Peterson brass

[jb1000br]

If you have not heard of these guys yet, you may want to give them a look! I predict we will be hearing their name much more in the near future and they will give the big boys a serious run for their money! They have got a lot of things right with their product! Every shooter that I have had contact with that has touched this brass absolutely loves it!

What they got right:
-Family biz, made in Pennsylvania
-Brass comes packed in a 50rd reusable plastic ammo box (similar to MTM and others) - huge value added there
-equal or better measured consistency than others tested
-durability (number of firings reported) has been better than anything else out there
-all of that plus they are just great guys to deal with!
-and o yea, the pricing is incredible considering all of the things above!

Because they have so much going for them, we (EuroOptic) decided to carry their full line. Every SKU is now in stock and ready to ship!

Please feel free to post your experiences here (good or bad) and give feedback as well.

Current calibers:
6.5 Creedmoor (Small OR Large primer pocket available)
308 Win (Small OR Large primer pocket available)
375 and 408 Cheytac
300 Win Mag
338 Lapua
260 Rem

More additions to the line-up are in the pipeline!

You can find a link to the full line below:

PETERSON BRASS

 

[Ayoung1]

I sure wish them or Lapua would come out with small primer 260 Remington brass.

 

[Defender3]

I shoot their .260 brass and I'd add that it's annealed and comes with the case mouth already chamfered.

 

[1MoreAR]

I just ordered 200 of their 6.5 Creedmoor from EuroOptic last week. to shoot with the Lapua I already have.. I am sure if they want to hang with the big boys like Lapua or Norma they will need to make very high brass to complete with those big name.

 

[TC308]

Wish they made a 26/28/30 nosler brass. Really like the price and sounds like it is good stuff.

 

[jb1000br]

Wish they made a 26/28/30 nosler brass. Really like the price and sounds like it is good stuff.

Good to hear this, keep the wishlist coming as well!

FYI - up next on the list will be 300 and 338 Norma, so stay tuned for that to become available!

Thanks!

 

[MarinePMI]

tag

 

[1J04]

Good to hear this, keep the wishlist coming as well!

FYI - up next on the list will be 300 and 338 Norma, so stay tuned for that to become available!

Thanks!

7mm Remington Magnum, 25-06, 30-06 as soon as possible.

 

[jsthntn247]

Can't believe they don't make 223

 

[TC308]

Good to hear this, keep the wishlist coming as well!

FYI - up next on the list will be 300 and 338 Norma, so stay tuned for that to become available!

Thanks!

The 28 nosler really seems to be an up-and-comer right now. 195's at 3100 is hard to beat. I think people are catching on. I'd be in for a few hundred if you hammered some out.

 

[Jeffvn]

Unobtanium 7WSM would be nice to see as well.

 

[TripleBull]

375CT seems more affordable all the sudden. Wait, solids cost how much?

 

[Defender3]

I just received my latest order.

 

[Supersubes]

Their .338 lapua brass is more consistent and stronger than the lapua brand. My testing is ongoing, but the preliminary results are in this section already. Much cheaper too.

I'm testing the Creedmoor and .260 brass as well. Cant wait for the norma cases.

 

[Defender3]

Their .338 lapua brass is more consistent and stronger than the lapua brand. My testing is ongoing, but the preliminary results are in this section already. Much cheaper too.

I'm testing the Creedmoor and .260 brass as well. Cant wait for the norma cases.

I only have one data point so far, but the Peterson 260 (H4350, 130g ELD-M, F210M @2.800) shot 10-30fps faster (depending on grain charge) than the same in Lapua brass.

 

[surgeon260]

I just finished my preliminary evaluation of the 300 Norma brass in my SAC 300 Norma Improved. Since the brass I received was pre-production (case heads didn't even have cartridge markings), I won't get into the details of my findings. I will say that I did a direct comparison with virgin Norma brass and in a head to head fireforming comparison at 100 yard targets, the Peterson brass had smaller average groups and higher average velocities.

 

[jb1000br]

any more results to report? So far I have heard nothing but love. Planning to start testing it out in my AX soon.

Jason

 

[Fursniper]

In .338 anyway, the lapua brass holds up to fireforming, the Peterson does not, several split cases from just above the case head to just below the shoulder out of a batch of 50. Would seem to indicate to me that the Peterson is NOT as strong as the Lapua brand. Peterson does put a label on their box that says their brass is not suitable for fireforming but thought I'd try it anyway. For normal chambers I'm sure it's just fine but if you're running a wildcat cartridge, forget it.

 

[MarinePMI]

Sounds like an annealing issue...

 

[Fursniper]

Sounds like an annealing issue...

I don't think it's an annealing issue. Peterson claims their cases are annealed at the factory. The cases don't show the typical annealing discoloration like lapua cases for example but they claim this is due to the very high polish their cases receive after annealing. That's certainly possible. The other thing is the spits run almost the entire length of the case from below the case shoulder all the way down to just above the base. That part of a case shouldn't be receiving any annealing anyway. Your suspicions may be correct however inasmuch as Peterson may have gotten the annealing incorrect & damaged (weakened) the case in their annealing process. But that then begs the question why they put labels on the box advising not to fireform. They certainly wouldn't be doing that because they know they're incorrectly annealing their cases, if they knew that they would correct the process. I think they label their product because they know their case isn't designed to hold up to the process & stress of fireforming, ie, a weaker/thinner case wall design than say Lapua for example. My Lapua cases hold up just fine after fireforming and repeated reloadings.

 

[Kopfjager1]

Im interested as well. Ive heard both extremes, some people saying theyre switching from Lapua to Peterson straight up and getting upwards of 30+ reloads, and some say theyll never use the brass again except for "blasting ammo". However, scouring google and multiple forums from sites Ive never heard of, is not always the most reliable source of information...

Id like to see some thorough and honest reviews from reliable people before I dive in. Or maybe I will anyways, seems promising, especially for my application.

 

[Fursniper]

Im interested as well. Ive heard both extremes, some people saying theyre switching from Lapua to Peterson straight up and getting upwards of 30+ reloads, and some say theyll never use the brass again except for "blasting ammo". However, scouring google and multiple forums from sites Ive never heard of, is not always the most reliable source of information...

Id like to see some thorough and honest reviews from reliable people before I dive in. Or maybe I will anyways, seems promising, especially for my application.

Again, for regularly used calibers I don't think the Peterson will present any unusual problems and probably perform quite well. I have some friends using their 375 brass and not having any issues. The Peterson is priced well below lapua brass and that makes it a very attractive alternative, especially for rounds chambered in popular short action calibers where people are shooting a lot of volume. If I didn't already have so much lapua brass for my 308 I wouldn't hesitate to give it a try.

 

[supercorndogs]

I don't think it's an annealing issue. Peterson claims their cases are annealed at the factory. The cases don't show the typical annealing discoloration like lapua cases for example but they claim this is due to the very high polish their cases receive after annealing. That's certainly possible. The other thing is the spits run almost the entire length of the case from below the case shoulder all the way down to just above the base. That part of a case shouldn't be receiving any annealing anyway. Your suspicions may be correct however inasmuch as Peterson may have gotten the annealing incorrect & damaged (weakened) the case in their annealing process. But that then begs the question why they put labels on the box advising not to fireform. They certainly wouldn't be doing that because they know they're incorrectly annealing their cases, if they knew that they would correct the process. I think they label their product because they know their case isn't designed to hold up to the process & stress of fireforming, ie, a weaker/thinner case wall design than say Lapua for example. My Lapua cases hold up just fine after fireforming and repeated reloadings.

All cases are annealed at the factory, everybody every time. In fact most are annealed several times as they are drawn out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lapLWlw5qk

A complaint their brass does not fire form well, when they warned you on the box not to fire form it?

 

[Fursniper]

Nowhere did I say or indicate I was complaining or bashing Peterson brass. Just stating my findings. You were the one stating Peterson was stronger than Lapua. My experience with it would seem to indicate otherwise and that limited to the 338.

 

[Supersubes]

Fur, you saw my case measurements of the .338 lm brass. Clearly, the peterson grew less in the case head than the lapua, a lot less. So in the area of primer pocket growth, which is a more common failure point around here, hands down the peterson wins. I dont think your cases failed due to a lack of strength. If the cases were steel, I think you'd have seen the same thing. The softer lapua, or its particular metalurgical properties, allow the case stretch in that area ...good data point for the wildcatters. Regardless of case material, the case wall will grow to meet the chamber wall, whether its maleable enough to take that is another issue i think. I do think you should anneal a virgin case and see what happens to it during fire forming. Another experiment would be to take a 5x fired lapua brand .338 case and try fireforming it without annealing. On second thought, dont do that, its gonna split.

I mentioned this in a previous post, but the peterson is harder than anything ive used. It squeals when you chamfer the necks, and is just flat out harder to cut. Per my conversations with peterson, their specification for strength is for all of their brass to stand up to a proof load(roughly 25% overpressure), and still be reloadable. From my testing, I see no reason to doubt that. They do have their own lab in house test these things as well.


Currently working on some of their .260 brass. Unlike the the .338 lm brass, it isnt quite as consistent in capacity as lapua .260, but still good. Proving to be very strong in the case head as well.

 

[260284]

I sure wish them or Lapua would come out with small primer 260 Remington brass.

They have small primer 260 brass now.

 

[Ayoung1]

They have small primer 260 brass now.

I'm not finding any info on it, is this something they're about to bring to market?

 

[Dave62677]

i can't hand prime the Peterson 338lm brass, i have to use the press priming system. Prime brass and Lapua brass grow .002" more than Peterson

 

[Hawk in WY]

I would really to like to see a Norma versus Peterson .300 Win Mag comparison after several reloadings.

Case capacity seems slightly smaller on new brass which probably explains the slightly higher velocity.

How does it it do after four or five reloadings is the question.

I'm about to order a 1,000 case of Norma brass from MidSouth.

Peterson brass seems to be a viable alternative.

Thanks in advance for any help here.

 

[MarinePMI]

I don't think it's an annealing issue. Peterson claims their cases are annealed at the factory. The cases don't show the typical annealing discoloration like lapua cases for example but they claim this is due to the very high polish their cases receive after annealing. That's certainly possible. The other thing is the spits run almost the entire length of the case from below the case shoulder all the way down to just above the base. That part of a case shouldn't be receiving any annealing anyway. Your suspicions may be correct however inasmuch as Peterson may have gotten the annealing incorrect & damaged (weakened) the case in their annealing process. But that then begs the question why they put labels on the box advising not to fireform. They certainly wouldn't be doing that because they know they're incorrectly annealing their cases, if they knew that they would correct the process. I think they label their product because they know their case isn't designed to hold up to the process & stress of fireforming, ie, a weaker/thinner case wall design than say Lapua for example. My Lapua cases hold up just fine after fireforming and repeated reloadings.

Perhaps my brief response was too brief. Let me be a bit more verbose this time...

Yes, all brass is annealed in the factory. This doesn't mean it is annealed correctly, or sufficiently to support radical case forming/wildcatting. Having worked with (and been paid as a consultant) in the re-introduction of a cartridge (5mm rem Mag), I can tell you annealing is a very tricky thing to get right (especially in the case of a bottle necked rimfire case), and requires a specific order of operations in manufacturing process. I'd wager Peterson's developed a process that anneals the cartridge enough for what it is, but is on the hairy edge of what is needed for wildcatting the case. This makes sense, as each annealing stage adds time and cost to making a case. So I'd guess that they got to a point where it is sufficiently annealed for .338, but due to the size of the case (bigger case takes more time/heat to treat), the added cost to further heat treat/anneal the cases exceeded their target cost point per case (probably required additional tooling as well, for those that are familiar with the annealing ovens used in ammunition factories).

My post wasn't to say that Peterson's had a "problem" with their brass per se, but that this was an annealing issue that limited forming into other wildcat cases. They have to know it's an issue, or else they wouldn't put the disclaimer on the box (believe it or not, just the art work for the ammo boxes incurs quite a cost as well).

JMTCW...

 

[prcomte]

On the fireforming topic. I have fireformed some Peterson 260 brass to 6mm Competition match and it was by far the best foreformed brass I've got out of my chamber yet. Especially on the first firing.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Fursniper]

Perhaps my brief response was too brief. Let me be a bit more verbose this time...

Yes, all brass is annealed in the factory. This doesn't mean it is annealed correctly, or sufficiently to support radical case forming/wildcatting. Having worked with (and been paid as a consultant) in the re-introduction of a cartridge (5mm rem Mag), I can tell you annealing is a very tricky thing to get right (especially in the case of a bottle necked rimfire case), and requires a specific order of operations in manufacturing process. I'd wager Peterson's developed a process that anneals the cartridge enough for what it is, but is on the hairy edge of what is needed for wildcatting the case. This makes sense, as each annealing stage adds time and cost to making a case. So I'd guess that they got to a point where it is sufficiently annealed for .338, but due to the size of the case (bigger case takes more time/heat to treat), the added cost to further heat treat/anneal the cases exceeded their target cost point per case (probably required additional tooling as well, for those that are familiar with the annealing ovens used in ammunition factories).

My post wasn't to say that Peterson's had a "problem" with their brass per se, but that this was an annealing issue that limited forming into other wildcat cases. They have to know it's an issue, or else they wouldn't put the disclaimer on the box (believe it or not, just the art work for the ammo boxes incurs quite a cost as well).

JMTCW...

Thanks Marine, that just may well be the case. It could also be the lighter case design, the metallurgical qualities of the case or just a combination of all three. For regular firings of standard calibers the Peterson brass appears to do just fine and the primer pockets may well hold up equal or better to Lapua brass, it appears some have found this to be the case. I'm going to continue to use the Peterson cases that survived the fireforming and see how the primer pockets hold up in comparison. If opportunity allows, I may get a couple of each brand EDM cut lengthwise for a comparative picture of each, it'd be really interesting to see how the Web areas compare in build structure since this seems to be where Peterson has tried to strengthen their case.

 

[Supersubes]

I would really to like to see a Norma versus Peterson .300 Win Mag comparison after several reloadings.

Case capacity seems slightly smaller on new brass which probably explains the slightly higher velocity.

How does it it do after four or five reloadings is the question.

I'm about to order a 1,000 case of Norma brass from MidSouth.

Peterson brass seems to be a viable alternative.

Thanks in advance for any help here.

Everything we've tested has been very stout, including 300 wm. While i have no experience with norma 300 wm, when using the peterson, you should adjust your load downward to start. The first time we ever shot peterson, it was the 300wm. My friend loaded them with his standard load (for domestic brass), and they were freakin hot based on the chrono numbers! But the case heads/primer pockets were 100% good to go.

Before you go all in on that much norma, give the peterson a try. Think of how much dough you'll save if the peterson works out.

 

[lash]

Perhaps my brief response was too brief. Let me be a bit more verbose this time...

Yes, all brass is annealed in the factory. This doesn't mean it is annealed correctly, or sufficiently to support radical case forming/wildcatting. Having worked with (and been paid as a consultant) in the re-introduction of a cartridge (5mm rem Mag), I can tell you annealing is a very tricky thing to get right (especially in the case of a bottle necked rimfire case), and requires a specific order of operations in manufacturing process. I'd wager Peterson's developed a process that anneals the cartridge enough for what it is, but is on the hairy edge of what is needed for wildcatting the case. This makes sense, as each annealing stage adds time and cost to making a case. So I'd guess that they got to a point where it is sufficiently annealed for .338, but due to the size of the case (bigger case takes more time/heat to treat), the added cost to further heat treat/anneal the cases exceeded their target cost point per case (probably required additional tooling as well, for those that are familiar with the annealing ovens used in ammunition factories).

My post wasn't to say that Peterson's had a "problem" with their brass per se, but that this was an annealing issue that limited forming into other wildcat cases. They have to know it's an issue, or else they wouldn't put the disclaimer on the box (believe it or not, just the art work for the ammo boxes incurs quite a cost as well).

JMTCW...

Reading this, I get an implication that further annealing by the end user, say before fire forming maybe, could create different results. Perhaps better results. Of course that would all depend upon whether the actual brass alloy used in their cases is amenable to further annealing prior to use.

I have no idea if you meant to imply that.

 

[Supersubes]

Reading this, I get an implication that further annealing by the end user, say before fire forming maybe, could create different results. Perhaps better results. Of course that would all depend upon whether the actual brass alloy used in their cases is amenable to further annealing prior to use.

I have no idea if you meant to imply that.

I think thats exactly what he was getting at! Lol

 

[lash]

Just call me captain obvious.

 

[Fursniper]

Just call me captain obvious.

Lol! Yeah, I'm not opposed to try some annealing on new Peterson brass to see if it makes a difference, I just don't have any more that I haven't fired already. After observing the splitting problems I ordered a crap load of Lapua brass but I may order another box of Peterson just to experiment with......

 

[260284]

I'm not finding any info on it, is this something they're about to bring to market?

It was on Peterson's website when I ordered my 6.5 Creedmore Palma brass. I just looked and it is not on there now. I would call them and see what the deal is. They have 6.5 Creedmore and 308 in srp.

 

[stalwart300]

I have a 300 Norma Improved which I used Peterson Brass to form. I was a bit hesitant due to the note which was included with the brass and the postings on this thread... with the back order on Lapua's 300 Norma brass I decided it give it a shot... (see attached picture) Trying to mitigate the shoulders from splitting I hydro formed the brass then annealed it before loading and firing in my rifle. All 50 pcs of brass formed well without issue.

 

[18Echo]

338 Norma Mag, apparently I have first run brass. According to a notice from Grafs they purposely used 338LM brass as a starting block causing what you see in the picture (I didn’t know this when purchased). Makes it appear you have an oversized chamber, something my smith felt pretty bad about until I discovered the Grafs notice.

I have an email into the company now to see if they will make things right by giving me an exchange on my first run, out of spec brass, with the newer in spec brass. I’ll update my post with the results or lack there of.

I have a box of factory Norma ammo coming just to ensure it’s not an oversized reamer (mine was the first chamber on this reamer).

I hope it works out because besides the out of spec body size, it’s the nicest packed, most consistent brass I’ve ever seen.

UPDATE 10/15/2018: I was contacted by Derek Peterson who said he will do the exchange with me once they have finished manufacturing the cases. He advised it would be around December or January, but I'm okay with that, Peterson brass is the most consistent and nicely packed brass I've ever seen.

 

[Kwe1982]

Unobtanium 7WSM would be nice to see as well.

This, we need quality 7WSM brass stat....

 

[stalwart300]

I had bought my brass in June so hopefully all issues have been resolved.

 

[jsthntn247]

Just loaded and shot some 6.5 creed brass for the second time. Half of the pockets are loose. First firing was 41.3gr of Re 16 wihich is not a hot charge. I’m getting marks on my brass like the 338 pics above. This is srp brass.

 

[stalwart300]

That's good to know. I was thinking about switching from lapua to peterson. I just bought couple hundred peterson cases.

 

[christopher.dow]

Just loaded and shot some 6.5 creed brass for the second time. Half of the pockets are loose. First firing was 41.3gr of Re 16 wihich is not a hot charge. I’m getting marks on my brass like the 338 pics above. This is srp brass.

I've retired my Peterson 6.5 SRP brass in lieu of Lapua. Loose seating of primers was squicking me out. 43gn of H4350 pushing Berger AR Hybrid OTM Tacticals. Lapua handles it just fine.

Love the boxes, though.

 

[stalwart300]

I should have shot the first box before I bought 4 more boxes. At least I didn't sell all my lapua brass.