Reloading Winchester Brass

[JimTom]

G’day All
Was looking for some .223 brass today and living regional, I struggled to find the ADI brass I was looking for. There was Norma brass available which is quite expensive. I purchased some Winchester factory ammo for considerably less than the price of the Norma brass alone. I have heard that the Winchester brass isn’t that good at all, however I am a little perplexed as to why it is perceived by some as being inferior. Anyone had any problems with reloading Winchester brass?

[in2anity]

It’s soft. Just doesn’t last as long. In saying that I use any brass I can get my hands on, including Winchester - it works.

[JimTom]

Thanks mate. Yes I have heard it’s not as tough, and the neck is prone to splitting after a few reloads. I have been told that it is more prone to the larger calibers.

[Oldbloke]

Seemed OK to me. I guess it depends on how serious you are about reloading. For casual shooting it will be fine.

500yard comps might be another story.

[JimTom]

I’m no 500yd competition shooter so I’m tipping it’ll be fine for me. Given the rate I shoot it should last a while. Thanks for the input. Much appreciated.

[in2anity]

It really depends on your load - for low pressure loads, Winchester brass is rather convenient because it easy to work with. I actually like it for my 30/30 (shooting reduced cast lead loads). I’m up to my 7th reload on some of my 30/30 Winnie brass!

High pressure loads (like the 223 is designed for unfortunately) are a lot harder on brass, so you may actually notice a shorter lifespan on them. Just keep an eye on the throats and shoulders.

[Strikey]

G’day All
Was looking for some .223 brass today and living regional, I struggled to find the ADI brass I was looking for. There was Norma brass available which is quite expensive. I purchased some Winchester factory ammo for considerably less than the price of the Norma brass alone. I have heard that the Winchester brass isn’t that good at all, however I am a little perplexed as to why it is perceived by some as being inferior. Anyone had any problems with reloading Winchester brass?

Did you try the QStore at Belmont?? ADI 223 brass for $45 per 100, if memory serves me right, although you won't get them until the New Year now

[JimTom]

Fair old drive to Belmont and unfortunately I wasn’t smart enough to look at online suppliers. Probably a bit old school in that regard. Prefer to buy things in store. Not out of the question though. Will consider it next time. Thanks again.

[Strikey]

Fair old drive to Belmont and unfortunately I wasn’t smart enough to look at online suppliers. Probably a bit old school in that regard. Prefer to buy things in store. Not out of the question though. Will consider it next time. Thanks again.

Yeah, I can understand the old school that's why I just give them a call over the phone, good blokes to deal with and everything I buy from them is usually in the mailbox within 3-4 days

[JimTom]

Mate thanks for the heads up. I will definitely check it out for future acquisitions. Cheers mate.

[Apollo]

I’m no 500yd competition shooter so I’m tipping it’ll be fine for me. Given the rate I shoot it should last a while. Thanks for the input. Much appreciated.

Winchester Brass comes in a couple of forms. One is a domestic version and the other is a military grade which has a crimped primer so the crimp needs to be removed before re-priming. Either one is reasonable quality and should last a number of reloads. Also either one is cheap, well depends on who you know. Ask around Rifle Ranges, some have Police that train and use the military grade ammo, fired once and left to be picked up by whoever so you can get Winchester Brass for free perhaps.

If you were local to me I'd give you a few hundred for free, not interested in posting it sorry.

I use Winchester Brass for general use, don't care if I loose one or a dozen cases. Never had one split in the neck or shoulder after a few reloads BUT, any more than that and I'd be annealing it which I'm now doing every reload session. Only takes a few minutes to do dozens.

If you want quality then chase the ADI Brass, if you want very good high grade quality then buy Lapua Cases which I also use and there is a big difference in consistency. ADI once fired cases also come from Ranges that conduct military training and can be found cheap, just make sure it's cleaned and full length resized before you reload for a domestic chambered rifle.

There is a statement just above that a .223R is a "High Pressure Load" ... It is NOT. There are many calibres that are rated as "High Pressure" .223Rem is not one... perhaps .204Ruger then 6.5x47 Lapua which is some 15,000 PSI higher pressure rated.

Splits in the neck / shoulder can come from many reasons in any breed of rifle cases. One reason to clean and examine cases before reloading.

[in2anity]

There is a statement just above that a .223R is a "High Pressure Load" ... It is NOT. There are many calibres that are rated as "High Pressure" .223Rem is not one... perhaps .204Ruger then 6.5x47 Lapua which is some 15,000 PSI higher pressure rated.

Splits in the neck / shoulder can come from many reasons in any breed of rifle cases. One reason to clean and examine cases before reloading.

I fail to see where I said .223 is the HIGHEST presssure load. Sorry but compared to the vast majority of (particularly older) cartridges, >50,000psi IS high pressure. My point was, how do you think brass fairies when formed under 50k psi vs say 30k psi?

[JimTom]

Thanks Apollo. Some good info there. I’ll
Persist with the Winchester brass and see how it goes. Once it starts to show signs of fatigue I’ll just swap it out with the ADI stuff. Thanks mate.

[marksman]

IMHO I like the winchester brass and rate it very highly

the reasons I rate it is: it is made thin walled so you can put more powder in for less pressure and more speed safely,
being thin walled it has fewer problems with being thicker on one side than the other so more concentric

what I dont like about it: being thin walled it can show a real off centre bulge in a sloppy larger chamber
it is the ****** case for looking dirty
303 user's will see a lot more case head separations from the thin walled winchester brass on first firing as it stretches out for the shoulder

I do use better brass but if I'm looking for cases that I'm not going to spend on I will use winchester
I started to use it because of price, I would buy bulk factory ammo and use the brass
as well as Dan Newberry who created the OCW system of tuning your ammo recommended it
I anneal so I don't get split necks and only neck size or a small bump when full length sizing

[sungazer]

I am pretty convinced that the OCW method is a crock. There are just to many variables for one charge to be the best in that calibre with that bullet weight. If it were the case we would have all worked it out and be using the same load.

[marksman]

I am pretty convinced that the OCW method is a crock. There are just to many variables for one charge to be the best in that calibre with that bullet weight. If it were the case we would have all worked it out and be using the same load.

no worries I hear you
but I have found it a very useful method

[COLLECTOR 1]

I've recently experienced problems with Winchester brass in 257 Roberts. Primers loose, primers not seating properly the reloads are what I think mild loads, and after extraction all have a problem with loose primer pockets. Never seen it before either.

Really disappointed in this batch of brass.

Collector 1

[JimTom]

Is that happening after one reload, or has the brass been reloaded several times Collector?

[COLLECTOR 1]

No ....it's brand new brass...they are/were run through a FLR die before loading up...the load is 40.5gns of 2208 under a 87 gns HP projectile...WLR primer. Nothing to flash there...certainly no pressure issues

I find that load works fine in Federal and Hornady brass, absolutely flawless, but the Winchester brass is a totally different story.

The rifle is a rebarrelled Browning BLR in 257 Roberts so it's not pushed to hard so as to avoid extraction ejection problems. The strange thing is about 80 percent of this batch of brass suffer some sort of primer pocket issue

Maybe just unlucky, I don't know, but certainly would be hesitant to recommend or use Winchester brass at the moment.

Something I have heard, and I think it may have been here on the forum, that when Winchester changed their packaging of new brass from the old blue and white packaging to the new red and white packaging, reloading issues were experienced by users.

Collector 1

[straightshooter]

I have experienced soft in the web brass in the past. It sometimes happens. You just have to grin and bear it and discard that brass when it is near the end of it's short useful life.
What you have to understand is that in the US prior to the election of Trump demand for ammo and components was through the roof and manufacturers could not keep up with demand. So it is understandable that the AQL ( acceptable quality level) of components was probably compromised so as not to hinder production.
Post Trump things have quieted down now to the point where Remington looks to be in financial trouble.
I wouldn't be surprised if US manufacturers are sending their marginal or downgraded components to vassal countries while keeping components that meet their normal quality standards for domestic sales.

[Apollo]

If you are having trouble with loose primers in virtually new cases then one thing to try would be a larger diameter primer.

Winchester Large Rifle from what I can see are 0.2114" in diameter, Federal 200 Large Rifle at 0.2120" which might help tighten them up if they preform to your liking.

Just a thought.

[COLLECTOR 1]

Actually I give that a try... tks for the tip.

Collector 1