Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles New to reloading - Federal Brass Question

I just bought my first reloading setup (RCBS Rockchucker Supreme Select) and last night i was going through some old brass that I have kept just to see what I have to start with. I have some fairly large quantities of federal brass for my .243, 300 win mag and 338 federal. I do not see much mention of federal brass but do see remington and winchester brass recommended quite often. What is the general opinion on the federal brass? Is it good and will it work fine or should I start trying to accumulate brass from another manufacturer to start with?

As long as you keep like brass with like and don't mix and you examine before reloading it makes no difference for hunting purposes.

Federal brass is of fine quality. You see people using Rem and WW brass more often as those 2 brands are more readily available as new components. Load up your Federal brass and enjoy your new hobby. Handloading is a great way to expand your enjoyment of the shooting sports.

What ppl will tell you is that Federal brass is a little more soft than Winchester and that it has a little less capacity. It also seems to be a little more uniform to me, and the price reflects that. Just be careful when you're getting up around max loads, your max might be reduced by a grain or two (or more) depending on caliber.

I've got some that I'm using in the .308 right now and it seems to work great when paired with Federal 210M primers.

I like Federal brass. Like someone above said it seems a little softer, and resizes easier. I have gotten good accuracy in both 30-06 and 300 mag with the FC brass. Inspect all brass, every time, and segregate according to brand, don't load to maximum until proven safe. Good to go.

Federal brass is good stuff, and I've loaded alot of it. Load with confidence.

Loaded hundreds of 338 Fed rounds with Federal brass. Never had a problem.

Nothing wrong with federal brass!

You�re most probably OK with federal brass. I have loaded it in several different rifle cartridges. Have only had one accuracy problem with it in 270 Win and I never figured it out.

Great brass but I've also found it to be softer than other brands. I usually find loose primer pockets with Federal brass sooner than other brass with a similar history.

Federal brass is soft, I've had problems with primers jumping out when fired

Pay attention to the feel of your primers seating, no matter what tool or method you use. I had some 7mm RemMag and .270 Win that came from a commercial range that sold the ammo used. That's as close to guaranteeing it was 1X as I can get. But out of 100 7mm brass I had 2 or 3 very loose primer pockets so I scrapped them. Had more with the .270, maybe 5 or 6. Recall one the primer fell out of when I pulled it off the seater. Had 2 more that felt iffy but stayed in. Later picked one .270 load out of the plastic cartridge holder and powder poured out the primer hole. Primer stayed in the box. I pulled all the bullets in the .270s and called it a loss. Only experience I've had with Federal and maybe I just got unlucky. FWIW

Shootem: I have been using Federal brass in my 7mm Remington Magnum (Remington 700 Classic) since 1985 and over that time I have probably gone through 300 individual pieces of brass.
I have as yet to experience any with loose primer pockets.
Maybe the form pnch back at the factory the day yours were made was a little out of whack?
I use a LOT of Federal brass from 338 Federal and the 7mm Magnum on down to Varmint calibers and actually seek it out whenever possible.
I say to the original poster to use it and be confident in it.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

no complaints here. winchester and remington are just saturating the market. but given my preference, i'd use federal with no reservations. then winchester, and then remington.

just make sure you're doing some thorough inspections on the high pressure stuff.

Federal brass is definately more consistent in weight and neck thickness than Win. or Rem. Rem's not bad but Win. brass has the most variation in weight of any brass I've ever processed. I usually buy double and sort into two groups when using Win. brass. I also have never had a loose primer in Fed. brass but have used it the least of the three because of availability. I'd use it without worry.