Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Canada Winchester Brass (lots of pix)

I have read about the poor quality of Winchester brass here, but haven't bought any new Winchester brand cases in many years. The fellow who sold me his 223 dropped off 200 cases. Wow, what happened to their quality?

I couldn't believe the condition of it! Frankly, I didn't believe the stories I read here. After seeing these, I've changed my mind. Has anyone here had problems like this? The cases came from the infamous red bags.



I took 50 out of the bag and put them into a tray. The first thing I noticed was the off centre flash holes and a lack of QC. For those who do not know, flash holes in most manufacturer's cases are punch formed. It's amazing that these would make it out the door.

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I decided to try and save as many cases as I could. Years ago, when I shot competition, we used flash hole uniformers and primer pocket reamers to ensure the flash holes were round and free from brass punch ups - flakes of brass that were left inside the case from flash hole forming. As well, the primer pockets were reamed to a uniform depth. I haven't used these little hand tools for years.

Here is what came out of 50 cases. This is absolutely normal for Remington, Winchester, Federal and others whose flash hole are punch formed.



Here is the flash hole uniformer that reamed out the brass flakes..

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After I finished with the tools, I inspected the cases again. That's when I rejected 17 of the 50. The cases below showed grossly off centre strikes. I have 150 more to look at. If the price wasn't right, everything would have gone into the garbage. I am genuinely surprised that Winchester can sell this!