Just bought 400 pieces of SWA .308 brass

[dmike]

They have a fire sale going on now, $43/100 cases shipped.

Since I was on the fence about ordering I figured I'd share some info for anyone else that's thinking about it.

I ordered 400. Shipping was fast. They came in a USPS box with minimal padding, the corner was ripped open exposing them to the elements. There were 402 pieces in the box so two freebies!

SWA headstamp, they weigh in around 179 grains. Headspace looks to be right on at about 1.630 (RCBS mic). Brass is very clean.

I was hoping to load them up right away but they will need to be neck sized at a minimum, about 10% of them were visibly out of round and about 5% had major flat spots or folds in the necks (not sure if that's from pre- or post-shipping). I also recommend touching up the flash holes. Otherwise they're very nice looking and consistent. If you don't mind a little extra work they might be a decent cheaper alternative to Lapua (about $63/100).

I will get some loaded up this weekend and update this thread with some info about how well the brass shoots in my rifle.

 

[rduckwor]

They look fine EXCEPT for those necks! WTF did they do to them?

Any idea who makes their brass for them?

 

[dmike]

No idea. Yeah I was hoping they'd arrive gtg without having to go through and size. Some are bad enough I may need to anneal or just take some runout on the first cycle.

 

[dmike]

I picked about 100 that weren't too smashed and put them through the lee collet neck sizer. 50 for my R700 and 50 for the POF p308. Some of the primers felt like they went in a bit too easy and two of them popped out in the POF in a load that wasn't near max.

I also reamed the flash holes in the bolt gun set. They did great in the 700, had some nice groups and I may actually use them in an upcoming palma-style shoot.

Next I'll try the ones with really kinked necks to see if it makes a difference.

 

[rduckwor]

The 179Gr weight is reasonably close to my weights for Lapua and WCC brass.

Glad to hear the worked well on the bolt gun.

 

[dmike]

tula primers are going in with zero resistance on several of the once-fired cases. Extremely loose compared to FC/GMM. The brass itself looks great and is very consistent otherwise.

 

[pawprint2]

I don't know about those "fire sale" pricing, Midway has Winchester Primed 7.62x51 for 34.66/100. The lowest price I seen on new brass lately has been from Wideners, $136.00/500 Unfired, PRIMED LC. But nonetheless, best of luck with your purchase, and keep up the reporting!

 

[FCS]

Silver State Armory is most likely the manufacturer of the 308 brass for SWA. SSA was making the 260 SWA brass, not too big of a stretch to get to SSA making SWA headstamped 308.
260 Remington Brass 100 pieces SHIPPING INCLUDED

I've had issues with the SSA 308 brass from mid 2000s in that you lose 10-15% of pockets on first firing, 5-7.5% on second firing, third firing on they are fine as you've found the weak links. I do not have any experience with current SSA brass and I'm not 100% sure that the SWA headstamp brass is SSA. Comparable loads in Win or Lapua (same velocity, load adjusted for case capacity) I did not lose any pockets. Upside being the pockets didn't allow gas to vent, etch bolt face just the pocket wouldn't hold a primer.
I'm not sure if the issue is a function of brass alloy used to make the brass or an annealing issue as brass is formed. Regardless, I've not had the greatest of experiences with the SSA brass and would take Win, Lapua, LC LR, RP, IMI over SSA if given the option. Unfortunately, the only way to find out which SSA cases are weak in primer pocket area is to fire them and see which pocket will not hold a primer when you attempt to reload the brass. Given no brass or SSA / SWA brass I'd take the brass but it wouldn't be my first choice. SSA wants dang near Lapua price per case but it doesn't hold up as well as Lapua or Winchester brass, not sure as well as RP though better then FC GMM. $43/100 is closer to Win 308 brass price and might be worth going that route if are unable to source Win brass.

Accuracy wise I've gotten very respectable performance from the SSA brass, once you take into account the primer pocket issue.

LC LR brass has been very good brass. Most of this has been from LC LR loaded ammo but I've occasionally seen pull down brass available.
LC has been pretty good but not as good as LC LR, LC has more flash holes off center and seems to be held to a lower QC standard then the LC LR.

I'd not run the SWA/SSA brass in a gas gun as it is distinct possibility/probability that a primer will come out of case and bind up trigger. I'd limit the SWA/SSA to bolt rifle use.

 

[dmike]

Silver State Armory is most likely the manufacturer of the 308 brass for SWA. SSA was making the 260 SWA brass, not too big of a stretch to get to SSA making SWA headstamped 308.
260 Remington Brass 100 pieces SHIPPING INCLUDED

I've had issues with the SSA 308 brass from mid 2000s in that you lose 10-15% of pockets on first firing, 5-7.5% on second firing, third firing on they are fine as you've found the weak links. I do not have any experience with current SSA brass and I'm not 100% sure that the SWA headstamp brass is SSA. Comparable loads in Win or Lapua (same velocity, load adjusted for case capacity) I did not lose any pockets. Upside being the pockets didn't allow gas to vent, etch bolt face just the pocket wouldn't hold a primer.
I'm not sure if the issue is a function of brass alloy used to make the brass or an annealing issue as brass is formed. Regardless, I've not had the greatest of experiences with the SSA brass and would take Win, Lapua, LC LR, RP, IMI over SSA if given the option. Unfortunately, the only way to find out which SSA cases are weak in primer pocket area is to fire them and see which pocket will not hold a primer when you attempt to reload the brass. Given no brass or SSA / SWA brass I'd take the brass but it wouldn't be my first choice. SSA wants dang near Lapua price per case but it doesn't hold up as well as Lapua or Winchester brass, not sure as well as RP though better then FC GMM. $43/100 is closer to Win 308 brass price and might be worth going that route if are unable to source Win brass.

Accuracy wise I've gotten very respectable performance from the SSA brass, once you take into account the primer pocket issue.

LC LR brass has been very good brass. Most of this has been from LC LR loaded ammo but I've occasionally seen pull down brass available.
LC has been pretty good but not as good as LC LR, LC has more flash holes off center and seems to be held to a lower QC standard then the LC LR.

I'd not run the SWA/SSA brass in a gas gun as it is distinct possibility/probability that a primer will come out of case and bind up trigger. I'd limit the SWA/SSA to bolt rifle use.

FCS this is great information, thanks for taking the time to put it all together. Much obliged.