Has anybody used Bertram brass for reloading .416 or bigger? A friend of mine says that it�s too soft and recommends Norma brass. The price difference is pretty big so I�d appreciate any comments. Thanks.

I've heard that it isn't very good but I use it in my 577 snider with black powder loads since its one of the few drawn offerings in that caliber.

I had problems with Bertram brass in my .416 Rigby you can only use the starting loads really as it is soft.

I also use it in the .585 Nyati and I have not had many drama's with that because It does not need to be loaded to full potential at any rate. If it is a low perfroming cartridge it will get you by, yes it's not good brass but I would rather have Bertram Brass than no brass and they serve a market for obsolete cases.

Why don�t you just take my word for it?

Boha

Boha,

My dear friend, everybody is entitled to a second opinion -you know I belive you 99.89 % of the time!

You also know that I�m a cheapskate...

Huntington's is having a closeout on a lot of Bertram brass. Won't do you Finns much good but might help some Americans.

I just got a batch of .30-30 basic at $10 per 20. Soft is OK with me since I'll be using it in the 25k CUP range in an 8x72 JR Sauer.

Due to Bertrams sale, and the pain in the but of modifying 375 H&H brass to make 350 Rigby brass, I ordered 100 cases of Bertram in 350 Rigby. So far I've noticed all the primer flash holes have large burrs in them, which I will have to drill out individually.

I did that to 20 cases this morning, and while priming the cases I found the primer pockets to be the tightest primer pockets I've ever seen, they were a real bear to seat the primers. I'll have to use an RCBS primer pocket swadger on the other cases, something I just thought about now. I'll post back on what I find out about the brass after firing it and re-sizing it.

Even with the extra work, it still beats all the work to modify 375 H&H brass. That said, if I was dealing with a round that had an alternative sorce of quality brass, I would never consider the bertram. You get what you pay for, and with Bertram, it isn't much. I'd only use Bertram if it was the only option. I'm hoping Huntington starts carrying Hornbear 350 Rigby brass in the future. I'm glad I only bought 100 cases of the Bertram.

Paul H
I use the Sinclair flash hole deburing tool. It is in their catalogue. Sometimes the 450 No2 case would pull the depriming pin out of the die. After using the deburr tool it solved the problem. I also use their primer pocket reamer in a power screwdriver on the primer pockets.

I did manage to get a few rounds down range today. Unfortunately I forgot my past sissy pad, and golly gee, that 350 recoils a tad I also didn't get a chance to chrono the loads, as I killed my chrono with an errant .475" gas check doing 1500 fps.

Anyhoo, I noted shiny spots where the extractor slot is on teh bolt face, and some rub marks on the case head. 65 gr of RL 15 under the 250 gr bullets should be doing ~2650 fps, and also should be an average load pressure wise. I'd hate to have to delegate these cases for plinker loads, but it looks like that might be the case

Buy the Norma !!! The first time a too soft 416 Brass goes South on you you will say Holy Shit, what was I thinking. Never buy anything but the best you can get for controlled detonation at 40,000 PSI of 100 grains of powder about 6 inches from your brains and eyes.

[ 09-05-2003, 04:01: Message edited by: Old & Slow ]

Thank you Old&Slow for the most convincing argument I�ve ever heard! I�ll go with the Norma.