Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Winchester component quality has tanked

Recently opened two 50 count bags of WW 300WM brass and 25 were total garbage. Split necks wrinkled shoulders and case bodies. I will not use the other 75 for fear of hidden flaws in the bases. Left email with pictures to Winchester and voice mail but no response yet.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/wnqdwqh0z042d45/A%20block%20of%2025%20bad.jpg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/nn8eyud92sp4w6v/Three%20more.jpg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/vkxgz78xk70tjuv/Three%20bad%20cases.jpg?dl=0

You do know that winchester was bought out by an european conglomerate some years ago, don't you? They are probably just interested in the bottom line and couldn't care less about you' Stick with Hornady or Federal

The last batch of W-W .308 cases I bought had horribly slanted neck lengths, meaning one side of the case was obviously longer than the other when you put the cases on a flat surface. Had to do a fair bit of trimming to get them back in shape. Most of the R-P I've used has been better. Hornady and Lapua (of course) too....

Are you referring to the gun company or the ammo company? Those have been separate for decades. Last I heard Olin still owned the ammo company, but Hodgdon markets the powder.

Edit: Olin still owns Winchester Ammunition.

I have found egregious defects in brass lots from all the companies over the years, including some from the vaunted European makers. Not a lot mind you, but enough to tell me it's not limited to one company or another.

It makes me wonder if they don't subject reloading components to the same QC standards as they do the stuff that gets made into their own ammo?

For several years we could have been getting the stuff rejected for Winchester ammo.

It's been reported here a few times that ammo companies often outsource brass to keep up with demand, so "Winchester" brass might be Hornady, or Starline, or Hell, maybe Prvi. Not intended to be an excuse; nobody should sell crap.

I've got hundreds of older WW cases for several cartridges. When I buy new, it's usually Nosler or Hornady, but I'm also looking to Starline when I need something they make in the future.

I'd be upset also. No one likes to throw their money down the drain. Lately I've been using Nosler and alittle Hornady. I won't buy Winchester anymore due to my experiences and from what I have seen here on this thread.

Should I reconsider buying an sx4 shotgun? I had primer issues with them. So I stopped using their primers

That's the worst brass I've ever seen ...

The Prvi brass Ive used has been great.... so if Winchester is outsourcing from them it would be a huge improvement.I have thrown away 3 pieces of 243 brass out of one bag on WW.... The neck was wrinkled on 2 and split on another. I have had 2 WLR primers that were duds.. I am new to reloading and learned quick about the quality(lack of) of their stuff.

Just once more......

Not the same company. The gun company is part of the FN/Browning outfit. The ammunition/component business is owned by Olin, a big chemical outfit that owned it all way back when. I believe the Winchester name , in relation to firearms, is still owned by Olin, but licensed to whoever is actually selling them.

Winchester brass has become crap. A recent bag of 308's I bought had lose primer pockets after one firing. I threw them away.

Anymore I buy only Hornady or Lapua.

In the case of the 257 Roberts I use Rem as that's what I have, though I have petitioned Hornady to make that too.

I have a bunch of WW 300 WSM brass that seems fine, but bought it before Hornady started making it. If the WW stuff turns out to be like the 308, I'll pitch it and buy the Hdy stuff.

I'm really impressed with Hornady as a company...

Nosler brass, which I've used in several chamberings, doesn't seem up to its price point.

The prepped and sorted Nosler brass is ready to prime and load as purchased, which justifies the price for some, I'd say. I have one box of .223 like that.

The Nosler bulk is availble for a good bit less, especially on sale, and the two boxes of that I bought needed only minimal work before loading. I think I paid $50 per hundred for that.

The brass for less popular cartridges is pretty high, but at least it's available. Overrun brass from SPS can be pretty reasonable, if you can catch your "size".

I too, just bought 2 bags of Winchester(300 Win Mag) brass and they were also crap!!!! Out of 100 cases I had 34 bad cases(cracked and creased necks). I sorted through all 100 and carefully picked 50 that looked to be good quality(kept those). Bagged up the rest with a note explaining how unacceptable the quality was and then called Cabelas and demanded a prepaid shipping label to send them back for a refund. They didn't even put up a fight so I'm guessing they've had several returns of the brass. I've used a lot of Winchester brass over the years without any issues but they lost me as a customer on this one. Obviously, somebody's asleep at the wheel in the manufacturing and QC department at Winchester. I can understand 1 or 2 defective pieces in a bag of 50 but 14 bad in one bag of 50, and 19 bad in another!!!!........that's just plain pitiful!!!!!!

Never again for me.

Leftybolt

After my fiasco with Federal brass, I have switched exclusively to Hornady. Just watch for it on sale and buy a bunch for a long time.

Not too long ago, Winchester rifle brass was reasonably priced and high in quality. I recently picked up some .257R (only culled 3) and .308 Win. Also bought some more rifle brass today, opted for Hornady 6mm Remington and splurged on 100 rounds of Lapua .260 Remington.

Last batch of Winchester brass I bought in 270WSM was crap as well.

Anymore, the only new brass I buy for reloading is either Nosler or Hornady. I have thrown away most of my Federal brass- too inconsistent, and lately, very soft stuff, stretches like crazy just resizing it, and I do not full-length resize.

Hornady is a bit pricier than the Win-Rem stuff, but definitely worth the money if you plan to reload it multiple times.

Winchester just sent me a refund check for $84 to cover the bad 300WM brass in this thread, along with a letter stating that it was turned over to the QC department. I had asked for replacement brass but none was in stock.

Oh well I just went and purchased 100 rounds of Nosler 300 WM brass.