Reloading Federal Brass?

[Tomekeuro85]

I just got my .308 and I have about 120 factory rounds that I will eventually shoot. They are all Federal Gold Medal Match. Would these be satisfactory to reload or should I buy different brass?

 

[dmftoy1]

They are not satisfactory . . .immediately send them to me and I'll safely dispose of them for you.

That brass will be perfect for reloading (IMHO)

Have a good one,
Dave

 

[Tomekeuro85]

Thats good to hear. I haven't started reloading yet, but I will start in December sometime. It is good that I wont have to spend $30-40 on brass when I start. How many reloads can I expect before I have to dispose of the brass?

 

[Oldnamvet]

How many reloads? That depends on a few factors. How hot are you going to load them? Are you going to full length resize or neck resize? How close are the tolerances of the chamber of your rifle? A slightly oversize chamber requires the brass to stretch a little more. How is the headspace on your rifle? This also will stretch the brass. I have seen some people get one reload out of their brass - others get 5+ all depending on the load and the rifle.

 

[brickeyee]

By December 'Brass Rot' will probably have set in. Best to donate them to someone who can use them sooner.

Federal is good brass. Enjoy.

 

[Tomekeuro85]

What's brass rot? Does that mean I wont be able to use them? If so, I'll gladly ship them to someone once they are all shot which will be by this Sunday, for something in return, of course lol.

 

[The Bushmaster]

You people are unscrupulesly greedy...Now on the other hand I, not wanting to brag, am of good heart and worthy of those 120 cases before the develope "brass rot" .........

 

[Rockstar]

I don't load .308, but do load .223 and .243. I discard any Federal brass that gets mixed in with my supply. My experience is that the primer pockets get big quickly with Federal brass.

 

[P0832177]

The deal with Federal Brass is that the case life sucks, as compared to other brass. The primer pocket become enlarged as previously posted! If you want to shoot Factory ammo to generate brass to reload get BHA Match ammo. BHA is cheaper and you get Win mfg. brass that has a longer case life. If you really want to get good case life, get Lapua brass. I have 308 Lapua brass that is on 8th reload and it looks factory new, yet!

 

[Steve Smith]

POMANYNUMBERS is correct, there really is an issue with Federal brass but it's not a huge issue. In the larger cases, the primer pockets will loosen first so you just toss them. In the smaller cases such as .223 the cases will split upon firing. This usually happens after several reloads so your first few times are safe. Winchester, Lake City, Remington, Lapua all have very good case life.

 

[brickeyee]

Actually, exposing brass to ammonia can cause weakening and has been refered to as 'brass rot'. It caused some problems in Vietnam, and still occasionally shows up. Loaded ammo can show neck splits if exposed to ammonia for a prolonged period or at high concentrations.
The alloy is etched and damaged. It is not typically a problem except in very restricted circumstances (like the jungle).

 

[Tomekeuro85]

So just to get this straight, is brass rot real or made up? Either way, if someone would find it in the kindness of their heart to let me borrow a good recent edition reloading manual for a few months, I'd give them the brass for free.

 

[Grump]

We're pulling your chain on "brass rot". The stuff is a durable commodity. Just clean the dust off the 60-year old stuff before you lube & size it...

Your Federal will be just fine and will store just fine and will shoot just fine even with a BLACK patina of age. Green corrosion is bad because metal gets removed, but that's typically only with real heavy gunk. Just think about how much metal is gone--pits & grooves of greengunk = no-shoot, a little surface stuff that rubs off=no problem.

 

[brickeyee]

Not completely, but you do not have to be concerned with it. Just load the stuff up and have fun.
If you use moderate loads it will last for at least 5-8 cycles, and maybe longer if you use it in a single gun and earn to neck size.

 

[P0832177]

You need to have your own copies of reloading manuals. The ABC's of Reloading is a must have. Sierra, Lyman, and perhaps Hornady are great hard cover manuals to have on your bench. Then download powder mfg. offerings from the web and print them or burn them to CD.

 

[TooTaxed]

I think the term "brass rot" refers to corrosive-primed brass that was not washed within a few days after firing to remove the corrosive salts...the inside of the case corrodes. Most foriegn milsurp in various calibers was corrosive-primed, but you are safe with American-made ammo.

Be sure to get a cartridge length gauge and shell trimmer, and check length before reloading. I've found that ALL once-fired .308 and .30-06 brass, both milsurp and commercial, are over-length and need to be trimmed.

 

[GAMALOT]

TOM, I have been a faithful 308 man all my life and never seem to be able to toss the empty brass out. I am sure I have a few boxes of empties laying around you are welcome to for the cost of postage if you want them.
Just drop me a PM. Probably have a few boxes of 30-06 and 243 also and I don't reload.
Gary

 

[dleong]

Federal Brass

I do not know about Federal 308 brass, but I've seen enough of their 223 brass with blown/missing primers to know to avoid them like the plague.


DL