Help ID a headstamp please.

[Buckshot]

.................Gopher Slayer just gave me a mixed bunch of 308 Match brass. I have sorted and tumbled it and have a good supply of LC70 and LC72 once fired match brass. However the largest batch has the following headstamp, on top: BHA Match. At 6 o'clock 308 Win.

Could it be Black Hills Ammo? It's had the heat annealing polished off unlike the military brass. Must have been fired in a well done chamber as it has a spent primer, but there isn't any other indication of it's having been fired.

................Buckshot

[Reloader06]

Yup Black Hills Ammo

[tanstafl10]

Have a few of the BHA in 223. interesting

[mtnman31]

I have a ton of BHA in .223 also. Got it about five years ago for competition shooting. More recently, the Black Hills ammo I received in .223 had LC head stamps, if I recall correctly. I could be wrong, as I don't have anymore in original packaging to verify. The BHA marked stuff seems pretty consistent in weight and the primer pockets were not crimped. I don't know how robust it is as I have only reloaded some of it once.

[Mike Venturino]

The stuff with BHA headstamp is factory new ammo. The stuff with various other headstamps like LC are "remanufactured" ammo. The former comes in red boxes and the latter in blue boxes.

MLV

[Buckshot]

.............Thank you all. The Black Hills brass looks like good stuff. I haven't deprimed it and done any measuring and weighing yet, but hoping "Pretty is as Pretty does".

Speaking of headstamps, my daughter is a forensics investigator for local PD. Some years back when she hadn't been there too long I got a call at work. I worked nights then so it was dark when she called :-) there had been a drug related shooting as the shootee was a known dealer.

The resaon for the call was that they had found a spent cartridge at the foot of the driveway and she wanted to know if I could identify it. I said I might, what's the headstamp. She said the case was big, and on the back it was stamped S-P-E-E-R. I said that that was Speer who was a major ammunition and components manufacturer. She said under that it was stamped with a 50 and then AE.

I said, holly smoke that's a 50 Action Express! Come to find out later when the pistol was recovered it had been one of the firearms stolen in a gunstore breakin that had taken place about a year before. She told me that the slug had hit the former dealer in the chest close to the sternum and exited at the edge of his spine. It then went through the plywood of the garage door, the 7/8" thick stucco of the rear wall, the 7/8" thick stucco of the house and had broken the interior drywall and had been stuck in the backside, not penetrating it. She said it was bigger around then a quarter. I suspect so!

................Buckshot

[shotman]

that sounds like sniper training ammo most likly shot in a rem 700. rick

[MtGun44]

I'm assuming that the 'shootee' with the 50 AE did not survive the
situation. Kinda a huge hogleg to be hauling around by bad guys.

Bill

[Buckshot]

I'm assuming that the 'shootee' with the 50 AE did not survive the
situation. Kinda a huge hogleg to be hauling around by bad guys.

Bill

............Nah, the shootee was in an advanced state of "Being Expired" when the PD answered the call and forensics rolled. I don't recall if the shooter was ever apprehended but the pistol was at a later date.

...............Buckshot

[Jon K]

Rick,

I have a bunch of BHA 223 brass, that I made into 7 TCU, I weighed all before using , and it is real consistant in weight, and I don't think they are all the same batch #, Anyways, it's been real good brass, haven't lost any to failure.

Jon

[JIMinPHX]

Watch the LC .308's. they have a tendency to have thick walls & reduced interior capacity. Sometimes you have to knock your powder charges down a bit when you use them.

For years, people have been telling me this same story about LC .223 brass, but I have never measured their .223s to be under capacity. The .308's are a different story. They can be a bit small inside.

[S.R.Custom]

... Kinda a huge hogleg to be hauling around by bad guys.

Hey, it was free! And if you're a bad guy, it's all about the intimidation. :mrgreen:



Watch the LC .308's. they have a tendency to have thick walls & reduced interior capacity. Sometimes you have to knock your powder charges down a bit when you use them.

The necks are thicker, too. Perfect stuff to neck up to .358 Winchester. I've got a bunch of LC Match brass I use just for that, and the decreased capacity --and it's a significant decrease-- is nice for loading reduced charge 'utility' cast bullet loads...

And yeah, I've seen no difference in the 5.56 brass either. But I have noticed that the primer pockets can run small... :-?