30-06 Brass

S

smoothie25

New member
I've been shooting some factory loads of Winchester and Remington thru my 30-06. I'm starting to accumulate some brass from each and have been using both in working up a couple loads. I'm looking to move to one brand of brass to get more consistency in my load development. Here are my 3 options:

1. Remington brass - seems to be good stuff, less case capacity than my win brass

2. Winchester brass - equal quality to Remington in my limited observations, more case capacity

3. Scrap or sell the rem/win brass and buy another brand.

I like the win brass because of the extra case capacity. I'm using rl22 and need as much room as I can get. I'm worried that the win brass may not last nearly as long as the rem brass.

What are your thoughts? What's another brand of brass that'll give me the best case capacity and quality?

Thanks
Nick


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
You can always buy Norma brass but I suggest you load some of those rem/wins up and see which ones you think shoots better and build up a load.
 
Not the best case capacity, but Federals for the heavier brass and followed closely by Remingtons as far as '06 caliber, especially for the Garand since the heavier cases provide greater neck tension or bullet hold. For mag calibers Winchester brass is certainly as good.
 
I use Remingtons/Winchesters and Federal cases. I have no preference. I get more reloads out of the Federals. I use IMR 4064 and IMR 4350. I load for hunting, no target work. I don't try to squeeze every last FPS out of my '06.
 
My .30-06 seems to prefer Remington brass over the Winchester brass. I can shoot the same load (powder charge, bullet, COAL, primer) etc. The Remington brass as you have observed has less capacity, but it shoots tighter groups for me than the Win brass does. Your mileage may vary of course.
 
All of my 30-06 brass is more than 30 yrs old.

If I threw away my RP & WW brass, I would have almost nothing.

Most of my 30-06 rifles will shoot WW brass at less than MOA.

I load my RP brass 2 grains under what I dump into the WW brass to approximate the results.

If you can't get enough RL 22 into the cases, then you should move to RL 17 to get approximately the same velocities. I have great results with RL 17 in the 30-06.
 
I'm not reloading 30-06, reloading 308. Found Remington & Winchester brass is just about the same in case thickness, both are good quality. As far as case life, how do you size your brass? When your cases fail is it at the neck, base or primer pocket? I like federal, thicker brass but I'm using light loads for benchrest 200 yards max. No reason I can see for you to change.
 
I've only reloaded about a hundred or so 30-06 over the last few years for hunting. Almost all of it is Remington brass. Only because I had a bunch of it laying around and I bought 40-60 rounds of new Remington rounds when I got my first 30-06. I've got a decent bit of brass left (for my normal usage anyway) and it's mostly Remington or winchester. I've never had any issues.

Again, limited 30-06 reloading experience, but it seems to be pretty decent for hunting loads!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk
 
Thanks dufus for the insight on RL17. I'll have to look into it.

I have a batch of around 40 of each brand that have been shot about 3 times. FL sized once and neck sized the other times before reloading. I haven't shot them enough to have any cases fail.

I have a couple different loads I want to develop for this gun so I think I'll separate the brass according to each load.

This brings up another question. Is it time to anneal these cases? How can I tell if they need to be annealed?

Thanks for everyone's help!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I get an average of 25 reloads with my bass. I shoot the same 30 cases each time, when one shows a problem I dump them all & start with another 30. Haven't annealed, I F/L size every time to .001 headspace. Do you trim each time? When you full size after cases get snug, try not to oversize with the F/L die.
 
My rule for annealing the 30-06 brass is to anneal after every 4 to 5 loadings.

Before this, I would have split necks at maybe 6 loadings sometimes, not always.

Since I started the plan, I have lost very little cases due to neck splitting. I have never loaded hot enough to have the primer pockets expand beyond useful life, but I do not load light either.

I load for accuracy first, and what I have for velocity is what I have.
 
I currently load both Rem and Win brass in my '06. I use them in the same gun with different loads and bullet weights. I do so to shoot different bullet loads to the same basic POI. It took me several years but I have 150,165, and 180 grain loads that shoot windage perfectly. Only POI difference is elevation. Most cases have been fired 6-8 times of both brands. I have never annealed and they are still going strong. I fls every time too. I trim every other reload. I load the same 40 cases per load. When one shows signs, I'll chunk the lot and use 40 more of the same head stamp and over all weight for that load. All are doing well. No better brand for me.

I have never loaded Federal. I have about 60 pieces but, see no need in using it as I have probably 500 each of the Rem and Win brass. God Bless
 
I cant stand Remington brass...to me it's not worth the prep effort as it doesn't last. Winchester used to by the "go to" brass but it's largely junk and for me, fails early after just a few reloads. I started buying Nolser brass and find it to be excellent. Rumor says it's made by Norma. Havent worn out any yet, and it comes fully prep'd so you can load it when you get it. All other brass I size, trim, debur, uniform, etc.
 
MJFlores
With the new Norma brass, did you check the measurement from datum to base? If so what was it. Also what was the OAL.
 
Depends on how and what you will be using it for

Win. -- cost of new brass is reasonable, good consistent quality,
holds up to many firings

Rem. -- cost if new brass is reasonable, lately not consitant in quality,
( brittle, hard was not annealed properly ), after annealing it is
equal to Win. ( if you do not anneal your cases don't bother with it )

Fed. -- soft, primer pockets will not hold primers after 2 or 3 firings
I use them for hunting where I leave them when ejected

Lapua -- Hi cost new, best brass I have used, very consistent quality,
case life is 2 to 3 times more than Win., Rem. Fed., I use it for
competition

There are other quality brands that are better than Win., Rem., Fed. but
I have found them almost as good as Lapua

So it depends on your budget and how you will be using the brass
 
Sorta on subject; I only have Hornady, R-P, and HXP brass in 30-06. 90% of my reloads go in HXP, but I can't tell the difference in any cases and I've weighed a few just to find out capacity (?). I haven't mixed any brass yet, and each group of same headstamp brass stays together. I did find though, that Hornady brass stands up a bit better in my Garand than HXP...
 
I have loaded roughly 60 Remington cases 10 times for hunting (shot and sighted to too yards) Annealled after 4th reload (and shooting...lol). No issues. I use a couple of loads and like Reloader with my 180 gr. Loads. My gear and notes are on a barge or I would give you the specifics.. I use to sort them by weight and volumes but didn't see any difference.

I use Norms for my long range shooting (1000 yards). Cases are much more consistent in volume. Makes a difference (at least in my brain) to be as precise as possible at that range...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top