I resized some once fired RWS 8X68S brass.

Compared to Hirtenberger cases the RWS are not as consistant. This might not be fair to the RWS brass as they may be from diferent lots. (I only have 5 RWS cases as compared to 20 Hirtenberger.) However, this may also be true of the Hirtenberger too as they were shipped loose in a plastic bag from Old Western Scrounger.

Eliminating any examples of extreme variance in weight,(25% for both brands) the Hirtenberger cases varied 2.8grs, the RWS 5.5grs, almost twice as much variance for the RWS

Rim and case head diameters were:

RWS: .409" and .420" respectively

Hirtenberger: .407" and .422" respectively

Taking a case that falls into the average weight range for either brand, the case capacity in grains of water is as follows

RWS: 86.0grs of water

Hirtenberger: 81.0grs of water

Even though the RWS cases seem to have more capacity than the Hirtenberger, I am still not sold on the RWS brass @ 4 times the cost of the Hirtenberger. I will however, purchase 20 RWS case from OWS for a better comparison when I start to work up loads.

[ 12-29-2002, 02:38: Message edited by: wildcat junkie ]

Wildcat I use RWS brass in 6.5x68,8x68 and 9.3x64 calibres and would consider it the best brass I have ever used.That includes all North American brands,Norma, Lapua and offshore brands such as PMC & NNY. The brass I purchase is new unprimed brass and I cannot ever remember finding a case that was more than 1 grain heavier or lighter than the average. They are annealled to perfection and primer pockets are very uniform.I have some cases that have been reloaded about a dozen times and have not lost a case to split necks.Yes I anneal the necks ever 5 or 6 loadings. If you are happy with your Hirtenberger cases great. I think you will find the reduced capacity of the Hertinberger will reduce the top loads by close to 100 fps and the case life will not even be close to that of the RWS. If you intend to hunt with this rifle and have difficulty recovering fired cases maybe the Hirtenberger cases are the best route.

I don't like Hirteberger cases because the diameter of their flasholes is smaller than that of any other brand of case I have ever used.
When sizing/depriming with my RCBS dies I always have to change the standard depriming pin for a small one that is made for depriming small rifle cases like the .222

BTW: I wonder, since Hirtenberger is a relatively small company, do they make their own cases or do they buy them somewhere else?

snowman: Due to the fact that there is a 6% increase in case capacity, (86grs for RWS, 81gr for Hirtenberger) I have decided to definately get 20 RWS cases to experiment with.

The RWS cases were indeed once fired as opposeed to new for the Hirtenberger. Although I full length resized the RWS cases some of the increased capacity could be the result of being "fireformed"

The only way to compare "apples to apples" would be to purchase 20 RWS cases and work up loads for each brand.

My usual proceedure is to load 5 case lots in 2gr icreases in powder charge until some pressure signs become evident. I then discard or mark the cases that were stressed, back of a bit, and then repeatedly load 5 cases until some sort of case failure signs such as loose primer pockets, split necks or signs of impending case head separation become evident. All this with resonable hunting accuracy of course.(at or near 1 MOA or better @ 100yds)

If indeed there is a 100fps or more performance advantage over the Hirtenberger brass, coupled with double or more case life expectancy, I would probably opt for the RWS brass.

Dutchgus: I havent experienced the decap problems with my Redding Dies, although I only decapped a few cases after the water capacity tests. Perhaps a little time on a lath with a drill bit would remedy that situation?

I will be sending the action to Dennis Olsen as soon as I get the magazine extended.

[ 01-01-2003, 17:45: Message edited by: wildcat junkie ]

I forgot to mention earlier that (at least in 7x64 cases) there is a distinct difference between lots of RWS-cases. The (old) ones that are headstamped RWS have less capacity than the (newer) lots with the headstamp RWS. on it.
I don't know if its the same in 8x68 but it's worth cheking if some of them have a dot stamped after the S.