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Anyone having issues with enlarged primer pockets with Federal brass? I have loaded Remington brass with the same exact charge and primers but no issues present. Standard reloading manual charges.


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How many times have you fired the Federal cases in order to get the enlarged pockets?

But the simply answer for me is Yes, I've found Federal brass to be softer in the pockets than most others. But not the Lake City brass loaded by Federal, that is tough stuff.

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Once fired.


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Maybe you got a soft batch. I’ve had good luck with Fed brass.

May want to give them a call.

Let us know what you find out.

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Just because the load is safe in Remington brass does not mean it won't cause pressure problems in Federaf brass. If you want to use Federal brass, retest your load, or buy Reminton brass.

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The loads are under the max too. The primer just falls out with the slightest wiggle. Federal may receive a ring and get the heads-up.


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.223 perhaps? Seems to be a pretty common complaint, a lot of AR guys won't use Federal.


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Originally Posted by Son_of_the_Gael
.223 perhaps? Seems to be a pretty common complaint, a lot of AR guys won't use Federal.

I use federal in my AR's. It works great. In other chamberings, not so much: always get loose primer pockets...


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We always had problems with soft federal 223 brass (loose primers) when I shot highpower.

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Originally Posted by Son_of_the_Gael
.223 perhaps? Seems to be a pretty common complaint, a lot of AR guys won't use Federal.

270 WSM, but I do use 223 Lake City which has had no problems.


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With so much other stuff to choose from, I try to avoid using Fed brass for that very reason.


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I've never had any issues with Fed brass as long as the load chronographed in the ballpark with other loads/brass. It never requires as much powder.

I use it because I get 308's, 223's, 9mm, 40's and 45 ACP's by the bucketload.
The rifle brass usually has lower runout than the garbage turned out by Winchester and Remington.

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Federal brass i have used it to load hunting ammo or sometimes Winchester or Remington too,but for trying to shoot small groups with my bench rifles i only use Lapua brass then. Federal is fine for just regular target shooting with hunting and black rifles.

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Originally Posted by Adk_BackCountry
Originally Posted by Son_of_the_Gael
.223 perhaps? Seems to be a pretty common complaint, a lot of AR guys won't use Federal.

270 WSM, but I do use 223 Lake City which has had no problems.



Often loaded pretty hot, even in factory ammunition.

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I bought some once fired Federal Gold Medal brass from a long time member here that no longer posts (quit just after I bought the brass). The cases without a fired primer wouldn't hold a primer in it, they fell back out. I used some of the better? brass and tossed the rest.


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I have only used Fed. brass from factory loads. In almost all instance the capacity was less than Winchester or Remington. The loads your using may be red lined already and you just don't see it due to harder brass and/or larger capacity.

With the WSMs I have seen more variation in case neck thickness than any other cartridge families. One early lot of Winchester looked like they were made from full lenth 404 Jeffrey cases. This batch was so thick I ended up turning the necks for peace of mind.

Due to experiences like yours I give away any Fed. brass I encounter. I like Lake City though. The few times I worked with Federal cases they seemed uniform. In factory form they shot closer to specified velocity than most other American loads, accuracy was good too.

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Originally Posted by mathman
Originally Posted by Adk_BackCountry
Originally Posted by Son_of_the_Gael
.223 perhaps? Seems to be a pretty common complaint, a lot of AR guys won't use Federal.

270 WSM, but I do use 223 Lake City which has had no problems.



Often loaded pretty hot, even in factory ammunition.

This too. Loading to a full 65,000 psi seems questionable as at that pressure slight variations can jack pressure up to too high. Case capacity, powder lot, fouled bore, high temperatures can put a hot load over the line.


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4 out of twenty thus far, tossed them, no since fiddling. Nice to know others have had similar experiences. I would buy Norma or Nosler but will have to wait, maybe prices will drop. For my purposes, Federal will be okay.


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I usually find that Federal brass is heavier and requires just a bit less powder for the same velocity. If I had a “max load” in Winchester brass, I would back off a grain or grain and a half if loading the federal brass.

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Graf & Sons have some Winchester brass in stock, good price too.

[quote= Federal brass is heavier and requires just a bit less powder for the same velocity. [/quote]

I agree I have always found Winchester brass to be a bit thinner, except for the WSSM'S, necks could be thinner in the WSSM'S. Have not seen the Winchester in WSM though.


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