.308 Everglades Brass Review

[Rlandry]

I received an order for 500 pcs of once fired .308 brass. I've started sizing and here are my observations and comments so far.

On the plus side, the brass came polished, and is actually once fired because almost all of it is Lake City and it had not been de-primed. There are very slight dents on the case bodies, but nothing that would not blow out when fired. Those are the good points. it goes downhill from here.

I've started sizing this stuff and so far have done around 150 cases. Without an exact count, It looks like 25-30 % of them were fired in an automatic weapon or at least in something with a huge headspace. The good ones drop into the Sheridan slotted gauge and easily fall out. Those are headspaced correctly and allow me to close the bolt on my 700 with zero resistance.

The others although they size to correct diameter, the case heads have been flattened and obviously do not fit the slotted gauge. BTW, the Sheridan gauges are made to minimum SAAMI specs. Some will chamber and allow me to close the bolt with some resistance, most will not allow me to close the bolt at all. I have removed the firing pin and ejector from the bolt so any resistance felt when closing the bolt is going to be from the case.

Bottom line.. I'm really dissapointed in this stuff. Save your $$$. There is better brass out there and I'll probably stick with new stuff from now own.

 

[Deleted member 113831]

Military 308 brass requires a small base die. Get one and you will be fine.

 

[Rlandry]

I'm not having a problem sizing the diameter. The case head is too large for it ti go into the gauge and in most cases my chamber. The die is not going to do anything to the case head. Many of the cases do size correctly and will chamber. I'm loading for a bolt gun so a SB die is not needed here.

 

[Deleted member 113831]

Your terms are incorrect then.

You stated the case head was too big to chamber. The case head is the portion of the case body that is the thickest at the base. This is the portion that makes it hard to chamber if not sized sufficiently. A small base die will cure that.

The 308 is a rimless case. The rim is the same size as the base diameter and does not enter the chamber at all anyway, but is contained within the bolt face.

The type of firearm the case is fired in has no effect on rim diameter. Rims do not normally expand with pressure unless pushed to a catastophic level. If that were the case, it would not even hold a primer at all.

The bolt face in your rifle should have enough extra clearance to handle small variations in rim size. This would generally not affect chambering. For the rims to be big enough to not even fit your bolt face would be an unusually large variation and a definite cause for concern, but not due to the reasons you stated.

 

[spife7980]

Case heads a bit of a slang in how its used on the net but Im assuming that when he says case head that he means the .2 line directly in front of the web

But getting rid of those dumb plunk gauges and using comparators and calipers for specific measurements would be infinitely better and also allow for those measurements to be shared. But specific data would be much more helpful than just that it failed the arbitrary plunk gauge.



But I agree that a small base die should size that area an extra .001 more than normal dies and solve the issues. If the normal die sizes it down just enough to not chamber, hopefully the extra .001 would be enough. Gas vs bolt has nothing to do with it.


(Insert the "Thats what you get for buying once fired brass" comment)

 

[Deleted member 113831]

Case heads a bit of a slang in how its used on the net but Im assuming that when he says case head that he means the .2 line directly in front of the web
View attachment 7063574


But getting rid of those dumb plunk gauges and using comparators and calipers for specific measurements would be infinitely better and also allow for those measurements to be shared. But specific data would be much more helpful than just that it failed the arbitrary plunk gauge.



But I agree that a small base die should size that area an extra .001 more than normal dies and solve the issues. If the normal die sizes it down just enough to not chamber, hopefully the extra .001 would be enough. Gas vs bolt has nothing to do with it.


(Insert the "Thats what you get for buying once fired brass" comment)

He has already insisted that he doesn't need a small base die because he is loading for a bolt gun.

I'm not having a problem sizing the diameter. The case head is too large for it to go into the gauge and in most cases my chamber. The die is not going to do anything to the case head. Many of the cases do size correctly and will chamber. I'm loading for a bolt gun so a SB die is not needed here.

He thinks the rim diameter is the same as case head diameter.

 

[spife7980]

He has already insisted that he doesn't need a small base die because he is loading for a bolt gun.

And Im insisting that detail doesnt make a bit of difference in what size the brass already is. In what it may need to be? Sure. But what the brass is going into later doesnt change what it has already been in before.

 

[Deleted member 113831]

And Im insisting that detail doesnt make a bit of difference in what size the brass already is. In what it may need to be? Sure. But what the brass is going into later doesnt change what it has already been in before.

I think you missed some of my sarcasm.

 

[Rlandry]

Sorry. My mistake on the terminology. It is the rim that prevents the case from dropping in the gauge and also not allowing me to close the bolt. The diameter of the case is fine
The diameter of the rim is too large. My die is set correctly or none of the cases would chamber.

 

[spife7980]

Thats weird. Ive seen them get mangled and bent like in this picture, never squished out wider though.

Dont have a whole lot of experience with LC once fired though beyond a couple hundred 5.56 cases via airborne6.8 that were for the most part just fine once they were sorted.

Do you have the actual diameters of the rims?

 

[_Raining]

What happens if you pull the bolt out of the action and place the "problem" rounds in the bolt face?

 

[Doom]

LC brass from a machine gun is blown out and wiil need a small base die to resize the lower portion of body to chamber. I have seen resized brass that is 2.035” prior to trimming. If the case fits in the shell holder the rim and extractor groove should be OK.

I bought 500 pieces from Everglades and while it is a pain to prep, the LC 04 and 05 brass works well in my 308 Rem 700 bolt gun.

My recommendation when working with it is to use a decapping die (spare pins are a must), small base die, Unique case lube, primer pocket reamer, a good trimmer and an abundence of patience. A good case gauge is helpful and annealing is also a good idea.

If you have a lot of mangled case heads that can’t be used give Everglades a call.