308 FGGM brass

[NJRaised]

Has anyone reloaded using 308 federal gold medal brass? I have access to an absolute ton of it from work (swat sniper team). It doesn’t appear to be crimped either.

Anyone with experience reloading it? Worth it or no? I don’t have a 308 barrel, but I’m debating it just to use this brass.

 

[Old Man with Gun]

It is a little soft, but makes good ammo. If you have a good supply don't worry about brass life.

 

[NJRaised]

It is a little soft, but makes good ammo. If you have a good supply don't worry about brass life.

Have you seen any major variance with case capacity and velocity?

 

[simonp]

I’ve had good luck with federal brass

 

[isofahunter]

1000's of cases have run through my press and many more will. Have always been happy with results.

 

[.505gibbs]

Have you seen any major variance with case capacity and velocity?

I’ve seen fairly big swings in es/sd with mixed lots. Within the same lot it seems decent.

 

[D̷e̷v̷i̷l̷D̷o̷c̷A̷Z̷]

Has anyone reloaded using 308 federal gold medal brass? I have access to an absolute ton of it from work (swat sniper team). It doesn’t appear to be crimped either.

Anyone with experience reloading it? Worth it or no? I don’t have a 308 barrel, but I’m debating it just to use this brass.

Feel free to mail some my way for testing

 

[NJRaised]

Feel free to mail some my way for testing

Considering I picked up 2k cases in three training days I may be able to help you out .

 

[simonp]

Considering I picked up 2k cases in three training days I may be able to help you out .

Pretty nice score

 

[straightshooter1]

Have you seen any major variance with case capacity and velocity?

I've use a lot of Federal brass over many years in my .308. In the last couple years I've not used them much . . . just on occasion, like to test a new powder before I use my good brass like Lapua. Most of them are from 1x fired range brass. I've measured them in every way, sorted them and tracked their performance. A few years ago I called Federal and talked to a technician asking if there was a difference between their bass used for their match grade cartridges and their other cartridges. He said Federal didn't do anything to differentiate between match and other cartridges and that they all came off the same production line.

Federal brass like any other companies brass will have "major variance" from one lot of brass to another. Since I collected a large number of range brass, I sort them by weight, which helped them be more uniform. I found case volume of fired Federal brass to be pretty close to that of Lapua brass. Case volume ranged from 55.5 to 55.8 grs H2O, which I think is pretty good for brass that isn't considered produced as well as Lapua. Federal bass does tend to have significant flash hole burrs compared to Lapua, so I always removed the burrs as one of the first things I do for the first resizing. And they are also a little softer than many other brands of brass. So far, I've been able to get 12 firings out of a batch using moderate to hot loads and only had to throw out a couple cases that had were too loose (I do anneal brass after every firing). Federal brass isn't likely to last as long as premium brass like Lapua, but . . . you can't beat the price if it's free.

Again, because these are assorted range brass, I've sorted them by weight, which resulted in pretty consistent velocities where I do consistently get single digit SD's with them. You're results may vary depending on your reloading tools and process.

 

[Old Man with Gun]

Have you seen any major variance with case capacity and velocity?

Your team probably got a large lot of ammo, if so the brass is from the same lot and should be consistent.

I've even used range pick up and the results were good, but not as good as from same lot.

 

[ShtrRdy]

I've had good experiences with that brass. If you can get what you need from the same lot it's very consistent.

 

[FLIGHT762]

The newer GMM brass that has been made in the last 10 years or so is much better brass than the older,softer GMM brass. I've been reloading it since the early 1980's.

I've hoarded a lifetime supply of it over the years from L/E Sniper Teams. Segregated the older from the newer brass.

The better brass is the brass that has the blue primer sealant that showed up in newer lots of GMM ammo in the past 10 years or so.

Older brass had no primer sealant. The 80's / 90's brass was very soft and would last 3-4 loads before the primer pockets would get too loose.

 

[straightshooter1]

The newer GMM brass that has been made in the last 10 years or so is much better brass than the older,softer GMM brass. I've been reloading it since the early 1980's.

I've hoarded a lifetime supply of it over the years from L/E Sniper Teams. Segregated the older from the newer brass.

The better brass is the brass that has the blue primer sealant that showed up in newer lots of GMM ammo in the past 10 years or so.

Older brass had no primer sealant. The 80's / 90's brass was very soft and would last 3-4 loads before the primer pockets would get too loose.

All of my Federal brass is that which I've collected within the last 10 years. The large majority of it is that which I've picked up at the ranges, where I've always checked to see that they showed the "blue primer sealant" to be confident that I was getting nothing more than 1x fired brass. The rest, a small portion of what I have, is from purchases made within that time frame, also having that sealant. So, apparently, I have no reloading experience with the older brass you speak of.

Thanks for the input . . . and clarification.