Quality of Federal GMM brass vs. regular Federal ammo

[cacoltguy]

Like most people here, I have routinely heard that Federal brass has a poor reloading life. Most of the negative responses seem to revolve around primer pockets that get loose quickly. Some people claim to have issues after one or two reloads. I have been reloading some Federal Gold Medal Match brass (.308) that was once fired by myself prior to reloading. I am currently on my 5th reload for some of these rounds and haven't noticed any huge defects. The primers may seat a little bit easier (maybe my imagination, its really hard to tell) but after firing they are still seated and not extruding from the case. Brass was full length resized the first 3 times and neck sized the last two. No problems with split necks either.

So, is the Gold Medal Match stuff made better than their American Eagle and other rounds, or am I just lucky so far?

 

[JDGray]

I have so many loads on my brass, I lost count! I do pitch the occasional loose pocket when I come across one, but overall quality of GMM brass, seems exellent to me. I'm with you on wondering if its better than standard Fed brass, but as long as it works for us, who really cares!

 

[velocette]

Something that many people don't understand is that Fed brass usually runs heavier than GI brass. That means that it has thicker walls like GI brass.
But they do not reduce their load with Fed brass as they do with GI brass.
The result can be some high pressures that can and do cause primer pockets to loosen.
Don't take my word for it check the brass yourself.

Roger