Thread: Federal brass primer pockets??

Doing some load development for my mate @Freezer
He brought a bag of 50 brand new federal brass for 270w
We between me and him have fired arround 30 of the 50 so far
The primer pockets on the new brass was a bit looser than the brass I use in my rifles lapua/norma but not bad
For this next round of loading I decided to use once fired brass as its fireformed
Which I loaded up yesterday evening
I was expecting to lose a couple of cases because the 1st round produced high pressures on about 3 or 4 rounds
Out of 30 cases 3 were not reusable the primer pockets were just to loose to be safe
I was kind of expecting that..

However what I wasn’t expecting is even the ones with Absolutely no pressure signs were already Significantly looser than
New most feel like they might only have one or 2 shots left in them
Surely brass life should be better than 3-4 fireings

Has anyone run into this issue is it a Quality control issue with federal brass
Or is it generally pretty good?

Yep federal brass is the only brass that I've used that I've come across loose primer pockets

What powder are you using ?? This problem is discussed regarding RL26 x 270 on youtube under the title of Hunt Simple

Originally Posted by Moa Hunter

What powder are you using ?? This problem is discussed regarding RL26 x 270 on youtube under the title of Hunt Simple

Superformince with 145 eldx

Forgot to say case stretch is huge also once fired brass needed a bunch of trimming to get down to trim length

Yeah, a few years back since I used Federal brass. Primer pockets were particularly poorly formed with some flash holes off centre. Flash holes were obviously PUNCHED. Overall was not impressed and have never used again.
Later runs may have improved in quality??

I use Lapua, Peterson. Minimal case prep required. Long life expectancy.

Check your degree of brass stretch after the second firing. First firing can be misleading as there is a lot going on - fireforming in maybe a chamber at one end of SAAMI.

Greetings All,
Sounds to me that all your loads are too hot. Traditional pressure signs don't show up on cases until pressures are well over max, 70,000 psi or more. Additionally the Federal cases may have less capacity than other makes. This is certainly the case with .308 cases I have. Might pay to weigh some and find out. Further no chronographed results are mentioned. A chronograph, in my slightly humble opinion, is the best and possibly only way for handloaders to keep track of pressure.
Regards Grandpamac.

+1 with off-centre flash holes.

My PPU 308 cases need trimming after first firing as factory ammo, which I assume is not an overpressure load. More likely cases are near max length new and/or rifles chamber is on the large side of specs.

Originally Posted by grandpamac

Greetings All,
Sounds to me that all your loads are too hot. Traditional pressure signs don't show up on cases until pressures are well over max, 70,000 psi or more. Additionally the Federal cases may have less capacity than other makes. This is certainly the case with .308 cases I have. Might pay to weigh some and find out. Further no chronographed results are mentioned. A chronograph, in my slightly humble opinion, is the best and possibly only way for handloaders to keep track of pressure.
Regards Grandpamac.

Just reread the OP's posting. Primer pockets loose after one firing even if the brass quality is questionable is a sign of a hot load. And agree, no chronograph (sorry mickeyduck) you are flying blind. I also use a blade micrometer to measure web growth but if the pockets are noticeably expanding no micrometer is needed.

They are honking
2850 from 18” barrel 145gn yes I did have a crony

And yes they are warm loads
But the cases look awesome to the eye
Exactly the same as a factory round fired in this rifle

I really don’t think it’s pressure related or if it is it’s because the brass isn’t good enough quality to handle the jandel

I normally use lapuas or norma and ive never seen that with ether of those brands and ive had some bloody hot loads over the years Obviously you back off Considerably from these once you start getting signs of pressure but I have never ever loosened a primer pocket on the 1st fireing even with very high pressure

The signs I mainly look for is ejector burr or swipe
And tight bolt lift if I get ether of those i back off
I don’t trust primers as a Indicator as I have found major inconsistencies of how primers show
Obviously if there’s gas leaking arround the primer that’s a hole Different story
But that generally comes well after ejector swipe and bolt lift which would have already been backed off


None if these loads had any of that apart from the 3 ive already chucked out which showed some light ejector marks

My 223 brass was doing it with 25gr 2206h and 55gr sp haven't got my book with me but I think it's a pretty average load

Yeah my gut feeling is it’s an issue with federal brass
When you look on you tube and web etc its a common issue with federal brass
That and outrageous amounts of case stretch

This stuff has both

The stuff I used was once fired factory stuff 1st reload pockets seemed looser than I'd experienced 2nd reload you could push a lot of the primers in with your fingers some would even fall back out so if primers go in ok they are hunting rounds that dont matter if you loose the case

Originally Posted by rambo-6mmrem

They are honking
2850 from 18” barrel 145gn yes I did have a crony

And yes they are warm loads
But the cases look awesome to the eye
Exactly the same as a factory round fired in this rifle

I really don’t think it’s pressure related or if it is it’s because the brass isn’t good enough quality to handle the jandel

I normally use lapuas or norma and ive never seen that with ether of those brands and ive had some bloody hot loads over the years Obviously you back off Considerably from these once you start getting signs of pressure but I have never ever loosened a primer pocket on the 1st fireing even with very high pressure

The signs I mainly look for is ejector burr or swipe
And tight bolt lift if I get ether of those i back off
I don’t trust primers as a Indicator as I have found major inconsistencies of how primers show
Obviously if there’s gas leaking arround the primer that’s a hole Different story
But that generally comes well after ejector swipe and bolt lift which would have already been backed off


None if these loads had any of that apart from the 3 ive already chucked out which showed some light ejector marks

Greetings Again,
I think I may have spotted the problem. Your barrel is 6 inches shorter than the test barrels so 25 to 30 fps loss per inch works out to 150 to 180 fps. Add this to your 2,850 feet per second yo are getting and we have 3,000 to 3,030 fps velocity in a 24 inch barrel. I couldn't find any data for 145 grain projectiles but a quick look for 140 grain projectiles showed no velocity above a little over 2,900 fps. The .270 Win (I am assuming it is not a WSM) is loaded pretty hot and you are hotter than that by a fair bit. Perhaps your chronograph is telling you something that you are not hearing.
Rick Jamison tested brass hardness in a recent issue of Handloader. He found that the Federal brass was about middle of the pack for hardness in both cartridges he tested. This does not mean you don't have a dud batch but there is the velocity.
A couple of other things occurred to me regarding the stretching. First are you full length sizing your new brass before the first load. If so please stop. If the case mouths are a little out of round all that is needed is is to run the expander button in and out of the neck to true it up. If the cases go in the chamber they don't need sizing which just increases the slop and stretching. Last do you full length your fired cases with the die hard down on the shell holder. If so you may wish to back the die of enough so there is the slightest resistance to chambering. This reduces case stretching and reduces the chance of head separations.
A friend had really good velocity from his 6.5 - 06 with no pressure signs. That is until he tried to reload his once fired cases. Not one would hold a primer. His velocity was approaching some .264 Rem Mag Loads. His velocity was above 3,000 fps with the 140 grain projectile. Sound familiar?
Regards Grandpamac.