BOLO: Win 243win batch LF41 flash hole problem

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Varminterror

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Winchester Components WSC243WU 243winchester brass Lot number LF41 - high rate of flash hole issues, obviously from a bent flash hole punch during production.

First off - this is not a knock on Winchester product quality. I remain to believe Winchester brass is one of the best choices for hunting loads and I will buy more in the future. However, I AM disappointed in their customer service for returns (see bottom), and I also feel obligated to point out what I would say is a bad batch of brass, with a very apparent equipment breakdown causing a high rate of failures.

I purchased 2 bags, 100pc, and over half of them had flash hole issues.

Just a heads up to my fellow reloaders, I purchased 2 bags, 100pc of this lot number last week, got around to going through them this weekend and while inspecting the brass, it became apparent the flash hole punch became bent, as about 60 out 100 of these had visually distorted flash holes. The flash holes were out of round - oblong - with the flash hole obviously not punched true to the case axis.

I sorted them into groups of:

Perfect --> If I debur the flash holes, I can ignore a few dimples and small divots on the flash hole, so I was able to sort out about 50 I could keep (give or take 10 which will give me heartburn, but I'll survive). I wanted to get to 50 pieces so I could keep one bag and return the other, to which the Winchester Customer Service rep agreed. Only about 43 out of 100 were what I would consider truly "perfect," as in I wouldn't even need to debur and no visible divots or dimples.

Visually Irregular --> There were about 46 which I'm sure would be fine for hunting loads if I deburred the flash holes, but these are meant to be relatively high volume precision loads for one of my pistols, so I'm not going to waste my time with these. To make a batch of 50, I kept the best of the bad from this group, and got it down to 38 pieces. All of these are visibly out of round, with the flash hole obviously not true to the cartridge axis. They're going back to Winchester. I'd call these "cosmetically damaged," and if there were only one or two in the batch, I wouldn't have batted an eye at loading them (or culling them and using the other good 98%).

Unacceptably Damaged --> These included the normal culls you'd find in any batch: one badly gouged case and one case which had crumpled during the shoulder formation (2% failure = perfectly normal). But there were also 10 cases which had flash holes punched an an angle so out of true that I would not load them. I'm keeping a few of these just for reference in my "box of damaged cases," then sending the rest back to Winchester.

Mind you - I'm completely OK having 2% unusable cases and ~5% cosmetically damaged cases. And again - the flash holes in the "visibly irregular" group I sorted are all fine for hunting loads, and if there were only one or two, instead of 46 out of 100, I'd not have even noticed.

Based on these two bags, batch LF41 had about 50% cosmetic issues, and 12% unusable brass.

The other downside - Winchester Customer Service sent me a mailing label to ship them back, AND they did agree I could mix my two bags (which I already had done) and keep the good ones, and only send back my culls, so instead of having 0 bags and sending back 2, I could send back one and keep one. BUT... They also mentioned it'll take 2 months after they get my brass to process the return, then send me a check as reimbursement. As I often say - it's 2017. They could have simply shipped me a bag of brass today, or they could have issued a refund to a card or account by wire immediately, or they could process faster than 2months, plus shipping both ways...
 
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Even though the hole wasn't punched right, fire doesn't care what shape a hole is. It's still going to go through it.
Those two aren't "bent". They've been punched twice. Still doesn't matter. Fire doesn't care.
Gotta agree that 2 months to send production stuff is bad. Mind you, Winchester is having some kind of issue these days. Stuff they used to churn out by the bucket load isn't being made at all. Or production is severely reduced.
 
It's hard to tell in the picture, but they are absolutely punched off axis, at an angle. The holes are kind of a wedge/triangle shape. I've seen double punches, these ain't that. I put a pin through the holes, in some without a flange burr on the inside, the bit will "wobble" like a shift handle, on a single plane, with a relatively fixed pivot point. Double punches offer a more parallel bore for both holes. I can also compare these ~50 damaged brass and effectively see different stages as the punch bent further and further.

I'll agree and consented in my first post, for hunting rounds, they'll still go bang. Fire will get through, but at inconsistent rates and in inconsistent positions across my powder column. For precision loading, there's a reason to use brass with consistent flash holes. Even though I didn't pay much for these, they're just winchester brass after all, not norma/Nosler/Lapua, but at the same time, I didn't pay to get inconsistent brass with production flaws either. While the research out there doesn't always agree on how much difference it makes, every paper I have seen on the subject shows a difference. Personally, I prefer to avoid inconsistencies when possible, and it's hard to argue a double punch or a bent punch flash hole is consistent with a perfect punch, better or worse.
 
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