David Sinko Posted December 13, 2008 Share Posted December 13, 2008 I was just given over 1000 pieces of once fired Federal .308 brass. It is stamped FC 308 and does not have crimped primers. I think it was all 168 gr. match loading, and I know that it was all fired out of a single Remington 700. I know many dislike Federal .223 because it is "soft" and I'm wondering if their .308 brass has that same characteristic. Some of this will be loaded as .308 and I plan to form some into other cases. How does it compare to the stuff from other manufacturers? Dave Sinko Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ofcrfs242 Posted December 13, 2008 Share Posted December 13, 2008 (edited) I wound up with about 200 rounds of Federal that I know was 168 gold match brass. After one reloading had problems with over 10% of the cases made a small batch on a second reload and had about a 15% failure. Split casings and case head seperations. Needless to say the whole lot went into the scrap bucket. Edited December 13, 2008 by ofcrfs242 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kgunz11 Posted December 13, 2008 Share Posted December 13, 2008 Yes, it's not worth reloading. I run pretty hot loads in the .308 and get as long a life out of Win brass as I do Lapua. I just don't feel so bad about chunking the Win as I do the Lapua after about 5 or 6 loadings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonT Posted December 13, 2008 Share Posted December 13, 2008 Hmmm, sounds like junk. If you like, you can send it all to me and I will make sure that it's taken out of circulation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intel6 Posted December 13, 2008 Share Posted December 13, 2008 I use it for cast bullet shooting, works great for that. Neal in AZ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DougCarden Posted December 13, 2008 Share Posted December 13, 2008 I have friends that love the stuff and take as much as I can get to them.......All they shoot is Rifle and have never complained once about the Federal brass, and they reload them as many times as they can.....I wouldn't worry about it. I would call Sinclair Intl. or Redding and get their take, but I bet with quality dies and some care on your part they will be just fine. DougC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kgunz11 Posted December 13, 2008 Share Posted December 13, 2008 I think for the average shooter Fed brass is fine. It all depends on what you're looking for out of your rifle and your load. I'm sure some folks would never tell the difference between Fed and Lapua, but the internal dimensions of the Fed are noticeably smaller and will affect the amount of powder needed. I have quite a bit of Fed and LC that I'd give anyone willing to pay for the shipping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Sinko Posted December 15, 2008 Author Share Posted December 15, 2008 I was just given a couple hundred more of this stuff and these came with the boxes. They are Federal Gold Medal Match loaded with the Sierra Matchking 168 gr. BTHP. They were given to me because the shooters get the ammo for free and couldn't care less about the brass, not that they need to get rid of it. I confess I have been loading what I know to be once fired Federal .223 and I have never had any problems with it. I'll load it three or four times with CCI primers and then lose it at a match. As long as I know it's once fired when I get it and use the CCI primers I have not had a single problem with a case head separation or leaking primer. I am hoping the same will hold true for this .308 brass. Most of it will end being reloaded as .308 but some will be loaded as .300 Savage for my "Tactical" Savage Model 99. I run it up into the Savage sizing die and then trim off the excess. I had planned on doing this with my abundant supply of .30-06, but that would require annealing and inside neck reaming, with which I have no experience and no time to learn. My acquisition of the .308 brass will hopefully save me a lot of time, and I'm just wondering if this Federal stuff is up to the task. I have converted .308 Winchester to .300 Savage in the past and while case life was nothing to brag about, it was quite workable and satisfactory for the purpose. I am a cheapskate and have no desire to spend any money on brass. If you decide that your Savage 99 is not the winning ticket for Multigun and need to get rid of your excess .300 Savage brass, please let me know. Dave Sinko Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Bore Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 I have a supply of FED .308 brass that is all the gold medal match and it is softer than the REM of WIN but I will use it. I may not get as many loadings but its free and I am not complaining. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokecloud Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 I was just given a couple hundred more of this stuff and these came with the boxes. They are Federal Gold Medal Match loaded with the Sierra Matchking 168 gr. BTHP. They were given to me because the shooters get the ammo for free and couldn't care less about the brass, not that they need to get rid of it. Sounds like we have some of the same friends. I will always shoot the Federal gold medal match for the same reason. Free brass is always the Best brass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RePete Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 I suggest that IF you have a great load, load the brass, fire but drop it. I stopped using Federal .308 years ago when upon extraction, the primer fell out and landed inside the mag. I now use once fired Norma that I get for nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 I have quite a bit of Fed and LC that I'd give anyone willing to pay for the shipping. I'll pay for a flate rate USPS box if you still have some. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnRodriguez Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 If you are really interested in 308 case life, Handloader magazine did a article on the 308 in their december 08 magazine. they found that federal failed after 13 reloads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaxshooter Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 I have an SR-25 and the manual that comes with it said do not shoot Federal Match ammo in the gun. It is due to the extractor ripping the rim off of Federal brass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RePete Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 If you are really interested in 308 case life, Handloader magazine did a article on the 308 in their december 08 magazine. they found that federal failed after 13 reloads. When I started reloading Federal Brass, I got about a dozen or so loads, but then they made the brass softer and the primer pockets were opening up anywhere from 1 - 4 loads and in my mind that's not acceptable. Toss the lot and haven't looked back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kgunz11 Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 One of you guys learn how to measure neck tension and get back to us what Fed GMM brass is like on it's first reload and what it's like on it's 4th. If you shoot 300 yards and in you may never know what you are dealing with anyway. I shoot to and beyond 1000 yards quite regular, and Fed brass just isn't going to do it for me. It's really thick, and really soft. As long as I can afford to buy brass I will, and I pitch mine after about 6 loadings anyway, I won't get into why. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonT Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 I guess it all depends on what you're using it for. Trying to get groups at 1000yds., this is not the brass I would use. I get the stuff free also and use it around our local range (200yrd max). I don't know how many loads I'll get out of it because I haven't even loaded a fraction of what I have. But to me, if I only get one loading out of it, that's fine. It was free. I fire it out of an Armalite AR10T 16" barrel and the extractor hasn't tore one up yet. If I were going to buy brass, I wouldn't spend my money on this. But if it's free, Hell yeah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kgunz11 Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 I guess it all depends on what you're using it for. Trying to get groups at 1000yds., this is not the brass I would use.I get the stuff free also and use it around our local range (200yrd max). I don't know how many loads I'll get out of it because I haven't even loaded a fraction of what I have. But to me, if I only get one loading out of it, that's fine. It was free. I fire it out of an Armalite AR10T 16" barrel and the extractor hasn't tore one up yet. If I were going to buy brass, I wouldn't spend my money on this. But if it's free, Hell yeah That is exactly how I feel DonT! You're just better with words than I. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwoShot Posted November 6, 2009 Share Posted November 6, 2009 I am in the process of acquiring an Armalite AR-10T, 20" stainless barrel. My shooting will be 99.99% 500 yards and less. I can get LC machine gun fired brass for $150/1000 or M118 LR Bolt rifle fired LC brass for $185/500. Which would you recommend? If not this LC brass, what commercial brass should I be looking for? My shooting is mostly informal target shooting and long range varmints in very windy conditions. My sincerest thanks for your advice and opinions! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kgunz11 Posted November 6, 2009 Share Posted November 6, 2009 Winchester brass is real hard to beat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DougCarden Posted November 7, 2009 Share Posted November 7, 2009 TwoShot, I don't have personal knowledge, but I have friends in KS that shoot A LOT of rifle, and they got burned several times on machinegun fired brass in .223 and .308. I would buy a small batch of each, hand inspect, load them, keep them seperate, and take notes and see what the differences are if there are any. It may be that the barrels on the MG is fine, and it isnt deforming the brass or chewing up the case rim, or not...... Good luck, DougC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwoShot Posted November 7, 2009 Share Posted November 7, 2009 Gentlemen, Thank you for your thoughtful replies!!! Sincerely, TwoShot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
technetium-99m Posted November 7, 2009 Share Posted November 7, 2009 I have a bit of Federal 308 brass from the FGMM I shot through my savage and I haven't tried to load any yet, I just wonder how they would hold up with 44+ grains of Varget under a 178 AMAX. For the money and ease of loading I just buy Lapua cases, I don't sort them or anything I just trim and load them. But if Federal cases were free, I use the heck out of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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