Hornady Match, Federal, or Remington Brass? .308

[Scouter19D]

Need a rating in order for those three. Using an M1A, so no more than 5 reloads per brass. All three are readily available, as well as Lapua, but just can't pony up the coin. Or would I be better to just order Winchester online? I FL size, uniform primer, and trim every time. Just wondering what will hold up better. Right now Ive got 250 Federals in circulation, but when they run out, gotta be ready with a stockpile of something.

 

[RyeDaddy]

Re: Hornady Match, Federal, or Remington Brass? .308

Of the three, I've had the most longevity from Hornady match and Winchester. I've used all of them in 308 bolt actions. Hornady is also very uniform and has case capacity similar to Winchester, cases weigh about 155 grains compared to 152 for Winchester. I think of Hornady Match brass as Winchester without out of spec throwaways.

Federal has the least capacity, similar in weight to Lake City at around 178 grains. FGMM once fired brass has been very uniform, but soft, in your M1A it won't matter. I got about 6 firings out of Federal before loose primer pockets on average, some less.

Remington brass was the shortest lasting for me at around 4 firings, and consistency is so-so, about like Winchester. Remington cases tended to weigh about 165 grains, putting them in the middle of the pack for capacity.

In my P-308 I use Lapua because I had it bought already from when I had a bolt gun, and it's on it's 4th loading cycle. They're all dinged up and the headstamps are smeared from the ejector(not pressure related, comes with the territory in AR's using Varget), but they're working fine. If I had the decision to make now, and I will soon I would go with either Hornady or Winchester based on cost vs how much time I wanted to spend on prep, for me it would lean toward Hornady. I've had some shitty luck with a few bags of Winchester brass in other calibers, they're kinda hit or miss I think. Rims that are too thick (a couple in a bag here and there), necks with uneven thickness(I don't neck turn and dont want to), etc. It's good brass as far as hardness and capacity, and if they would get some quality control I would probably switch to them exclusively for the price.

Edited to add that in an M1A, like my POF I suppose longevity isn't a big factor if you're throwing them out at 5 firings anyway. If it were me I would definitely skip Remington as I didn't get to 5 loadings with it. I would go with Hornady for the consistency alone, and will when the Lapua needs replacing.

Please note that my comments on case capacity are not scientific, as I have not actually filled them with water and measured their true capacity, but I think it stands to reason that lighter cases should have more capacity because they all have the same outer dimensions.

 

[DHDeal]

Re: Hornady Match, Federal, or Remington Brass? .308

I have used Hornady Match, Lapua LR, Lapua Palma, Federal, LC LR, and Remington URBR brass in my 308.

I use the Hornady and Lapua Palma almost exclusively now.

The Hornady has about 8 firings on it (I weighed out 200 of my hoard), and I anneal and sonic clean every other firing cause I like to, and I expect it to last for awhile longer. No signs of separation. FWIW, I have to use a .331" bushing for the Hornady, so the necks are pretty thin.

I know you stated you will use it in an autoloader, but the case rim and case head show no sign of wear and I run 44.5 Varget with a 175 SMK.

My $.02 and all that.....

 

[RyeDaddy]

Re: Hornady Match, Federal, or Remington Brass? .308

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: DHD</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
FWIW, I have to use a .331" bushing for the Hornady, so the necks are pretty thin.</div></div>

This has been my observation also about the necks. I only loaded my Winchester and Hornady Match brass 8 times and chucked them because I sold my bolt action and went to the semi auto at that time. Didn't feel like I should start load development with brass with that many firings, but they all looked just fine. Had I kept shooting them in my 5R who knows how long they would have lasted. I anneal every 4th firing.

 

[Scouter19D]

Re: Hornady Match, Federal, or Remington Brass? .308

Sounds like I might give the Hornady a try. It's only a few bucks more a bag than Federal, and if it's more consistent, I'm in. Thanks for the heads up. The remingtons are actually much easier for me to get, but I haven't as of yet heard anything good about them. Guess I'll be takin a trip to Lexington to load up on some reloading supplies soon.

 

[gunsnjeeps]

Re: Hornady Match, Federal, or Remington Brass? .308

For your M1A I think any of the three would work on a 5 firing plan. I've heard Federal is soft but can't say since I haven't loaded any. How is your Federal holding up? If it is going good than you could get more.

I shoot Black Hills once fired made by Winchester to the same spec as WCC military cases or Winchester factory brass (1 firing so far). I've also loaded LC (Very good brass.) and PMC (Works well, only have two firings on most of it though.) I have a stock pile of once fired Remington but have not loaded any yet.

For an M1A I would not spend the money on Lapua.

One thing I'd consider is to sacrifice some of the brass and cut one or two in half each load cycle. Maybe one new, one first firing then two on the second to fourth, and a few on the fifth. You may find you can get more than 5 cycles out of it as you measure case thickness.

 

[Greg Langelius *]

Re: Hornady Match, Federal, or Remington Brass? .308

All I ever handloaded for my M1A was Remington brass; it was easy enough to obtain from Dillon. It gave me no issues.

Now, I don't have the M1A and I use Winchester brass pretty much all the time for my other guns. It's still just a matter of availability.

I get just about all my reloading stuff from my local guy nowadays, and his staple brass is Win. I intend to do my part to keep him around and commercially healthy. This economy is rough enough, and having him up and running nearby is a big plus mark in my book.

Greg

 

[bcrich]

Re: Hornady Match, Federal, or Remington Brass? .308

I reload fgmm brass for my super match 40.5g IMR 4895 and 175 smk's and have not had any issues with the brass although I chuck them after 4 reloads. I did notice the pockets loosen up after the 3rd with win primers but on the 4th I switched to Tula primer and it fits snug. I wouldn't use the lapua cases for the M1A though.....save them for your bolt gun competition rig!

 

[BCP]

Re: Hornady Match, Federal, or Remington Brass? .308

See if you can find some 1X fired LC brass with close-to-matching headstamps and no crimp. New Win or maybe IVI if you can find it.

 

[turbo54]

Re: Hornady Match, Federal, or Remington Brass? .308

IVI cases are HARD. Nothing else feels like they do while FLSing. At least my 1000pcs of IVI69 and 1000pcs of IVI70.

I can't quantify how that translates to longevity, but I suspect it would be a good choice for a rifle that beats up brass. I do recommend annealing them though.

 

[Scouter19D]

Re: Hornady Match, Federal, or Remington Brass? .308

The Federal is only on second firing right now. Got a bunch, but havent gotten much range time. Last two outtings equated to roughly 45 rounds shot. Just shooting at some jugs at varying ranges. After two, the brass still looks new, of course, so it'll be a while before I have to purchase any more.