(338 WM brass, but general query on WW-Hdy-RP-Norma-Nos).

[huntinlever]

Not sure where to put this (on a side note, I'd wondered what the board/mods think about a forum devoted to brass as a component - not in terms of case forming, but just general discussions?).

Not that there is any available, but discussions on "how bad modern Winchester brass has become" have got me thinking. I have maybe 80 new or once fired (now) 338 WM WW brass, loaded without issue. But lots of people online complaining about WW QC issues - uneven neck thicknesses, bad dimpling on shoulders, off-center flash holes, pre-mature neck splitting, etc.

I use Starline exclusively for my 45-70 and would use it on everything if they had it. Backordered on 30-30 for a long time now, and I know they like all manufacturers are having a tough time sourcing material. But they don't make 338.

Don't know why but I'm getting the sense that among all of them, I'll probably start seeing WW then Hdy brass showing up first. Never used HDY brass before. Don't want to drop the coin on Lapua or Nosler, especially for a mag case like the 338. Never used Federal and unsure of its quality.

Where are you guys on your brass companies?

[Ithaca Gunner]

Probably 25-30% of my brass is Star Line, (make that 50-60% if just handgun brass). The rest is mostly W-W, R-P, and FC in that order. All the W-W brass I have is older and I prefer it over R-P or FC. One reason, I was buying new R-P brass and the flash holes were sloppy, I had to spend time deburring them. Switched to W-W and had no problem with it. I ordered a box of 500 R-P .30 Carbine some years ago and what I got looked like unfinished gas line fittings, no rim, no extractor groove. Called Remington and talked to the production manager, he sent me a call tag, a good box of 500 .30 Carbine brass, a nice set of shooting glasses, and promised the scalp of who-ever was responsible for the error.

I would buy any brass from Star Line or Hornady also. I've used the old ''Frontier'' ammo and brass by Hornady and had no problems. Lapua and Nosler-wat too expensive for my pay grade, (retired).

At one time I spent the time to deburr, trim every time, clean primer pockets, and even turn necks, but I've become less picky and rather enjoy life a little more instead of worry about a few thou on a group size.

[huntinlever]

Probably 25-30% of my brass is Star Line, (make that 50-60% if just handgun brass). The rest is mostly W-W, R-P, and FC in that order. All the W-W brass I have is older and I prefer it over R-P or FC. One reason, I was buying new R-P brass and the flash holes were sloppy, I had to spend time deburring them. Switched to W-W and had no problem with it. I ordered a box of 500 R-P .30 Carbine some years ago and what I got looked like unfinished gas line fittings, no rim, no extractor groove. Called Remington and talked to the production manager, he sent me a call tag, a good box of 500 .30 Carbine brass, a nice set of shooting glasses, and promised the scalp of who-ever was responsible for the error.

I would buy any brass from Star Line or Hornady also. I've used the old ''Frontier'' ammo and brass by Hornady and had no problems. Lapua and Nosler-wat too expensive for my pay grade, (retired).

At one time I spent the time to deburr, trim every time, clean primer pockets, and even turn necks, but I've become less picky and rather enjoy life a little more instead of worry about a few thou on a group size.

OK great, thanks for the prospective. I'm only seeing WW now anyway, and that's on Gunbroker, with its sellers-market prices. Close to load development completion (between 73.1-73.5 H 4831 SC, getting good groups and decent data. 225 grain Hornady Interlock SP, 73.5 H 4831 SC = Avg. 2636, SD 12, ES 30). After that, until brass opens up, I won't be shooting it often. 45-70 getting a ton of offhand range time.

[Ithaca Gunner]

I remember all the gun smiths and shop owners from my youth and every one of them except one stopped shooting rifle and pistol comp in their 60's, but contiued shooting shotgun sports. One old fellow, Jed shot his old Winchester Model 12 Trap gun into his late 70's when he was diagnosed with cancer, but he still made it to age 98. Now I'm that old guy, I'm not going to give up my rifle and handgun shooting, I'm a little less picky about it now though, 1/2 or less MOA isn't needed anymore. I'll settle for 1.5 MOA out of a rifle now a days. Never was all that great with a shotgun...

[LeonardC]

Well, "It depends." Some times we have a bad experience with a brand and that colors our view of that brand forever; deserved or not. Mine was FC. I bought 1K of 1X .223 brass in FC and WIN. I did all the match prep to the FC brass and loaded up a lot of it; a standard mid-range load I've used in several rifles. The first range trip with my new CMP CLE rifle and the gun's firing parts locked up. Everything seemed OK, but the gun would not function. I called CLE, explained what was going on. The first question from them: "What kind of brass are you using?" FC They said: "Look for a blown primer in the trigger group." I think they may have seen that before! Yep, there it was. I put the LC brass in my practice pile, shot it once and threw it away. I loaded up the WIN brass (same load) and it was wonderful; became my "match brass" until it was gone. I have some small amounts of FC brass I've picked up but I don't load FC in anything.

The plot thickens. I've got a Ruger .480. Most of my brass is Starline. I really like this stuff. Like a lot of stuff, .480R brass is hard to find. I shared some of mine with a fellow shooter that had a new to him gun and no ammo or brass to shoot in it. That took my .480R brass inventory lower than I wanted so I was looking for some more brass. Midway had a "factory overrun" sale on some .480R brass and I ordered several boxes. (It was only in stock for a day or two.) When it came it was stamped FC 480Ruger. Oh no! FC brass. But it looks exactly like Starline brass except FC instead of Starline. I guess I'll be shooting FC brass after all.

EDIT: on subject, As to the .338 I use both Win. and RP brass. in mine. Different loads in different brands. I have a handful of other brands of .338 brass, but haven't loaded any of it yet.

Sometimes you have no choice. I load for a .375 Ruger. As far as I know Hornady is the only source of brass?? Hornady is my favorite brass for the .375 Ruger. And darn it's hard to find!