Factory Ammo for Brass

[ptrlcop]

Currently I do not reload, but intend to in the future. I have been saving and sorting my hornady match and fgmm brass for later.

With that said, I want to get some cheaper ammo that I can use for positional shooting practice(where I can't out shoot my rifle/ammo combo) PMC is about the cheapest, but I'm not sure how good the brass is. Mainly, I am trying to decide if I should get lake city m80 or the American eagle m1a loads.

If anybody has used either of those 3 loads I would be interested to hear results. Also, how will the brass be for reloading.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free

 

[kvwpwr]

What are you shooting? The Pmc brass I have in .223 many flash holes are not centered but I haven't checked the .308 Pmc. The federal brass won't last long. I'd try to get something in LC brass.

 

[ptrlcop]

Factory Ammo for Brass

What are you shooting? The Pmc brass I have in .223 many flash holes are not centered but I haven't checked the .308 Pmc. The federal brass won't last long. I'd try to get something in LC brass.

Duh, I guess I should have said....308


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free

 

[CK_32]

I bought a ton of 308 (7.62x51) Winchester white box fodder for the brass at about $17 a box.

Good investment IMO.

 

[Deadshot2]

I bought a ton of 308 (7.62x51) Winchester white box fodder for the brass at about $17 a box.

Good investment IMO.

Unless you're stepping up to the premium brass like Lapua for reloading, Winchester is about the best brass for the money in the commercially loaded ammo. LC is OK for .308 but case capacity is less than the Winchester so have to be careful, watching for pressure signs. I have a whole bunch of Winchester .308 brass I just keep loading, shooting, loading, shooting,----------. Anneal it about every 4 cycles and some of the cases have over 20 reloadings. In the last 5 years I can only count about 5-6 case failures where the neck split. FWIW, I shoot about 5k rounds of .308 per year and Winchester is my #1 choice for Brass. When I have the $$ in my pocket I then pick up a box or two of Lapua.

Just one man's opinion.

 

[kvwpwr]

Duh, I guess I should have said....308


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free

I figured it was 308 because you said m80 and m1a loads. I was asking if you're shooting an m1a or bolt gun or something else. I thought maybe you were shooting an m1a. That's why I suggested LC brass. Winchester or Remington are good too

 

[ArmyJerry]

Yep, cheapest Winchester you can find,

 

[scudzuki]

I bought a ton of 308 (7.62x51) Winchester white box fodder for the brass at about $17 a box.

Good investment IMO.

My buddy shot a bunch of Winchester white box .308 and I started prepping the brass when I noticed how bad the necks were.
I measured .005 eccentricity (neck wall thickness variation) in most of the cases, and I scrapped most of it.

Joe

 

[Deadshot2]

My buddy shot a bunch of Winchester white box .308 and I started prepping the brass when I noticed how bad the necks were.
I measured .005 eccentricity (neck wall thickness variation) in most of the cases, and I scrapped most of it.

Joe

Just invest in a neck turning tool and turn it so at least half the circumference of the case neck is cut. Maybe up to 270 degrees.

I do this to all my Winchester brass and it finishes up with a .012-.013" neck wall thickness and some nice accurate performance. Doesn't seem to affect case life either.

If you're using a bushing type neck sizing die you'll just have to buy a smaller bushing.

 

[scudzuki]

Just invest in a neck turning tool and turn it so at least half the circumference of the case neck is cut. Maybe up to 270 degrees.

I do this to all my Winchester brass and it finishes up with a .012-.013" neck wall thickness and some nice accurate performance. Doesn't seem to affect case life either.

If you're using a bushing type neck sizing die you'll just have to buy a smaller bushing.

I've got lots of LC, Remington, Federal, and PPU for the gas gun and 200 Lapuas for the bolt gun.

I also have turning tools from K&M.
I have no interest in fixing the Winchester brass,
I was just warning anyone that they might get a surprise if they bought a bunch of white box ammo expecting to get good brass out of it. The neck walls would have ended up pretty thin by the time I turned then to 75% or better cleanup, a minimum when I neck turn.

*edit* after thinking about this for a bit, it's probably worth my while to turn the necks on the white box brass for my gas gun... can never have too much brass.

Joe

 

[Deadshot2]

*edit* after thinking about this for a bit, it's probably worth my while to turn the necks on the white box brass for my gas gun... can never have too much brass.

Joe

I went through a phase where I'd go shooting at my "club range" early on Monday mornings. Got there before the range "brass man" made his collections from the brass buckets which were often fairly full of brass from weekend matches. I scarffed up anything Winchester, Hornady Match, and BHA Match in .308. Sometimes I'd be there after a police group would have used the range for training and qualification. LOTS of LC brass in .223/5.56mm

The .308 brass all got cleaned in the SS Pin media and then I'd turn necks and trim. Once I had a box of 500 or so I'd then sort by weight and then by runout.

Only kept the stuff (in .308) that made it through all this prep and met my standards. Not a dime spent on brass for several years, just spare time.

As for the .223, it just got cleaned and run through my 650 with depriming die, RT1200, and expander die mounted on a dedicated tool head. I have well over 10K pieces of brass just waiting for an excuse to load and shoot. Who knows, I may not even bother to "chase it" after I'm done shooting.

 

[scudzuki]

I went through a phase where I'd go shooting at my "club range" early on Monday mornings. Got there before the range "brass man" made his collections from the brass buckets which were often fairly full of brass from weekend matches. I scarffed up anything Winchester, Hornady Match, and BHA Match in .308. Sometimes I'd be there after a police group would have used the range for training and qualification. LOTS of LC brass in .223/5.56mm

The .308 brass all got cleaned in the SS Pin media and then I'd turn necks and trim. Once I had a box of 500 or so I'd then sort by weight and then by runout.

Only kept the stuff (in .308) that made it through all this prep and met my standards. Not a dime spent on brass for several years, just spare time.

As for the .223, it just got cleaned and run through my 650 with depriming die, RT1200, and expander die mounted on a dedicated tool head. I have well over 10K pieces of brass just waiting for an excuse to load and shoot. Who knows, I may not even bother to "chase it" after I'm done shooting.

Well, I guess it is possible to have "enough" brass.
Even if I show up at the only of my clubs where people are allowed to leave brass on a Monday morning, these days, it's practically scoured clean.
The ammo shortage has made a lot more shooter start reloading or at least collect their own brass in preparation for reloading in the future.

I have over 5k of .223 plinking reloads in reserve and am prepping another 2k now, so I've got the plinking/SHTF light arms stuff covered.
My friends all shoot ARs so I like to have a good reserve of that stuff.

I have 200 Lapua .308 cases for the AAC-SD based bolt gun and around 1000 mixed headstamp (Federal, PPU, LC, MKE, Remington) .308 cases for gas gun.

Lots of pistol brass in the calibers I shoot, over 5k loaded and a few thousand mixed headstamp cases for when I get bored.

I still pick up brass when it's there, can't help it. It's so SHINY

Joe

 

[Deadshot2]

I still pick up brass when it's there, can't help it. It's so SHINY

Joe

Maybe we should start a "12 Step Program" for us brass rats. Get together, drink coffee, discuss our shortcomings, and then all go to the nearest range to shoot.

 

[scudzuki]

Maybe we should start a "12 Step Program" for us brass rats. Get together, drink coffee, discuss our shortcomings, and then all go to the nearest range to shoot.

It won't work, I'll still stay behind to pick up the brass.

Joe

 

[pmclaine]

Maybe we should start a "12 Step Program" for us brass rats. Get together, drink coffee, discuss our shortcomings, and then all go to the nearest range to shoot.

Yep. I look for where the brass lands so I can recover it before I concern myself with bullet impact on target.

I miss the carefree days of shooting .22 and leaving it where it lay.