Edarnold
Member
Been seeing a lot of posts here about incidents of new cases failing, especially in 10mm Auto and .223. I suspect that the run over the last couple of years on ammo and components has lead manufacturers to speed up production to the point that quality suffers. A further factor, that I suspected but now have confirmed, is that the headstamp on the case doesn't mean that's the company that made the case. The April American Rifleman article on Norma mentions that they subcontract for other ammunition makers, producing brass for American companies.
The only thing needed to make a case 'Winchester' or 'Remington' or 'Starline' is an appropriate die at the last forming operation. So your favorite brand of brass could be coming out of Sweden or Mexico or Italy or Serbia or Russia, and you have no way of knowing where it originated. The American company that sells the product under their name still has responsibility for the performance of the product, so if you have a genuine problem, hold their feet to the fire! That's about the only way to weed out the sub-contractors making a poor product.
The only thing needed to make a case 'Winchester' or 'Remington' or 'Starline' is an appropriate die at the last forming operation. So your favorite brand of brass could be coming out of Sweden or Mexico or Italy or Serbia or Russia, and you have no way of knowing where it originated. The American company that sells the product under their name still has responsibility for the performance of the product, so if you have a genuine problem, hold their feet to the fire! That's about the only way to weed out the sub-contractors making a poor product.