Anyone use Bertrum brass? I need to know about the quality as I need brass and this stuff is on sale.

Hip

I have used his .310 Cadet brass for years. Good quality and it fits.

If Bertrum is Bertram of Australia then his brass sucks and so does his customer support.
One in 10 splits at first firing and annealing only helps so much, at least for 8x58RD. After 10 firings less than half survived.
And he wont exchange the defective ones for new.

It doesn't have a good press in the UK either.

Which is a shame as his machinery is former Greenwood and Batley (the "GB" on British military Mk VII .303 ammunition).

OTOH in many circumstances it's all that's avaiable. However if other maker's brass is available, even if more expensive, I'd buy that.

HIPSHOOT what calibres are you wanting?

Bertram has a reputation for inconsistency in some calibers. Sometimes it is the only choice, however.

I have 40 rounds of .405 WCF Bertram brass and haven't had any trouble with it; got it way back when it was the only game in town. But it has not been fired more than twice each.

Thanks guys! Glad I didn't buy any. But I found some Nosler .340 WM brass for less than a $1.00 apiece that I can make into .375 AI. I couldn't find any reasonably priced Hornady or Prvi brass to use.

Hip

No problem with Bertram 500 3 1/4" when I had it or my 500/450 3 1/4", after getting thinner necked modern stuff as his older brass was too thick (reaming was a chore).

Bertram 375Fl is a horse of a different colour in my double and splits after first firing and reloading. Guess I could anneal it but Norma works well and hasn't split, yet.

I used it on my 8mm x .425 WR X 2.5". It and HDS were just too soft for modern day pressures. roger

new stuff is supposed to be better -- didn't care for anything i've had in the past -- just bad brass

quote:

Originally posted by The Dane:
If Bertrum is Bertram of Australia then his brass sucks and so does his customer support.
One in 10 splits at first firing and annealing only helps so much, at least for 8x58RD. After 10 firings less than half survived.
And he wont exchange the defective ones for new.

I have heard the same story, never tried them. I use the 8x56 M HUN, as it is all I can get in Canada. The rim and casing has too small of diameter but it works, but not great.
I'm interested if you have tried brass from Horneber, As the only other alternative for 8x58RD?? what is the quality?? May I ask what model rifle is your 8x58?
Thank's Gunnar

quote:

Originally posted by Rockdoc:
No problem with Bertram 500 3 1/4" when I had it or my 500/450 3 1/4", after getting thinner necked modern stuff as his older brass was too thick (reaming was a chore).

Bertram 375Fl is a horse of a different colour in my double and splits after first firing and reloading. Guess I could anneal it but Norma works well and hasn't split, yet.

I read an article in one of our hunting magazines, where a Kiwi writer had visited the Bertram factory and observed first hand the equipment and operation used in forming the various brass cases that Bertram produces. All cases are annealed in an automatic rotary annealing machine at various stages of production so this step is definitely included and should not be needed to be done first up by the reloader.

I suspect that the raw brass material Bertram uses is not up to the quality it should be to produce long lasting brass cases. From reading about production of cases by Norma and RWS the quality of raw material AND THE QUALITY CONTROL AND TESTING OF THIS BY THE END USER is paramount to producing good cases. No amount of annealing will make up for poor quality raw material.

Sadly. I have only used one lot of Bertram brass, and frankly it was bloody awful!

All cases different thickness around its circumference.

I never used them again but that has been a very long time ago.

I met him in Australia, that is too bad. I didn't know his quality had dropped.

He came to one of our local big bore shoots in Canberra.

Bought one very pricey box of .43 Mauser before I knew better. I will never buy Bertrum again. Even with the low pressures in 71/84 they didn't last.

I have never had any good experience with Bertram either. Flashholes were offcenter, neck splits and wrong dimensions.
I will not buy from a company that don´t have a homepage and an email adress+ phonenumber.

Bertrum is horrible brass, except for the older calibers like the 38-40, 45-110, and calibers that he makes that nobody else does...the problem is his machinery is real old and pretty worn out..But in many cases he is the only whore in town, so to speak, so there ya go..

My experience with Bertram brass has been horrible. Sometimes it is all that is available which is a pity. The biggest issue I have experienced is with the primer pockets. They are generally very inconsistent and often undersized. You will smash and flatten primers just trying to get them to seat. Using a primer pocket tool helps but it takes time to basically ream out the pocket to the right size. Irritating to pay premium money for a clearly inferior product.

I wonder how they manage to stay in business when there so many negative reports about their products?

My experience with Bertram is pretty much as noted above; I've had a couple of good experiences and many poor ones. A few years ago I got some of their .38-72 WCF brass mostly because I like having correct headstamps, and it has been mostly fine. Primer pockets, rim and base dimensions, hardness and annealing all seem quite good. On the other hand, nearly every other batch of Bertram brass has had major dimensional issues and sometimes exceptionally bad quality control. These were .375 2-1/2", .360 2-1/4", 8x58RD and probably a couple of others I've blocked from my memory. I did manage to get the .375 stuff functional by reworking both the rim diameter and thickness as well as reforming the primer pockets, and after those modifications it did OK.

Now that Starline and Captech(Jamison) are in business I'm much happier. I've also been happy with Buffalo Arms formed brass for various things, and have done a fair amount of bizarre case forming myself (anyone for 11,43x49R Romanian Peabody?), but I do like correct headstamps when I can get 'em.