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Has Federal changed manufactures in the past couple of years? The reason I ask is that it seems a lot of people don't like it but i started playing with it recently and have been impressed to say the least. I have some in 270 that I purchased new and im onto the 5th loading. The case mouths still don't need annealing and the primer pockets are still nice and tight. Ive also found it to be remarkably consistent in weight.

Im impressed to say the least. What issue do people have with it? Its been much better than the Hornady brass i was using prior


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Most AR shooters around here won't reload the 223 F-C cases for whatever reason. I've never had any problem with F-C case in boltgun 223 and all the common 30 caliber cartridges.


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The ones I have loaded were older and the primer pockets were loose after 1 loading.

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I was gifted 1,100 rounds of once fired federal Gold Medal brass that was used by a SWAT team in practice. The primer pockets are so loose that I consider that brass totally unusable. Either that batch of brass was unusually soft, loaded way too hot or both. It went to the recyclers.
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I have not had any problems with Federal brass. I’m pretty sure that none of them are in the “new” category.


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Originally Posted by PJGunner
I was gifted 1,100 rounds of once fired federal Gold Medal brass that was used by a SWAT team in practice. The primer pockets are so loose that I consider that brass totally unusable. Either that batch of brass was unusually soft, loaded way too hot or both. It went to the recyclers.
Paul B.


Their commercial .223 stuff I've encountered is all very soft. Once I tried to square the case mouths with my RCBS power trimmer and the case mouths actually tore. It also has a tendency to drop primers into your AR lower, which plays hell with your trigger.....so in .223, it's complete junk, should be fired once, and left where it lands.

The LC stuff by Federal is made to a different spec and is good stuff.


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Originally Posted by Youper
Most AR shooters around here won't reload the 223 F-C cases for whatever reason. I've never had any problem with F-C case in boltgun 223 and all the common 30 caliber cartridges.



+1

I have a bunch of FC once fired brass that I reload for my 223 bolt. Load closer to 5.56 spec about 3350 fps with 50 grain NBT. Have 3 reloadings on some without primer problems.


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Originally Posted by antelope_sniper
Originally Posted by PJGunner
I was gifted 1,100 rounds of once fired federal Gold Medal brass that was used by a SWAT team in practice. The primer pockets are so loose that I consider that brass totally unusable. Either that batch of brass was unusually soft, loaded way too hot or both. It went to the recyclers.
Paul B.


Their commercial .223 stuff I've encountered is all very soft. Once I tried to square the case mouths with my RCBS power trimmer and the case mouths actually tore. It also has a tendency to drop primers into your AR lower, which plays hell with your trigger.....so in .223, it's complete junk, should be fired once, and left where it lands.

The LC stuff by Federal is made to a different spec and is good stuff.


This. LC is fine, no concerns there.

I've had some FC 223 brass that held up fine, but others (presumably from different batches) that blew primer pockets out on loads that were fine in LC, Win, and PMC brass. I avoid it for that reason.

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Originally Posted by PJGunner
I was gifted 1,100 rounds of once fired federal Gold Medal brass that was used by a SWAT team in practice. The primer pockets are so loose that I consider that brass totally unusable. Either that batch of brass was unusually soft, loaded way too hot or both. It went to the recyclers.
Paul B.


Same thing here only it was 300 WSM Brass.


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Originally Posted by Quak
Has Federal changed manufactures in the past couple of years? The reason I ask is that it seems a lot of people don't like it but i started playing with it recently and have been impressed to say the least. I have some in 270 that I purchased new and im onto the 5th loading. The case mouths still don't need annealing and the primer pockets are still nice and tight. Ive also found it to be remarkably consistent in weight.

Im impressed to say the least. What issue do people have with it? Its been much better than the Hornady brass i was using prior


Me too. Also in 270. Bought it new in the bag a year ago. I was thinking I needed some more,but kinda hesitant. Based on some of these posts.


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Though I be comparing “apples to oranges” here, I have a bunch of 20+ year old Federal Safari Nickel plated....loaded “pretty hot” for my wife’s .338 WM. So far, there doing real well....though only 2 or 3 times fired. I may be bragging too soon! memtb


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I have used it a great deal. Mostly range pick ups......filled a 5 gallon bucket in one summer. You would see empty box's of federal 100 packs in the trash can......glittering piles on the range where they would stand and then kneel. Easy pick ups.


Quick glance at the head stamp and toss into a 64oz Stripes cup one for federal one for speer and one for the rest......sometimes enough remington will be there to get its own cup......

2 other 5 gallon buckets are filled with Speer .223 cases.......all Border Patrol spent brass......as they use the range sometimes.


Anyway......

I dont load "hot" "max pressure" but in my .223 loadings for my ar I have used 20-23 grains of TAC and had no problems with federal cases lasting 5-7 reloads so thats just me.

Yes, these are starting loads, but they work and they work well for me. Its only 2,788 fps avg for the 23 grain load with either a 50 or 55 grain Speer spitzer so the primer pockets stay tight.

If I were to purposefully buy federal for reloading purposes......and I have for .243 Winchester and .22-250 Rem... I did not give it a second thought.

.243 is on its 5th loading. Full length sized in a RCBS X-die......limits case growth.........37 grains of imr 4350.....87 grain hornady soft point......2,863 fps....primer pockets are just fine.
.22-250 is its 6th loading. Full length sized in a RCBS X-die..........36 grains of CFE223.....55 grain hornady with cannuler.......never chronoed it as it shot 0.40 at 100 yds..............primer pockets are still tight.


My BLUE DOT loads.......well the federal brass has reached its 9th loading, primer pockets are still tight,
In my Savage/Stevens .223......midsouthshooters..34 grain hollow point at 2,480 fps....9 grains of BD..... to "imitate" a .17HMR in fps.....under 200 yds its a lazer. Thank you Seafire.

I guess it all depends on how "hard" you press the brass to do its job.





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Federal brass has a reputation for being "soft" and wearing out quicker that "harder" brass (i.e. loose primer pockets, etc). Whether that reputation is fully deserved or not I couldn't say, but in some cases is does seem to hold true.

I've reloaded Federal 7mm Remington Magnum and Federal 223 Remington brass. The 7mm RM brass is from late 2008 (factory ammo) and the 223 brass is from 2016-2017 (range pickup).

I've only used the Federal 7mm RM brass for fouling or plinking rounds but this brass does seem to conform to the reputation of being "soft". Using a TruAngle tool to correct run-out on loaded ammo, there is a quite noticeable difference in how much less pressure needs to be applied to bend the necks into alignment vs Winchester brass. IIRC, the first time I used the TruAngle tool to straighten the Federal ammo, I completely "over corrected" so that it's run-out was the same or sightly worse in the opposite direction! I haven't pushed this brass hard or even used full power loads in it, so I can't say if the primer pockets would loosen quicker than the Winchester brass I use for my practice and hunting loads.

As for 223 Rem, I typically use Remington (R-P) head stamped brass. Most of the initial load work-ups I've done with Federal (FC) brass has shown larger groups than I've gotten with either R-P or LC brass. Not wanting to waste it I used the FC brass for my reduced "bunny loads" where I shoot a 55gr Hornady SP at 2,100 fps. I get sub 1.5 MOA with this combination, which I'm more than happy with considering neither the FC brass nor the Hornady bullet had much to show for them in full-power loads in my rifle.

While I think that the standard line of Federal factory ammo is excellent, and one of my first choices if I'm stuck with factory ammo, I'm not a huge fan of their brass. Hopefully, their new stuff has indeed been improved as you seem to have found.


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Ive got hundreds of pieces of Federal brass that a friend gave me 10-12 yrs ago in 280 Rem. I have had no issues whatsoever with the brass.


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I think the problem with Federal brass is that they are inconsistent, I have 400 223Rem cases that I have used in my bolt guns for at least 20 years and have been reloaded countless times and are still good (these were all from the same lot).
I have other Federal 223Rem cases that I shoot out of my AR's that are one and done, the brass is much softer than my older cases.
I have Federal brass in 270 Win and 300WM and it has worked well with no issues.

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Im on the fence with FC brass. I've seen some larger rifle brass with sloppy loose primer pockets after one or 2 firings. The 300WSM brass I had was like that. I've also seen this recently with some recent manufacture 7WSM and 7mm08. As for .223 rem, I got lucky and found some (600 pcs) FC stamped brass at the range and it is holding up great. I found that brass about 4 years ago, I believe. I get great accuracy out of it in both my bolt guns and AR's. One thing I've noticed is the primer pockets are very tight, even after 4 or 5 firings. I use BR4 primers and AR comp powder, but the brass seems to be good stuff, so I'll keep using it until I find it's more suitable for the scrap bin.

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35Whelen and 300 Weatherby nickel plated brass was what I loaded that I wouldn't twice. I hadn't hotrodded either. The primers would push in with a finger.

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I bought a 1000 once fired 308 brass from someone here on this sight a couple years ago. It's been very servicable brass. It was cleaned and primed but I did need to full length size for the first loading and annealed the necks. A few loose primer pockets...less than 10% after a couple loadings. It does seem on the softer side so I don't expect it will last as long as some of the premium brass, but for hunting and practice loads it is very usable.

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I have had good service from FC brass in several cartridges, and have loaded quite a lot in .222 Rem, .243, .25-06, .308 Win, .30-06, 7x57, 7x64, and .375H&H. I have found very few loose primer pockets, and this only in .308 cases. I don't load or shoot .223, and wonder if that cartridge is the source of most of the bad reputation?
One other thing, I don't just load indiscriminately with the same powder charge in all cases. I sort cases by brand, or at least by weight. Federal brass is often heavier, = lower capacity, so charges must be reduced a wee bit. If you don't do that, and you're already loading a max load for other brass, over max pressure is likely, and corresponding poor case life.

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One application I do like FC brass for is heavy bullet 9mm loads. I made a 170gr LFN-style 9mm bullet mold and use it in FC brass. The internal taper in FC 9mm brass is shorter (closer to the case head) allowing heavy bullets to be seated deeper without bulging the case or reducing the bullet base diameter.

Also, the FC 9mm brass seems to hold up to hot loads as well as any other brand I have.

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