Unlike Winchester that starts new lines of ammo and strands it's customer without brass if they stop being popular Hornady is taking care of it's customers / followers.

I hope that they'll buy Winchester - then maybe we'll see winchester (Hornady) do a run of 7WSM brass...
In effect I have shifted from a winchester ammo nut, over to Hornady - they keep making 17 HM2 available, thier new brass is as good if not better than winchester..

To me this means thier product line leadership "gets it" and has some moral fiber that results in more customers...
A decade ago I think winchester ammo was dependable and they used to make runs of 358 brass - now I'm writing Hornady vs. Winchester... sign of the times I guess.


I still can't beleive winchester stopped making 7WSM brass after all the hype of it, and all the chamberings - making brass is the low bar, and the failed it... I can't recommend them any longer.
More over - I can't ever see referring anyone to a new cartridge made by winchester ... nor will the guys who got screwed by buying 7 WSM's.

Legends fall.

That's what happens when bean counters run the place..

Is this thread in the hopes that someone at the Olin Corporation just happens to see your rant and says hmmmmmm that's a good idea. LOL

Hornady does not make 7mmWSM brass either.

just one reason I stick with the classic cartridges. Nothing in America that a .30/06, 7MM Mauser, .270 or a .30/30 won't kill

I think that Winchester/Olin primarily focuses their manufacturing capacity on making loaded ammunition and component brass that sells in quantity and, because it is a financially sound thing to do, shunts ammunition and component brass that is low volume business to a "seasonal run" status.

I will grant you that Winchester/Olin has virtually orphaned a lot of cartridges with "WIN" on the headstamp. Being a fan of some of the Winchester orphans, like the 25 WSSM, 284, and 356, I know just how frustrating the lack of availability of factory loaded ammunition and component brass can be. I still shoot the 256 Newton and nobody, except maybe Speer, has made factory loaded ammunition or component brass for it since the U.S. entered WW2 12/41, so I know what real pain feels like.

Olin is a publicly traded company, so the leadership is likely focused on creating maximum value for share holders and, coincidentally, increasing the size of their bonuses. A quick peek at OLN shows that the value per share has risen over 50% since 11/16, from $20 to $32, so they are unlikely to change what they're doing as long as it is working to the benefit of share holders.

At least we can still get 300 WSM component brass and resize for other WSM and SAUM applications.

I know a guy who is a decision maker in the Winchester ammunition and component side of Olin and he listens to my rants, but seldom does anything to cool my jets. An exception was when I asked for a Deer Season XP hunting load for the 6.5 Creedmoor and wonder of wonders almost exactly what I asked for is now on retail shelves. I asked for a 120 grain bullet at +/-3,000 fps and got a 125 grain bullet at 2,850 fps.

reload,its simple.

Just trade it for a .270.

I wish Winchester would punch out another .223 WSSM in some form.




Dave

Major corporation "bean counters" vs a family owned/operated business! memtb

He's asking for the brass. WhyTF do you think he's asking for the brass?

I suspect Remington has orphaned more cartridges than Winchester has.

That aside

There's several reasons why many people didn't indulge in the short magnum craze.

Mike

I'd hardly call doing a run of HM2 every ten + years "making it available".

I saw the writing on the wall years ago and sold my Montucky in .325 WSM. Bought a Sako in .308 and have yet to need a second shot on anything. It's taken a couple mulies, a few whitetails and several blacktails (Sitka and Columbian). It's even dropped a couple elk for the stew pot. If I need more gun my .338 will get the nod. They still load factory for the old WinMag and brass is everywhere.

Spot on......the 17FB being Remington's latest abandonment.

Short mags.....meh

I have a notification in at Midway for 17FB brass.

Not holding my breath.

It helps to keep your finger on the pulse of the American firearms/ammo industry and buy rifles chambered for cartridges with a history of popularity.

Hat is why I sold the '06, the 22-250, and the 25-06. And then bought 7MM STW, 264 Win, 260 Rem, and 6mm-284. Becàuse they have always been well supported by the rifle and ammo factories.

Seriously, 7wsm is not a cartridge I woukd be afraid of, there is lots of love for the 300 wsm. As long as 300 wsm brass is available, it only takes one pass hrough a sizing die and a fireforming shot to have perfect 7mm wsm brass available.

Federal did the same thing with 338 Federal. Made brass for a bit, then stopped and only sells loaded ammunition. The beautiful thing though is I can send any 308 Win brass through the die and have my 338 brass though. But it would be nice to have headstamped brass. I bought some factory ammo on sale, but haven't gotten to shooting any yet.

Hornady scares me. They drop lines in a heartbeat. Most round nosed bullets are now gone, and instead they come up with zombie bullshit or rocket science nonsense or tipped or mono this or that. I stick with cup and core die hards like Sierra.

Make it out of 270 WSM brass.

I'm sure glad I bought a lifetime supply of the stuff back when you could get all you wanted for $18 a bag.

Wish I'd of had that same foresight before the 22LR glut.
You can bet your ass I'm stocked up for life now though.

I assume this is a joke as 270 wsm is also hard to find. For any thinking of doing so.
It is much easier to acheive positive headspace by necking down than by necking up.

Don't get too comfortable with Hornady.. and make sure you stock up on what you like/need, because they WILL leave you stranded.

For every new product they release, one of their classics goes by the wayside. I can't tell you how many bullets they have discontinued over the past ten or twelve years that I have used, along with many guys I know. ...and not just obscure bullets either.. the latest to get the axe was the .257 100 grain Interlock. Hornady has been phasing out cup and core bullets for the newest fads for over a decade now. I have nothing against new bullet technology, but not at the expense of what already works, and people depend on.

I have all but quit using their components, I like their offerings, I just don't care for Hornady's track record of component dependability.

I will stick to the classics.

Spotshooter, I just bought some once fired Federal 7mm WSM brass from Brassman from the classifieds here. I'd probably rather have new Winchester brass myself, but I'll take what I can get at this point. I reload for rifles in .25-20, .32-20, .30-40 Krag, .30 Remington, .22 Hornett, 7mm WSM and alot of the more standard calibers. I am glad to see Starline Brass stepping up and manufacturing brass for some of the older calibers. I feel your pain. Brassman was prompt on his shipping and an honest man to deal with.

Try to find Win. 351 brass!

I think your comment illustrates that there is no guarantee from any of the manufacturers to continue supporting or producing a particular product. If there is a bullet, rifle, brass, or whatever you are fond of, it's best to pounce while it is still available. There are a few rifles I wish I had bought when they were still produced. Glad I did get a LH Ruger MKII before they stopped making them.

Sierra has just been purchased. So I would say there is uncertainty in their future as to what they continue to support. In fact, referencing the OP, I see no advantage for Hornady buying Winchester Olin. Hornady already makes brass, bullets and ammunition. No telling what would get dropped from what's left of Winchester's ammunition offerings. At least for now, Winchester provides one more offering competing in the marketplace even if they aren't making everything we want them to.

I found a very nice .351 Self Loader here in the classifieds one day and determined that I needed it badly. I have a soft spot for old rifles and odd calibers. Upon trying to find some brass before I purchased it, I sadly decided I could live without it. Kind of wish I bought it anyway, but I didn't. They are really neat and classy little rifles.

No fretting from me, as I have a good supply of the 7wsm brass.

I will say this, I finally got around to shooting my 300 wsm and 7 wsm yesterday. (both kimber montana) The 7 wsm was considerably more pleasant to shoot. Granted I was shooting a 140gr out of the 7 and 168 out of the 300.

Going to take the 7 for a hike tomorrow.

351 sl can be made from 223 brass but you will need to trim your beard a few times before you have a supply of it.

Ah winchester could make the brass every 5 years like they used to, the fact that they dropped the 7 WSM after developing shows they lost focus on the customer who they made it for.
I'm not saying they don't need to make money - any idiot can charge enough to cover costs, but it takes a real idiot to cut a product line for ammo you drove into the market. Or of course you want to drive away customers, in that case put the corp. ship in a downward spiral, and then find a new job after 3 years and leave the rest of the crew to deal with your screw ups. (Talking here about how long it takes for a VP or higher who isn't worth much to leave).

My bet is there are some older guys at Winchester that are dealing with a bunch of young pup cool guy jack ass corporate types -- I.e. The place is going down the [bleep], with new management - that don't have the same fiber as the old crew.

Hornady might make them look bad by making 7 WSM brass - hell they could price it high and cover costs and still break even, plus moving more loaders over their way.

And yes I do hope Olin / Winchester find the thread.

As a publicly traded company, the decision makers at Olin are probably focused on increasing share holder equity, so they try to make decisions that will result in the highest income. If they were able to generate a higher income by making more loaded ammo and/or component brass for their orphaned cartridges, they probably would, as management bonuses are generally tied to success and one of the key indicators of success is share price. Olin's share price has risen by about 50% in the past year, so whatever they are currently doing to achieve those results is likely to continue.

Of course the simple answer is to buy enough brass to last through the life of the barrel when you buy it. With annealing and modest loads, that's not all that much brass....

.22lr, .223, .30-06, 270, 7.62x39, .45-70. For my locale, don't feel a need for anything else.

If I start going out west more often, might be a .338 and 6.5 in the future somewhere, too.

Powder Valley has Win brand 270WSM. No thing to neck to .308 then back down to .284 and making a false shoulder to get the 1st shot firmly on the bolt face so as to move the shoulder forward fully.

Hornady can't even make ammo that goes bang. They have s big problem with misfires. They can keep that crap and I hope they don't pick up Winchester and ruin it.

^ And that is about the wisest thing said herein.

I shoot 7mm Rem mag (among other things) and will be getting 7mm-08s for my kids. Both have components easily sourced (currently anyway...).

I've shot a few hundred rounds of Hornady factory loads in 223, 243, 6.5 Creedmoor, 7mm-08, and 30-30 over the past 12 months and haven't had a single misfire that I recall.

Starline is making 338 Federal brass.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1018967815/starline-reloading-brass-338-federal