What are you currently reloading?

[Benfromalbuquerque]

I got a pile of once-fired 30-30 mixed head stamps. It’s 160 or so total with 2/3 being Remington. For yucks, I weighed out the five flavors (avg/5) and rattled my core belief in R-P brass. It was the lightest! Federal was the heaviest. Now this collection is of unknown age (several Win Western cases found and those were excluded).

Federal: 144.3 grain
PPU: 143.96 grain
Hornady: 138.02 grain
Winchester: 137.32 grain
R-P: 134.5 grain

So where is it thin? It’s not been my experience to have split necks in R-P so maybe the 30-30 rim? Federal has given me the fewest reloads (primer pocket). Winchester has not let me down. I don’t have enough experience to have an opinion with the other two.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

I got a pile of once-fired 30-30 mixed head stamps. It’s 160 or so total with 2/3 being Remington. For yucks, I weighed out the five flavors (avg/5) and rattled my core belief in R-P brass. It was the lightest! Federal was the heaviest. Now this collection is of unknown age (several Win Western cases found and those were excluded).

Federal: 144.3 grain
PPU: 143.96 grain
Hornady: 138.02 grain
Winchester: 137.32 grain
R-P: 134.5 grain

So where is it thin? It’s not been my experience to have split necks in R-P so maybe the 30-30 rim? Federal has given me the fewest reloads (primer pocket). Winchester has not let me down. I don’t have enough experience to have an opinion with the other two.

Could just be how thick the brass is in the case head, flash hole area. Heavier doesn’t always mean stronger.

Picture for example:


Alpha and lapua primer pockets are tough, extra thickness of the others is a waste. Split necks and weak primer pockets are more about metallurgy than thickness.