I was interested in finding out the differences between Jamison and Hornady 458 Lott brass. Both are reputable manufacturers, with a small price advantage towards Jamison brass.

Methodolgy:
Measuring parameters of 10 randomly selected brass cases. Cases are new, unfired, unsized brass from MidwayUSA. Paramaters measured are weight, length, rim diameter, brass thickness at neck, and case diameter immediately above the belt. In addition case volume was measured. One sample case from each company was sectioned lenghtwise and examined.

Disclaimer:
I do not hold any financial instruments that invest in Hornady, Jamison, or MidwayUSA. I am not an engineer, and all following observations are amateur at best. Read: If anybody from Hornady or Jamison has anything to add, listen to them. Like Dr. Science, They Know More Than I Do....

Data:
Measure case volume: Jamison = 6.6 ml
Hornady = 6.5 ml

Units: Weight = grains. All other measurements = inches.


Case sectioning:

Comment: These are poor sections, a band saw would have made a prettier picture. Hornady's case head does appear thicker, though I can't comment on the significance of that.

Overall appearence:

Comment: The annealing looks significantly different between the two cases, but that may be due to polishing or other manufacturing processes. I do not have access to a hardness tester.

So, there it is. I would welcome commentary.

Sounds like the Jamison brass is a lot like what I get when I trim Hornady Belted Basic brass to length and use it in my Lott.

Thanks for taking the time to compare the two brands.

I would also be interested in what they shoot like,recoil and how they feed.If someone could take their most accurate load and try it in the other brass to see if accuracy improved or worstened.I will be trying all brands of brass when I start testing loads for this round,unless I get one hole groups and low recoil with one and stop right there.I might also try 375 RWS brass necked out and see what they do.I will also be looking at the size of the bullet holes on the paper at 200yds to check for bullet yaw and pitch.

I personally prefer Jamison.
In both my .458 Lott, and .500 Nitro.
And, soon to be .600 Nitro---hopefully cases will be reasonably priced for the .600's.
I think Huntingtons has some, but not sure.
My .600 is not finished yet, so i'm going to wait and see about the cases a little later, I've still got a one year wait.aaarrgh!

I certainly appreciate your efforts.

What is significant is that there is not much significance between the case dimensions within the manufacturer or between the two manufacturers.

How lucky can one be to live in the USA and have so much choice?

quote:

Originally posted by Will:
I certainly appreciate your efforts.

What is significant is that there is not much significance between the case dimensions within the manufacturer or between the two manufacturers.

How lucky can one be to live in the USA and have so much choice?

Yes, both manufacturers can keep tolerances quite well. Jamison can certainly give Hornady a run for their money.

Jamison cases have a little less material at the head. I wonder if this will affect case life?

I've not had problems with case life, although I usually use three full loads and retire them.
One reason I fell out of favor with the Hornady brass is it's inconsistancy. I had one batch with shallow primer pockets and the primers would not seat fully, and I had another batch with belts too narrow-although this won't hurt, as I used them anyway, it is not pleasing to me aesthetically. Also, Jamison's has all the nitro brass, and I like to stick with the same company for all my brass. Except for Remington, for which I use their .375H@H brass.