Got a call this morning from a friend with a question, "What has changed at Remington's brass-making facility? Anything?"

Reason for his question: He is a little compulsive (an oxymoron, I know). So, when he buys new batches of brass, which he does every couple of months, he weighs every single round and sorts them into like-weight batches.

For his .221 "fun bench/varmint" gun, the brass normally has an extreme weight range on the order of 6-to-7 grains difference from lightest to heaviest.

The batch he got this week from Black Hills has an extreme variation of 0.4 grains from lightest to heaviest.!! (That's even better than the most uniform batch of "match brass" he has gotten from Nosler so far!)

He has a call in to Dave Scovill,to see if he has any info, but Dave is on vacation for a week. He called Remington, but got a guy who seemingly wouldn't know brass from a water buffalo, and didn't even understand the question.

So, I thought I'd ask you folks...Anyone heard of any major changes in sheet brass source, manufacturing processes, new machinery, QC standards, etc., at Remington?

Sounds to me like he just got lucky.
Paul B.

6-7 gr variation in a Fireball sized case is a HUGE variation. I've owned a 221 Fireball in a Contender for over 15 years and I don't think any lot of cases have ever varied more than +/- 1 gr. Although .4 is pretty darn good.

Yes, everthing I have seen or heard is that R-P cases have become more consistent over the past 4-5 years.

Casey

I was really surprised to see the REMINGTON head stamp on the luxo priced Nosler factory ammo in 35 Whelen.

I have been saying this on another board for about 2 years. The recent brass from Big Green is kicking butt and taking no prisoners. It is good. The first instance was the 270 WSM brass. I was searching for prime examples and had ordered Norma after the crappy experience with the Winchester. I mentioned this to a guy who was already in the know and said why pay for Norma when you can get Remmy for Winchester price and Norma quality. I had always thought of Remington brass as my 3rd choice below Winchester and Federal. It is now my first pick, below Lapua. The WSM/Saum brass is superb from Big Green.

quote:

Originally posted by Tim in TN:
The recent brass from Big Green is kicking butt and taking no prisoners. It is good.

I have only used one batch of Rem brass (.223) bought maybe 8 years ago.
The stuff was lighter than anything else I had and had the least variation. < 0.9gr. over 100 cases. Damn things showed a chamber bulge at the head seperation area, while no other brass did. Anyway it just kept going reload after reload until my nerve broke and I retired it. But I still have it.