WTF Win brass thin??

[KYpatriot]

Ok, just got a new order of 500 pcs of Winchester 308 brass from midway, 10 bags of 50 all same lot.

I noticed right off the bat they seemed thin, just by eye.

I have a lot of FGMM brass since i bought lots of it to practice with before I reloaded and have been using that up. Seems like it doesnt get much respect (unless FGMM is different than bulk federal) but it has worked great and my rifle loves it. It is definitely more substantial than the win brass i just got and looks a lot more like the lapua brass with the sharper machining and more thickness.

The Win brass cases I just received are averaging about 20 grains lighter at 157 grains than the FGMM brass (177-178grains) or the 80 rounds of lapua (175g) i have around, and that is before uniforming the pockets, deburring etc which will remove more weight.

I know it is a very popular brass but is this right? Case mouths were .003 thinner or so as well.

The inside floor of the case is not flat wall to wall. It is like the inside flash hole is sitting in a depression - I'll try and get a better pic of this if I can this one is a little blurry but you can the circular depression the flashhole is in.

Both the FGMM and the Lapua are flat edge to edge inside the case.

I have not worked up a load for this brass yet just wanted to be sure this was typical first.
Thinking about sending it all back and just springing for lapua even at twice the price if this is not what everyone else is getting.

 

[Outsydlooknin75]

Re: WTF Win brass thin??

Lighter brass means more room for powder ...... more powder means faster bullets ...... faster bullets mean less time for the wind to fuck with it......

 

[KYpatriot]

Re: WTF Win brass thin??

Yeah, so this is what everyone is getting with the win brass? I dont care how it looks if it works. I just dont want to prep 500 rounds of brass that I'll end up getting rid of. I dont mind the prep work to save money from the lapua if it pans out.
I had heard some complaints on win QC lately after buying this and want to check it with yall first.

 

[flyboy]

Re: WTF Win brass thin??

You will need to work up new loads with it because of the extra case valume but I haven't had a single problem with the hundreds of Win brass I've used and shot with 20+ reloads on them.

 

[desertHK]

Re: WTF Win brass thin??

Been very happy with Win brass for my 175SMK load.

 

[KYpatriot]

Re: WTF Win brass thin??

Do your cases have the depression around the flashhole I've pictured? Seems this makes the case weaker at the case head.
Again, not questioning the record or success of Winchester brass, i wouldnt have bought it if I didnt think it would work.
I am making sure that the brass i ordered is like what many others here have used with success.
If a few of you with some life on the brass would weigh some and check to see if you have the depression I mentioned in the floor of the case i would appreciate it.
This brass looks a lot different from what i have used so I am not too confident it is right...if it is just like everyone else is using should be fine.

 

[clmayfield]

Re: WTF Win brass thin??

The FGMM brass is very thick. Thicker than Lapua, but I don't think it is quite as thick as Lake City. Winchester is the thinnest brass. I think a few people prefer Winchester for this very reason... you can get more powder in there.

As to why FGMM brass gets no respect, it has more to do with the softness of the brass than the thickness.

 

[BCP]

Re: WTF Win brass thin??

That brass is fine. As for prep all I ever do with mine is resize the ones with bent necks, for some reason a lot of the win brass I get has messed up necks. I think my UPS guy jumps up and down on boxes before delivering them to me.

 

[former naval person]

Re: WTF Win brass thin??

The depression around the flash hole serves to work harden the brass in the area making it more resistant (stronger) to pocket expansion.

 

[KYpatriot]

Re: WTF Win brass thin??

Thanks ya'll just checkin. Looks like Ill have to increase the load a little then to keep the velocity up.

 

[FreshKills]

Re: WTF Win brass thin??

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Outsydlooknin75</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Lighter brass means more room for powder ...... more powder means faster bullets ...... faster bullets mean less time for the wind to fuck with it...... </div></div>

Thicker brass means less slop in the chamber's neck,better case life and less powder to make a given PSI of pressure.

Thin don't interest me,for obvious reasons.

 

[usmcMT]

Re: WTF Win brass thin??

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: FreshKills</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Outsydlooknin75</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Lighter brass means more room for powder ...... more powder means faster bullets ...... faster bullets mean less time for the wind to fuck with it...... </div></div>

Thicker brass means less slop in the chamber's neck,better case life and less powder to make a given PSI of pressure.

Thin don't interest me,for obvious reasons.

</div></div>Yes and no. Thicker in the neck will increase outside dia. As to the mean PSI of pressure, the thin brass allows more powder to drive the bullet to a higher fps. I see your point. Use to do heavy .223 brass with 55's to get more runs out of a pound of powder in the old(aka poor days). Thin works for me so long as it shoots and has a good reloading life.

 

[BCP]

Re: WTF Win brass thin??

Thick doesn't necessarily last longer, and you'll hit pressure faster so you won't get as high of velocities as you would with say win brass.

For example I loaded up some LC brass, 168 bullet 44 varget and win brass with the same bullet, primer and power charge. Both had very similar chrono values. However, i can go to around 46 with the win brass but unless I want a kaboom I can't go there with the LC stuff (I am really impressed with this LC 1X fired though, it's working very well and really really tough).

edit: think it was 2530fps out of an 18" but I can't remember exactly. 46 grains was around 2580. Can't wait to get rid of these 168 noslers so can play with my 178 amaxes

 

[BigDKC]

Re: WTF Win brass thin??

Looks just like the 100 I bought from Bass Pro. I haven't shot any of it yet, but I'm getting the same average weight of about 158.5gr of them all. Mine was two 50case bags from different lots.