brass. Remember it was made to GI specs and had to fire in everything from a 03 to a couple of different machine guns. I would reduce 10% and work back up. Uniforming the primer pocket after removing the primer crimp will help give you a little better groups.