Is there a difference between Starline and other brands brass?

[Tackleberry41]

Was looking for some 45 colt brass, looked thru mine and have used a bit for more specialized rifle loads. And need some for my new black hawk. Quick look at Midway and Starline is $25/100, not that they have any. Where Rem, Win, well everybody else is not quite double the price at $40/100 and up. Is there some significant difference I dont know about?

[shoot-n-lead]

YEAH, Starline is better.

It is the only new brass that I will buy. Only problem, not really a problem, that I have had is primer pockets may be a little tight sometimes...but they loosen up a little, quickly.

[wrench man]

I'm not convinced Star Line is any better?, it's the only brass I've EVER had gall up on the powder funnel in my press?, and at the same time it just feels hard as it goes into the size die?

[hylander]

So far the only issue is mine in .45 Colt needed sized first or I could just push a bullet into the case with my finger

[wdr2]

wrench man: Eugene, my home town!

If your issue is primarily with new brass, here's my solution. New Starline brass is very clean and generally without any residual lubricant. I always put new Starline brass in my case cleaning vibrator for about 30 minutes which leaves a small amount of lubricant (likely burned powder residue, etc.) on each case. This process generally will prevent new brass from galling or sticking on the powder funnel of my Dillon 550. This is discussed on Starline's website if you look at this video: "Easy Loading for New Brass | "Quick Tips" Episode #3"

[ReloaderFred]

Starline is no better, and no worse than any other major manufacturer's brass. Since it's their only business, they can market it better for it's intended audience, us reloaders. They do make some calibers that others don't, so they're good in that regard.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[JSH]

If I buy new starline is the only pistol brass I will buy. I suppose other brass may be as good? I used to think the same on rifle brass until I got my first taste of lapua.
I have my first lot of 500, 44 mag brass. Date is long ago worn off on data sheet in the boxes. It has been reloaded over 30 times from mild to wild. Primer pockets are about done is the only thing wrong with it. I did anneal it several times.
Jeff

[dragon813gt]

I would not buy it from Midway. Buy it directly from Starline. IMO, the brass is of a higher quality than the big names. It's the only new brass I will buy.

[bobthenailer]

If im buying new brass & Starline makes it and its avaliable ? that is what i buy ! the price direct is lower than just about any name brand brass & Top Quality.

So far i have purchased Starline Brass in the folowing calibers .
45/70 , 454 Casull , 45 LC , 45 acp , 44 mag , 357 mag , 38 special and 38 super ! about 7,000 pieces in all.

[Tackleberry41]

Just an odd thing that seems some claim starline is better, yet theirs is alot cheaper than other brands. Guess Win, Rem, etc just think their stuff is worth more for the name, like Lapua.

[dragon813gt]

Starline only makes brass. That's their sole business unlike the other manufacturers. Their overhead is lower and sell directly to the consumer which keeps prices down. I've found their brass is on average heavier than the bigger brands. This should equate to stronger brass.

[44man]

New brass should have lengths checked and should be deburred regardless. A burr can hang in the powder funnel.
It has proven to be great brass in all my guns.
Any new brass should be handled like fired brass, size, expand, trim if needed and deburr.

[ejcrist]

Starline is the only brass I use in my handguns and the only brand I've bought in a long while. I've found it to be extremely high quality. Winchester is up there too but Remington has been inconsistent in my experience.

[Tackleberry41]

Not sure I follow the logic of only making brass makes it cheaper, Win and Rem still have to make brass to sell as loaded ammo. Some they just bag up and sell as is, just think theirs is more valuable.

[Tackleberry41]

I did look Starline site is out of 45 colt to, and dont sell 100 at a time 500 is min order. I dont really need that much in a single action.

[C. Latch]

I believe that Starline has the most consistently round, clean flash holes of any handgun brass I have seen.

YMMV.

[44man]

Starline is the benchmark for brass. Federal was great and Rem next but most problems were with WW with head thickness variations. I still have Midway stamped brass and they are still going strong.

[Ola]

Lapua (rifle) brass is quite expensive for a reason. Lapua is concentrating on quality, not quantity like Rem, Win and so on. My logic says: because Starline is ONLY making brass so their products better be hi-end or soon they are out of business.

It's too bad Lapua and Norma are not making handgun brass anymore. They both were excellent.

[Silver Jack Hammer]

Starline is a thicker brass so it lasts longer, holds up better.

wdr2, thanks for smacking me upside the head with a why didn't I think of that with that simple solution of tumbling new brass! I'll be doing that from now on. I was born in Portland and sometimes shoot in Roseburg.

[Love Life]

I like starline brass, but it needs a good trimming as it comes from the factory.

[white eagle]

the only cases I have had crack are starline
for my shooting I don't separate brass never really noticed any difference
but I am not as good as a handgun shooter as some

[W.R.Buchanan]

I like it and from what I have observed with .44 Special and Mag cases the material is heavier than the Winchester 44 brass I have had for many years.

I also have .45-70 Starline brass, and it is lasting well.

Randy

[Tackleberry41]

I have lots of starline brass, really only way to get 7.62x25 or some of the odd ball stuff.

I was just curious as to the large price difference. All the reloading places and starline are out of 45 colt, but amazon had some.

[JSH]

Not sure I follow the logic of only making brass makes it cheaper, Win and Rem still have to make brass to sell as loaded ammo. Some they just bag up and sell as is, just think theirs is more valuable.
To my understanding, Federal, RP, WW, etc, any of their components sold to the handloader are extras/overruns. If you only make brass and that is it, your overhead should be less, thus able to offer maybe a better product at a reduced cost. To my understanding years back, CCI was the only maker of primers intended for the handloader.
Do a bit of research of where some of these companies came crime and how they got their start, pretty interesting.
I have a brown paper grocery bag that was given to a friends dad by Bruce Hodgdon. Has caliber and loads written on the bag. Also have some samples of powder that were packaged in quart paint cans with a label taped on and shipped in a hat box. Have samples of Speer bullets made by Vernon with new 22rf brass mailed in a garden seed envelope.
Both of those companies started with the intent of supplying handloaders supplies, not ammo.

[JSH]

I won't argue over who's is best. I have some pistols that prefer certain types of brass over others. Have one Ruger that likes starline another in same caliber prefers WW.
As to case splits, I saw far less splitting with my old steel dies and lube than I do with carbide. Have no idea why, other that they may work the brass more?

[bedbugbilly]

Tackleberry41 - if Starline is out of it and you can't find any 45 Colt - can you use 45 Schofield? If so, Track of the Wolf shows that the 45 Schofield is in stock but they show 45 Colt as "out".

I've used StarLine in a number of calibers and have always been very pleased with it.

[Tackleberry41]

I could use Schofield, but it is for use in a blackhawk, doubt it would work as well for those Ruger only loads. But does seem you can trim schofield and use it in the 45 ACP cyl. My budget is blown for the month so just have to wait.

I just thought I had more brass. Went thru my shelf thinking I was going to find another bag or box somewhere but never did. At one point not so long ago I couldn't find it anywhere and resorted to buying loaded ammo, but ended up with 50 of this and 50 of that. Just couldn't afford to pluck down $100 on 2 boxes of ammo at the time, if I could even find it at the time. LGS near me got a box I would grab it. Pretty sure I have a couple boxes of factory ammo put away, but means burning it up for the brass. And its probably not all the same brand.

Its an odd thing that once fired 45 colt is not much less than new brass, new starline is cheaper. But may not get much to sell. A friend worked at a range and I got alot of brass from him, but never more than a couple were 45 colt. Most dont leave that laying.

[big bore 99]

I like their 45-70 brass. Quite a few loads on some here. I neck size only and anneal every 5th loading.

[Cd662]

I use their 38 Special and 38 Long Colt brass. The primer pockets have been very uniform for me. The rims seem thicker than some other brands.

[Cornbread]

I use Starline for 454 Casull and 45 Colt. The only other brass I have tried in those calibers is Winchester. Winchester got brittle really fast and I got cracked cases with it so for that reason I prefer Starline. Rifle brass I really like Hornady match brass for .308 and .358 Winchester. 45-70 seems to work well with whatever brass I feed it from Hornady to Federal to whatever. I don't like Federal brass in .308, the primer pockets got loose way too fast for me and I had to chuck them.

[Tackleberry41]

I have never been fond of Federal brass. In mixed brass I can generally feel when a fed goes thru the press vs a Win or other brand. They just feel lighter.

[Potsy]

I bought 200 Starline .45 Colt cases going on 15 years ago and am just now noticing a couple of split necks. Primer pockets have stayed tight. Granted, some of it has been shot more than others, most has probably not been loaded over 10 times (I've got some cheap Mag-Tech brass for lighter loads as well).

A few years ago, my Wife's Uncle bought a batch of new Winchester .44 Mag brass. Uneven case mouths, huge burrs on the inside of the flashole, nothing incurable, but nothing you'll see with Starline.

The only other brand of .45 Colt that I ever heard anyone really brag on was Federal. Back when Ross Seyfreid (sp?) was writing about taking the .45 Colt to 50Kpsi he used only Federal brass. But I'm not sure Starline even existed back then.

I just started playing with their .45-70 brass awhile back, but have neither never read anything bad about it.

Now if they just made .25-06, 7x57, .30-40, 270 WSM, .308, .223....................

[Moonie]

Anytime I buy new brass it is Starline, I guess I picked up that habit when I had a DW 7445, it came with several hundred Starline cases marked "GATES". Only Starline makes 445 SM cases.

When I got a NMBH, 200 new 45 Colt Starline cases followed, same with the new to me Security Six, 200 new 357 Starline cases quickly followed.

[troyboy]

Seems like a guy has to buy what he can get these days

[BrianL]

I have had good luck and long case life with Starline.

[DR Owl Creek]

If you're trying to work up the most consistent and accurate loads, having brass that's consistent is an important factor. Widely varying case weights can result in different case capacities, and case neck thicknesses, among other things.

If I buy new brass for straight-walled cartridges, Starline is always my first choice. From checking brass over the years, Starline has always been the most consistent brass from lot to lot, and also within the same lot. For example, I weighed and sorted 100 piece random samples from various manufacturers. Here are the results from my load data:

40 S&W:
Starline: 64.8 gr. Avg, 1.1gr. ES
Federal: 68.3gr. Avg, 2.9gr. ES
G.F.L. (Fiocchi): 66.7gr. Avg, 2.3gr. ES
Winchester: 70.7gr. Avg, 5.9gr. ES
Speer: 66.2gr. Avg, 5.7gr. ES
HSM: 67.4gr. Avg, 5.3gr. ES

45 ACP:
Starline: 78.2gr. Avg, 1.8gr. ES
Blazer: 84.5gr. Avg, 2.7gr. ES
Federal: 83.7gr. Avg, 4.8gr. ES
Fiocchi: 80.7gr. Avg, 5.3gr. ES
G.F.L.: 84.8gr. Avg, 4.6gr. ES
CBC: 86.4gr. Avg, 6.7gr. ES

357 Magnum:
Starline: 72.9gr. Avg, 1.2gr. ES
Remington: 81.1gr. Avg, 3.0gr. ES

44 Magnum:
Starline: 111.0gr. Avg, 1.3gr. ES
Winchester: 110.5gr. Avg, 6.3gr. ES

45 Colt:
Starline: 108.3gr. Avg, 2.1gr. ES
Winchester: 114.4gr. Avg, 2.8gr. ES

454 Casull:
Starline: 122.2gr. Avg, 1.5gr. ES
Hornady: 120.4gr. Avg, 3.6gr. ES

45-70:
Starline: 193.8gr. Avg, 2.0gr. ES
Federal: 195.9gr. Avg, 4.7gr. ES
Remington: 190.8gr. Avg, 4.3gr. ES
Winchester: 166.4gr. Avg, 2.7gr. ES


Dave

[Tackleberry41]

Yea I try to at least come up with 50 cases of one brand to make a box. I used to get alot of once fried from a range a friend worked at. I would sort them, get to 50 I would make up a box to put away. You end up with a big bag of 'junk' where theres not enough to make a box of 50 of one brand. Plinking probably fine, but I get more brass I can sort em again and hey another box of one brand.

Thats the problem now I have some 45 colt but usually not quite 50 of any one brand. So 100 new ones will suffice for a while in my new black hawk, I got some 357 for my new SP101, load em as hot 38s.

[rototerrier]

Oops, wrong thread. Retracted.

[Patrick56]

I like starline brass, but it needs a good trimming as it comes from the factory.
Mine 44-40 Starline was perfect from the very beginning!:razz: