Brass used in Reloading Manuals?

[JD338]

FWIW, I have had similar results on WT deer using the ABLR's...
280AI 150 gr
308 Win 168 gr
30 Nosler 168 gr
338 RUM 265 gr and 300 gr
Although most are DRT kills, the off side landscape is littered with biological matter.

JD338

 

[RL338]

Although most are DRT kills, the off side landscape is littered with biological matter.

 

[jimbires]

a pic of my Kansas buck . look at the junk laying behind the deer . right in line with the bullet hole . he crumbled at the shot .

 

[SJB358]

a pic of my Kansas buck . look at the junk laying behind the deer . right in line with the bullet hole . he crumbled at the shot .

View attachment 22034

They are fierce. Love em when they shoot.

 

[wvbuckbuster]

Reading an article in the 2024 Hodgdon manual about difference in primers it was stated that they used commercial Winchester brass as used for their load data. So at least Hodgdon does no knowledge of others. Dan.

 

[TXbaldhunter]

I'd say the brass used in testing is new brass.I've bought thousands of once-fired brass from a ballistic tech who was doing pressure testing.The brass he sold usually was in lots of 250-500 the same headstamp.Most of it was Winchester,Remington or Hornady.I was getting most of the brass I have for my 308 Win,30-06 and 7mag from him for around $.18-$.25 a piece including shipping.I stocked up on the brass over the years and have enough to last me for quite some time.I never liked using new brass for load work up because I found myself always wanting to double check my loads to see if they changed after the brass had been fired and resized,so now I start my load development with the once-fired brass.I would also like to add case volumes do differ between different brands.Also it can differ between the different cartridges.I've found Winchester 30-06 brass has a larger volume than my Remington brass and Remington 7mag brass has a larger volume than my Winchester 7mag brass.

 

[PJGunner]

I've always had a preference for Winchester brass for my hand loading practices. Second choice would be Remington and frankly just do not like Federal brass for rifles although I think they make great handgun brass.
Usually my hunting loads use once fired brass whenever possible. Some cartridges are very hard to find brass for and ammo can be quite pricey. A while back I decoded to do some serious work with the 7x57 Mauser just to see what the cartridge can be capable of doing. Turns out in a modern rifle it's one hell of a sleeper. Using a Winchester M70 FWT with 22" barrel 7-08 data is perfectly safe and frankly I can even use a bit more than the 7-08. The loads work in a Ruger #1A and a custom M98 FN Mauser as well. I put in for tags for elk but no such luck this year. The outfitter I used for my New Mexico cow elk hunts charges $1,500 in 2010 and now wants $4,500 for that same cow elk cull hunt. Forget that. Leaaves me wondering if I'll ever get to try that "modern" 7x57 load on a deer or elk????
Paul B.

 

[ElmerThud]

I can't imagine the reloading manual's tests would have used anything other than virgin brass & the brass would be at SAAMI/CIP dimensions.
That's very different to the results you'd achieve with correctly sized brass to your specific rifle(s).
MV/ME would be very different & they'd use lab equipment for their tests, also very different to results you'd obtain with field testing using your own chrono.
Personally, I'd disregard that kind of data (Not their propellant loads) & use my own test results. Also, my own brass is F/L resized to 'Fired case' headspace dimensions.

 

[TackDriver284]

It's a possibility that companies would not list fired brass dimensions in the published reloading manuals, pretty much sure its unfired brass due to liability reasons, like publishing lower maximum charges. I would not focus on brass dimensions or information about brass to determine what charges I will use for my loads. It states to use 10% below maximum powder weight. I just determine my powder charge weight, and use common sense, and check pressure and speed with a chronograph by running a ladder. If my speeds are still below published velocities with said published maximum powder weight, I would continue to increase my charges, until I see pressure to get my obtained maximum velocity and back off a grain and set that as my maximum charge. I determine and select my charge weights by what I see on paper, velocity and what I see with my brass such as ejector mark on the head, flattened primers, primer cratering etc and rifle results after firing, like heavy bolt lift.