In the last few months I have loaded for two buddies guns. One 308 and one '06, both federal brass. Both once fired factory brass when I loaded them the first time, and they sized fine. Second time (so 3x) around first one sized kinda hard., Not so bad that I stooped, but ran it through. You guessed it, ripped rim, stuck case. The '06 I tried this morning 2 in a row stuck. Ready to chuck the rest. Anyone else have this experience? I have Lapua, Rem and Win brass in 308 and 06 that have 8-10 loadings on them nary an issue.
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Federal brass is shitty, object or concur?
- Thread starter zeroz
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I had a bunch of 308 FGGM brass and I had quite a few that when I went to load the primer pockets were loose. Factory ammo on second load, loaded them up and and they went in the recycle bucket. I loaded Winchester brass for ever and would get 10 to 12 loads on them. I have since switched to 118 lr brass for it. Everything else gets Peterson, it’s is great and cheaper than Lapua.
Fed brass is generally soft , loose pockets after a few firings especially when shooting suppressed (and most especially suppressed gas guns). I feel the same way about Hornady brass and only use lake city LR, Lapua and Norma.
Last edited:
- Nov 3, 2010
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FGMM is sooooft. Primer pockets will wear out in a few loadings if you are even close to warm loads
Federal is soft
So is Remington
Winchester used to be decent
Hornady is ok in a pinch
Nosler/norma is a good option
ADG/Peterson (haven’t used myself)
Lapua is my go to
Nosler is second
My opinion based on my experience only
So is Remington
Winchester used to be decent
Hornady is ok in a pinch
Nosler/norma is a good option
ADG/Peterson (haven’t used myself)
Lapua is my go to
Nosler is second
My opinion based on my experience only
Have 5 loads on my current federal gmm .308. Not by any means the greatest but no issues so far. Been using fed 210m primers and have not gotten loose pockets yet. Have heard people having issues and some say it’s fine.
....FWIW, after having had a few stuck cases over the years, I've learned to determine by feel when attempting to run the case up into the die that I should stop and retract it before it becomes stuck. I will set that case aside for later exam as I size on a progressive and prefer to keep my rhythm going/consistent. Most times it has been a lube issue (I use a alcohol/lanolin spray mix) after lubing the suspect case with some Imperial Die Wax it usually sizes normally.
I've had very good luck with the newer 308 GMM brass that has the blue primer sealant. I've gotten 8-10 loadings out of them. they are harder than the older GMM brass. I don't know about the newer 30/06. Federal brass has always had a reputation for bring soft.
IMO Federal, Hornady, Nosler, Remington are not that great, they do not last. Worth it to spend the extra money to get good brass.
Agreed. These ran a little hard so I did the half in, pull out, push all the way trick that seems to usually work if they are a little stiff going in. Learned that one from an ex, LOL. Sounds like I should pick up some imperial for future buddies that bring me shit brass.
Don't know but haven't ever ripped the rim off an LC and Ive done a shitload more of them than fed. Bunch of the LC was machine gun once fired too.
I've purchased quite a bit of Federal 1x fired .308 brass over the years for fairly inexpensive prices. Figured I could get another three loadings out of them before they went into the trash. Never had an accuracy issue, or more importantly, unexplained random fliers or stuck cases.
Bought about 450 1x fired Federal 7mm RM brass last year when nothing was available. Unfortunately the weights on those vary by a good 2%. Everything that has been shot a second time appears to be holding up well enough...will probably scrap after 4th firing as well.
As long as you don't expect Lapua-like quality (or pay the prices), you'll be fine. I definitely prefer Federal brass to Remington and Winchester, and consider it about equal to Hornady. Obviously it is lacking compared to the really good stuff though...but I'm not paying really good stuff prices.
Bought about 450 1x fired Federal 7mm RM brass last year when nothing was available. Unfortunately the weights on those vary by a good 2%. Everything that has been shot a second time appears to be holding up well enough...will probably scrap after 4th firing as well.
As long as you don't expect Lapua-like quality (or pay the prices), you'll be fine. I definitely prefer Federal brass to Remington and Winchester, and consider it about equal to Hornady. Obviously it is lacking compared to the really good stuff though...but I'm not paying really good stuff prices.
If so certainly to a different standard.
LC is my favorite 223 brass and federal my least favorite.
In the Lake City arsenal. FC brass is a completely different case made in a FC plant.
I’ve gotten as many as 25 loadings on FC308 brass. There are three kinds: the FGMM commercial, the 7.62M1A brass and FC military brass. The commercial brass is soft. The latter are harder and last a long time.
If you’re sticking brass then it’s your lube or a mismatch between your chamber and your dies.
Not all Federal brass is the same. I have some 6.5CM in small primer that has more than 15 firings. I understand that RUAG makes that brass for Federal. Also have some old FC308 that have more than 12 firings. Have been reloading for many years and never had any case stuck in the die.
I’m on my last round of handloads on 308 fgmm. Don’t have notes handy but pretty sure 4th firing and pockets are loosening up. In the trash they go.
No. Lake City has their own brass plant. As 918v said, military Federal stuff is FC headstamped, Winchester nato/mil ammo is WCC head stamped.
Not uncommon for brass to get bought/sold amongst the various mfgs on the commercial side depending on timing/capacity.
I have something like 1000 pieces of retired GMMM that I got from our local Sheriff's Office. Given the number of pieces I have, if I get 3 firings out of them and throw them away, I'll still be happy with that. Sure beats spending $900 on the same amount of Lapua brass even if I could shoot out 3 barrels before the Lapua would be used up.
This has been my experience. It is certainly not my go to brass. If it's a field match where I need accurate ammo but can't retrieve a majority of the brass, the newer FGMM gets the call. My experience is only with 223 and 308.
If you load them the way they were intended, then they last long enough to separate at the case head. Basically that means 175 @ 2600 out of a 24” barrel.
The primer flash hole looks like a Pakistani cave mechanic punched them by hand with a sharpened rock. I’ve got a pile of FC and BHA 1x fired that I was given and the pockets on the BHA are loose and the FC aren’t too bad. I’m using them through my 308 AR. Im not expecting much.
Fgmm is soft. Not bad just soft.
I have thousands of 308 fgmm cases, from buying 168 and 175 when it was cheap ammo a few yrs ago. If i get a few loads with 155's in them I'll be happy. I love my high end brass but I bought the fgmm so cheap and in bulk I don't care. I have atleast 1500 new lapua 308 I haven't touched because I'm trying to wear the fgmm out first.
At the rate I actually get to shoot it will be awhile.
I have thousands of 308 fgmm cases, from buying 168 and 175 when it was cheap ammo a few yrs ago. If i get a few loads with 155's in them I'll be happy. I love my high end brass but I bought the fgmm so cheap and in bulk I don't care. I have atleast 1500 new lapua 308 I haven't touched because I'm trying to wear the fgmm out first.
At the rate I actually get to shoot it will be awhile.
For 5.56 here are 8 brass types tested, with data table
8 brass tested
I agree with previous poster hafejd30. But soft doesn't really mean alot honestly. You can still reload federal brass 5+ times. Lapua is most consistent, with Norma and Nosler coming in 2nd. I agree with that generally. The internal case capacity consistency among Lapua is consistently tightest, etc.
You can't really just shoot 8 brass types and decide winner, because since each brass offers different FPS result, you have to "tune" each load according to each brass. And when you do, you will get similar results across the board.
The Lapua and Nosler "prepped" type are good out of the box, while the others require some attention it could be argued. But in that test, just dumped out of box into press.
8 brass tested
I agree with previous poster hafejd30. But soft doesn't really mean alot honestly. You can still reload federal brass 5+ times. Lapua is most consistent, with Norma and Nosler coming in 2nd. I agree with that generally. The internal case capacity consistency among Lapua is consistently tightest, etc.
You can't really just shoot 8 brass types and decide winner, because since each brass offers different FPS result, you have to "tune" each load according to each brass. And when you do, you will get similar results across the board.
The Lapua and Nosler "prepped" type are good out of the box, while the others require some attention it could be argued. But in that test, just dumped out of box into press.
I've been loading .308 with the same lot of about 1,000 pieces for a long, long time. I wore out one barrel and have put a hurting on two others. The brass has been fired 10 times now. Years ago I only annealed every three firings. Now I anneal every firing. No loose pockets, no cracked necks, no case head separation. I'm shooting 2650 fps with Varget with 175 gr Sierras out of a 24" barrel. Same load runs 2550 in my 18" barrel. Most of the shooting is suppressed. Federal brass just won't take high high pressure for many firings, but it does fine with reasonable loads. I get good accuracy with Federal brass.
If you can minimally work it, segregate by gun, anneal frequently, and stay away from pressure, the brass will perform quite well.
Sure, Lapua may be miles better, but the Federal brass is basically free on the ground at many ranges or can be bought cheaply 1x fired. $1/ea vs free, its a no-brainer for me.
If you can minimally work it, segregate by gun, anneal frequently, and stay away from pressure, the brass will perform quite well.
Sure, Lapua may be miles better, but the Federal brass is basically free on the ground at many ranges or can be bought cheaply 1x fired. $1/ea vs free, its a no-brainer for me.
