Just received 500 cases of primed Federal brass. Just read in a former discussion where Federal is held in low esteem by Forum members. Why?

How about sharing where you got the Federal brass? I have been trying to get some for my 7mm Rem Mag and everyone I've contacted says it isn't available. I (obviously) like it.

Some Federal .308 Win brass is a little soft in the head, reportedly. The practical upshot is that the guys that hotrod the .308 for target work stretch the heads too fast and it does not last under thost circumstances.

Bought the brass from Natchez. (30-06) Bought Federal because it was cheaper than all other brands and up to now I had not heard anything bad about it.

I bought a box of Fed. GM 06 for my .338-06 & found it a bit soft for my use. Fine brass from the point of concistancy but primer pockest went way too fast compared to WW or Norma. Could have been a mediocre lot as well.

A few years ago I obtained a few hundred once fired 308 cases, Federal Gold Medal stuff. (once fired with the factory loading, that is) After full length sizing to get them to chamber in one of my 308 target rifles, I started priming them, and found that many of the primer pockets were horribly loose. So loose that some of the primers fell out under their own weight!

No, they weren't under-sized primers - the diameter of them miked correctly, and they fitted just fine in all my other cases in various calibres that needed standard, large-rifle primers.

I don't know if this is a common problem with Federal brass or not. It was the first time I had tried it, and it has been the last - so far, anyway.

My (limited) experience with Federal brass matches redrover's. New Federal Gold Medal .223 Rem brass had terribly loose primer pockets from the outset. Very disappointing given the price this stuff cost, and how limited supply of such cases are in Europe.
- mike

My experience is with .223 Federal brass, lots of the primer pockets were off centre so they went straight in the bin!

Ditto the primer pocket experience with 223. I've used Federal brass for thirty years and IMO it was among the best. It is disappointing to see this happen. FWIW, Federal as a company has changed hands.

I too have had problems with FC brass in 223 and 308. However, I have had no problems with FC brass in 22-250, 257 Robt, 6.5x55, 7x57, or 35 Rem.

Cheers, Al

I use the 7mm rem mag brass from 1x fired fed prem ammo and mine reloads just fine. I like the fed brass. If you max it out, it will obviously eat pockets faster, but mine has been good for several loadings thus far.

Let me out it this way, I have fired some Lapau .243 that I have formed into .260ai. It has 11 firings & the pockets are still snug. Irun these near the top so? There is probably a reason Federal is no longer selling brass, maybe quality control?

I have not used Federal brass since the 1970s.

I am surprised to see (above) that many now think Federal brass is "too soft." I quite using it 30 years ago because back then I found it to be "too brittle." I would get 2 or 3 reloads from a case and then the neck would crack, so I quit using it!

Interesting how times change.

Barstooler.

I've used quite a bit of Federal brass for the 41, 44, and 45. It has lasted forever. I've also used in a anumber of rifle rounds, mostly the 8x57, and it has lasted very long. I have no complaints so far...

Nothing is wrong with it in my admittedly limited experience. I've used it in 22-250, 30-06, 308, and maybe some others, and it was as good as any other brand.

In my limited experience, 308 match, it has been fine, but then again I don't load to max.

quote:

Buckshoot

Ditto the primer pocket experience with 223. I've used Federal brass for thirty years and IMO it was among the best. It is disappointing to see this happen. FWIW, Federal as a company has changed hands.

I also know of folks having problems with those same primer pockets being loose.

I was at a range where a lot of 223 match ammo was fired one day. I went backl early the next day to scarf some up and someone was tere and had most of it policed up already. I mentioned that I was wanting some commercial brass to test in the TCUs and see if it made a difference. He haded me a few hundred Federal match case and I said I only needed a few. He insisted that I take them ALL (shoulda been a hint).
The second firing with mild (1200 fps) cast bullet loads and I had two separate in front of the web. Maybe it is good and accurate for the first firing because it is so soft!

I think the rest is in the scrap brass bucket.

Now I wonder about all of this 309 Match brass??

I have Federal once fired in 30-06 and it is very accurate (compared to Winchester in my two guns) and has performed normally so far.

i like fed brass , but i too have found that because of the heavness of it it does build up more pressures cause of the lesser space internally , but thats why i use it to work up to my maximums , cause if it lasts and is safe in fed brass then i can load it in anything else and it will be safer still . i had rim expansion in fed 44 mags , but i was way out there with my loads , far enough i would never think about duplicateing them again even in a freedom arms ! but there has been some trouble with soft case heads , but like alot of lod wives tales some are true sometimes and most are just repeated malarkey ! this is true to an extent , just not in all calibers , nor with the newest stuff ive tried to get to expand the rims just to see how far id have to go , was 2 grains earlier than rps , but both were far in excess of the published maximums . heres to hopeing you got a good batch , and have lots of fun and no troubles with them ! if you do tho , please drop me a line as id like to try them and send a report in to shooting time about it ! thanks

I tried Federal 223 brass for some 7TCU loads, 2 or three firings and lost nearly all of them due to split necks.
I have a 22 rimfire bullet making die set, so I started measuring spent 22 cases with a ball mic. I found that the variance in wall thickness on Win, Rem and CCI were all .0007 or less while the Federal cases had up to .0015 of wall thickness variation.
I also spoke with a former ATK executive that told me that Federal Brass is not very good.

Between these three experiences I won't use Federal brass for anything.

Got hold of a bunch of Norma 223 cases that had flash holes waaaay off center so not real impressed there either.

Lapua is incredible brass, extremely well made and worth the price.
Just my humble observations.
Joe

I reload federal brass for my 22-250 and cannot find anything wrong with it. I also tried Remington and found them a pain in the ass compared with Federal

I've loaded a lot of Federal .30-06 brass, and never had any brass-related problems. As mentioned, the cases are smaller internally than some other brands. I was never able to get more than 57 grains of H4350 or H4350SC in it, whereas I've seen loading book loads going several grains above that. (Worked up in other brands of brass.)

Bought a bunch of once fired Federal .223 brass. Have loaded about 300 of the 1000 so far (got the whole lot for $15), and usually thrown 1 in 10 out do to the primer hole being off center.

Haven't had that many problems, but I will go back to Win. or Rem. brass after I run out of Fed cases. They just seem poor quality.

My wife brought home 60 rounds of NIB unfired/unprimed Federal .270s from a yard sale some time ago. (Well trained, isn't she?) They have been loaded three times wih rather moderate cast-bullet loads and are doing just fine.

On the other hand, I bought 500 Federal 7.62x39 once-fired cases from an Ebay seller and they are very inconsistent in neck thickness. After resizing in an RCBS die, a majority of the cases don't contact the expander at all, as they're being withdrawn from the die. A few make light contact, and a VERY few make what seems like about "normal" contact, judging by the friction. This indicates a LOT of variation.

For an AK, this might be allowable, but I'm trying to work up good cast loads in a Ruger 77, and I reckon it's time to look for something better.

Federal Brass really stinks...

Just bag it all up.. PM Seafire for his mailing address and he will dispose of it for ya!

cheers
seafire

I was given about 300 cases of once fired Federal Gold Medal Match 308 brass. I found that the brass weight fell distinctly into three weight groups. Each group was about five grains in bandwidth.

I loaded the stuff up for my longrange target shooting, which is at 600 yards and 1000 yards. My favorite load is a 190 Sierra Matchking with 42.0 grains of IMR 4064 with a Fed 210S or 210M primer. Depends if I have any of the expensive M primers.

This load is a maximum load on a hot day. Might be a maximum load on a cold day, but primers start to leak on the hot days. Well the Federal brass was very soft in the case head and after five reloads, I dumped the stuff. It shot well but the primer pockets opened up early.

I have also found this to be true for the .223 Federal Gold Medal match ammunition. I have picked up at least 1000 once fired cases left by the military teams at Perry. And the primer pockets open up too soon in my opinion.

I have had excellent service out of my Winchester brass, and of course, out of my old LC cases. But Federal, I won't buy the stuff, only use it if it is free. Won't last long enough to spend real money on it.

I like Federal brass - I melt it down and cast
belt buckles with it. It is sad that Federal
doesn't fix their brass problems.