Hornady vs Winchester Brass

[Butler Ford]

I have a curiosity question; is Hornady brass enough better than Winchester to justify the more than double cost? Specifically 30-30 with a plan to shoot it a lot. I am feeding 8 30-30s and have enough mixed brass to keep them happy for a long time, I've just never kept records well enough to judge one brand against others.
I ask because I have a new-to-me 1949 Winchester 94 in 30 WCF and would like to dedicate a couple of hundred pieces of new brass to it.

Thanks for your knowledge
BF

[Randy Bohannon]

Winchester,Iv'e had more trouble with Hornady than any other new brass, mostly short.

[buckshotshoey]

Same here. The Hornady brass i dealt with was shorter then the "trim to" length.......WAY shorter.
I used Winchester pretty much exclusively in AR15. No trouble.

[OnHoPr]

When I was checking out brass differences with loads for the CBA I tried Rem, Fed, Win, and Horn. The Fed won in MY rifle for tightening up groups. I only had about 40 or so pieces of Horn brass, so it doesn't get used often. But, it seems like a heavier sturdier brass. I can't remember the weight differences. They might show a little more blow by at the neck with reduced plinker loads.

[Blackwater]

The biggest thing in extending case life, in my experience at least, is noticing when you trim if the brass comes off in curls or whether it tends to chip off in small chips. If it's chipping, it's time for an anneal. Do that regularly and it's amazing how long brass can last. I have some old '06 brass that has been fired probably 50 times, and I wouldn't be in the least afraid to shoot it again now. Brass can't last indefinitely, but proper care and understanding of it, along with a good anneal when it starts to chip instead of curl when trimming, and most would be surprised at how long brass can last. Haven't tried this in autos or leverguns, though, so can give no testimonials there. Many autos and leverguns tend to have more generous chambers, which allows brass to expand more on firing and it has to be sized down more because of the greater expansion in the chamber, so if it's worked harder, it naturally hardens faster, and then tends to crack. Keep them annealed, and they can last a lot longer than most think, but it's all in noticing when they need it, and then doing the annealing. And all brands respond well to this, too.

[44man]

Hornady has been good brass but some loads use short, new bullets used.

[Hick]

For my 30-30 and 32 WS I have some Hornady, Some Remington, and some Winchester. All three have as much as 15 reloads without annealing. If any one is better than the other I haven't found it yet.

[dragon813gt]

For double the cost, no. I use Hornady brass last if I have other choices. I do use it, unlike S&B which goes directly into the recycling bucket.

[OverMax]

I've never reloaded Hornady brass. But I have reloaded someone else's first fires Frontier Brass. Found Frontier to be a very useful brass. I prefer Federal and Winchester brands. But will purposely leave Remington's laying on the ground to corrode & rot.

[osteodoc08]

I really like NOSLER brass. Between the 2 you mentioned, for
the thurty thurty, the Winchester brass is just fine.

[TXGunNut]

Haven't tried it in thutty-thutty but I think it is excellent in 32 Spl and a few other cartridges. I think it was better a few years back; very consistent weights and near-perfect lengths. No flash hole burr to remove (I know, but they bother me so they gotta go!) and most can be fired 3-5 times before trimming. They also ship in boxes so very few have damage.

[ole 5 hole group]

Can't speak to the 30-30 but for the 308 cartridge, the Hornady match brass is excellent. Unless you have a specific purpose, such as benchrest etc - I doubt if one "needs" the likes of Hornady Match or Lapua but but but - I don't need to spend that kind of money on cartridge cases, but I sometimes do - just cus.

If you find once fired Hornady match brass at the range - you'll immediately notice the primer is crimped - Hornady started crimping their primer pockets on their premium commercial ammunition years back.

[snowwolfe]

I will buy and use Hornady brass but only if I cant find what I need from Winchester. Give Hornady credit though, they do make some odd ball stuff. For example, .405 Winchester and 338RCM, both of which I own and love.
Never had any issues with Hornady brass other than the price.

[robg]

In my308 I can't shoot well enough to see any difference between lapur and winchester on paper .use all sorts of brass have more ppu and sako than any other but would quite happily use winchester brass won't buy any more lapur its too expensive.

[Hardcast416taylor]

When making brass for my .416 Taylor out of .458 mag. brass it seemed as all brands ended up short. I moved to using Hornady 45 Mag basic brass. I need to trim back almost 3/8" to get correct O.A.L., but it is correct O.A.L. now. The brass seems to last well thus far using cast loads fairly warm.Robert

[rugerdude]

Hornady makes good brass, but not so much to justify paying double the price of Winchester.

I load mainly for handguns and like others have found Hornady to be short on occasion. That said, Starline is my go-to for handgun brass. It will be interesting to see how Starline's rifle brass measures up to the others once it gets out in force.

[Lead pot]

Butler Ford

I usually check the brass barrels at the range. Seems like nobody reloads anymore. I only pick up the .30-30 cases because I use it in the 336 and 93 Marlins. I favor the Remington cases over all the rest because it is more like a softer red brass then the harder yellow brass.
The Hornady cases are very consistent when it comes to inside volume and it is thicker walled then the Winchester cases. I don't think I would pay the extra cost to get the Hornady brass but I think the way things are going the choice of getting new empty brass with the way production is falling off making brass for the reloader is going to reduce the availability of it. The only way I can find Rem. .30-30 cases is in the brass barrel at the range.
I would go with the Win. .30-30 brass and take a knife file and put a small notch on the rim and use it for a specific rifle so you don't get it mixed with the other cases you use in different rifles.

[Butler Ford]

Butler Ford

I usually check the brass barrels at the range. Seems like nobody reloads anymore. I only pick up the .30-30 cases because I use it in the 336 and 93 Marlins. I favor the Remington cases over all the rest because it is more like a softer red brass then the harder yellow brass.
The Hornady cases are very consistent when it comes to inside volume and it is thicker walled then the Winchester cases. I don't think I would pay the extra cost to get the Hornady brass but I think the way things are going the choice of getting new empty brass with the way production is falling off making brass for the reloader is going to reduce the availability of it. The only way I can find Rem. .30-30 cases is in the brass barrel at the range.
I would go with the Win. .30-30 brass and take a knife file and put a small notch on the rim and use it for a specific rifle so you don't get it mixed with the other cases you use in different rifles.

First, I thank everyone for taking time to reply, your observations will be taken into account.

Due to the politics that has become overly prevalent at my local range, I am no longer a member. Far more arguing than shooting and enjoying each others company. Couple that with the fact that I have 1200 yards out my back door to do with as I please, I just didn't want to listen to it anymore. The circumstances have pretty much eliminated my range pickup opportunities.
From my online searches lately the only way to get Federal is pulled and primed. I haven't found anyone with Remington in stock and so far all have been listed as "No Backorder".
I was doing a powder inventory last week and found two new boxes of Hornady 30-30 and received today two bags of Winchester. I will follow my own frequent advice and test for myself. When I have satisfied myself that one is or is not better than the other or worthy of the price difference, I will post my findings here.
Lead Pot, thanks for your insight.

BF

[Lead pot]

Winchester. I will follow my own frequent advice and test for myself. When I have satisfied myself that one is or is not better than the other or worthy of the price difference,
BF

That is the way to do it.

I shoot nothing but black in the 1893 Marlin and use the Winchester cases for that and the rest of the cases I use in the other. The chambers are not the same......Kurt

[krallstar]

R P, cause i got a bunch for free.