Description
308 brass
308 brass Overview
what is 308 brass
308 brass is a type of ammunition casing designed for the .308 Winchester cartridge, which is commonly used for hunting and target shooting. The brass casing is typically made of high-quality materials, such as brass or nickel-plated brass, to provide reliable performance and accuracy. It can also be easily reloaded, allowing shooters to customize their ammunition for specific needs. 308 brass is widely used by hunters, sport shooters, and military and law enforcement agencies for training purposes.
Lapua 308 brass begins with high-quality raw materials and superior smelting and metallurgical competence. Throughout the production process, the focus on quality control is consistent with Lapua’s exacting standards. Particular attention is paid to hardness, solidity and grain structure. All Lapua brass is tested to 30% overpressure according to Commission Internationale Permanente, the agency that oversees ammunition and component producers in Western Europe. This is not loaded ammunition.
308 brass preparation
With bulk 308 brass you may sometimes notice a few case mouths are “out of round” or slightly dented below the shoulder. These imperfections occur in the final tumbling wash operation after the case mouth has been annealed. Brass manufacturers are aware of the case cosmetics and have worked to mitigate it, but due to equipment design, denting may still occur. Minor dents are normally removed in the first firing and will not affect case life or performance. On non-plated brass, you may also notice all the anneal stain might not be polished off, which may give the case neck a pinkish color. With some smaller caliber cases you may notice the case mouths to be slightly belled.
With all new rifle brass, you should first straighten out the case and case mouth, then chamfer and debur the case mouth inside and out. To straighten the case mouth, run the case part way into the sizer die and let the expander ball straighten the brass. To prevent the case neck from stretching, be sure to lubricate the case neck inside the case mouth.
308 brass Specifications
Product Information
Cartridge | 308 Winchester |
Finish | Brass |
Condition | New |
Quantity | 100 Piece |
Primed | No |
Primer Size | Large Rifle |
Delivery Information
Shipping Weight | 2.910 Pounds |
testing 308 brass
Most new 308 brass can be loaded without sizing but you run the risk of uneven bullet seating pressure which will render the ammo inconsistent which may be important in a match. There are three ways to size cases. Match shooters use neck sizing as it is considered to produce the most accurate ammo and longest case life. For the most part, it isn’t an advantage and that brass frequently won’t chamber in other rifles. I have tried neck sizing but I found that after 3-4 firings the case has to be full length sized in order to chamber. Since I generally use full length as I hunt or experiment I don’t want to be bothered with ammo that won’t chamber. Full-length sizing is the most common method and is useful for most applications. Small base dies bring the brass back to original specs with the advantage that it should fit in any rifle tried.
For shooters with multiple rifles in the same caliber, this would be the way to go. In theory, it will reduce case life because it works the case more than the other two methods. In reality, I doubt that there is any real difference given the same loads.
308 brass from our indoor shooting ranges. This brass includes both military crimped primer brass and commercial non crimped primer pocket brass. Headstamps include but are not limited too Remington, Federal, Lake City, PMC, Winchester, and IMI. This brass is mechanically sorted three times then hand sorted before it ships to remove anything that might’ve gotten by. Every piece of this brass has been checked with pen light inside, one by one, to remove berdan primed cases(2 hole non reloadable brass). We spend a tremendous amount of time and labor sorting this material but customer satisfaction and repeat purchases tell us it is well worth it. As with all brass orders, we add an additional 2% to the overall weight and tumble clean the material at no additional charge. Purchase this brass with absolute confidence in quality, cleanliness, accuracy of sort, and price.
advantages of 308 brass
1. Reliability: 308 brass is known for its high-quality construction, which ensures reliable performance and accuracy. This makes it a popular choice among hunters and target shooters who require consistent results.
2. Reloadability: One of the biggest advantages of 308 brass is its ability to be easily reloaded. This allows shooters to customize their ammunition for specific needs, such as adjusting the bullet weight or powder charge for different shooting situations.
3. Versatility: The .308 Winchester cartridge is a versatile round that can be used for hunting a variety of game, as well as for target shooting and tactical applications. This makes 308 brass a popular choice among a wide range of shooters.
4. Availability: Due to its popularity, 308 brass is widely available from a variety of manufacturers, making it easy to find and purchase.
5. Cost-effective: While 308 brass may be slightly more expensive than some other types of ammunition, its reloadability makes it a cost-effective choice in the long run. Shooters can save money by reloading their own ammunition instead of purchasing new rounds each time they go to the range or out hunting.
applications of 308 brass
1. Hunting: 308 brass is commonly used for hunting a variety of game, including deer, elk, and moose. Its versatility and reliability make it a popular choice among hunters.
2. Target Shooting: 308 brass is also a popular choice for target shooting, whether it be for competition or recreational purposes. Its accuracy and consistency make it a reliable choice for shooters looking to improve their marksmanship.
3. Tactical Applications: The .308 Winchester cartridge is also used in tactical applications, such as law enforcement and military operations. Its effectiveness at longer ranges and ability to penetrate barriers make it a popular choice for these applications.
4. Customization: 308 brass is often used by handloaders to customize their ammunition for specific needs. This allows shooters to adjust the bullet weight, powder charge, and other factors to optimize their performance for different shooting situations.
5. Long Range Shooting: The .308 Winchester cartridge is capable of accurate and consistent performance at longer ranges, making it a popular choice for long-range shooting competitions and hunting situations.
evaluating 308 brass
One way to evaluate any brass is by feel. It may not be in scientific books but once you learn the technique feel that can be very useful ( see my article Reloading Ammo By Feel ). Every reloading operation requires some effort to achieve though most are relatively modest. If you are paying attention then you will notice the amount of effort needed to do that operation. If you are going along and one round is either noticeably easier or harder to do then there is a reason and you should see why. If you have consistent cases then everyone should have the same amount of feel. When you learn how to use feel the operations will be smoother.
Doing the normal reloading operations of the Kinetic Industries 308 WIN brass casings, I noticed that everything is consistent. That means that sizing effort is the same and the other operations show consistency. There is no way to measure that but if the loading operations are consistent from case to case chances are the ammo will be consistent also. In order for ammo to be accurate, each round has to do the same thing that all of the others do. That includes velocity consistency or a low standard deviation. Part but not all of that is the quality of the brass.
The standard length of the Kinetic Industries 308 WIN Brass Casings is 2.015 and the unfired brass measured 2.005 and was consistent. That was after sizing. After resizing, they measured from 2.001 to 2.021, in theory some would have to be trimmed to maintain length. In reality, trimming isn’t needed unless they were going into a match chamber. After another firing or two and trimming will be necessary. After the second firing, some of the cases stretched a bit so everything was trimmed to the recommended length. That is completely normal. Some of the loads were light which is an area that I like to experiment in. Cases that are too long can be difficult to chamber in addition ammo will not be consistent and can cause excess pressure in a few instances. That is especially true with small calibers and high-intensity loads. All of that is normal and I did nothing extra with these cases. I always chamfer the case mouth as it seems to make bullet seating more consistent.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE 308 BRASS
There are many ways to make sure you have enough 308 brass for reloading. You can go to the range and crawl around the ground on all fours like that little creep from the Lord of the Rings movies, plucking up old cases whenever you find them. You can order bulk ammo and simply pocket whatever pops out of your chamber. You can even get accepted to the United States Army Sniper School, build up a respectable collection of empty brass, go AWOL, and then spend your life on the lam stopping only to reload once the authorities have lost your trail.
But the easiest way to ensure your brass supply is to order a package of 1,000 308 cases by Armscor. The Philippine manufacturer usually loads their new brass cases themself, but they also package them au naturel once they’ve been washed for the benefit of savvy handloaders such as yourself.
These cases are a better deal because Armscor did not give them primers – you thus have total control over so important an aspect of your handloads’ performance. Make sure you check out our .30 caliber bullet selection so long as you’re passing by.
Vanammo –
By far the best brass money can by. I just got back from the range and shooting a load I worked up using this brass and to say that I’m impressed would be an understatement. Since I don’t have a digital scale, it’s almost impossible for me to weigh out 100 cases and sort them out because I simply don’t have the time or patience for that. So I gave Lapua brass a try and using Varget my results were amazing. I have shot both Winchester and Remington brass and there is simply no comparison. My extreme spread using both US brands can range from just 20 fps all the way to 60 fps with Remington being the worst. With Lapua it never went over 30fps with Varget. Once you go over that the ES just keeps dropping and dropping. I stopped at .5 gr over the manual listed max and loaded up 15 rounds and shot them over my chrono. Velocity out of a 19″ Steyr Scout barrel was 2635 with an ES of 8 fps throughout the whole 15 shots which is amazing considering that I only did basic brass prep. With that the ES never went over 23 fps and I managed to shoot my first sub .25″ 5 shot group. Needless to say, I will never use cheap brass again! With results like the one I got, you can rest assured that reloading will be much more enjoyable than what it already is.
Vanammo –
I’ve bought 223 and 260 rem lapua brass some where else and weights only varied .5grs with each. I bought 2 boxes of this 308 brass on clearance and paid for it! varied 3.4grs with both boxes, both lot # p00684405. may as well have bought rem, fed or win.
Vanammo –
The Lapua brass for the 308 is the best I have ever used. It’s very durable and consistent in all dimensions, holding primers very well after repeated firings. That said, I have had great difficulty reaching 2700 fps with 180 grain flat base spitzers using powders that easily do it with other brands of brass in my 26 inch bbl. I get pressure signs using the Lapua brass before reaching 2700. I had some StaBall 6.5 and decided to try that. It is very dense and 52 grains comes up to a little below the base of the neck in unfired Lapua cases. Using 52 grains of this with 180 grain Speer Hot Cors that barely touch the powder when seated to 2.860 gave me an average of 2727 and a 0.42 inch group with WLR primers. Fed 210 primers averaged a little over 2700 fps and also yielded a very tight group. I shot several more groups with the same results, and the ES was 30 – 35 (very good for ball powder). The brass and primers looked wonderful with no pressure signs and extraction was easy. Boat tail bullets would compress the powder a bit, though. I will likely try this with Partitions, but the Hot Cors are excellent for hunting too. This is the best shooting load I have found for the 308 – even better than Varget with ELD-X’s.
Vanammo –
Best brass for reloading. Outstanding product. This is the only brass that I use if you reload with this brass you will shoot dimes.
Vanammo –
I only use Lapua brass in my 308, 6.5 and 223’s because it’s consistent and lasts longer than other brands. I’d use it in all my rifles if they made in 6mm and 270 Win.
Vanammo –
Case weights (+,-) one grain and neck thickness on most cases varied leads than 2/1000. A few were 3/1000. Primer pockets consistent and flash holes need no work. First I’ve purchased these, but can see why so many give 5 stars.
Vanammo –
Quality product !
Vanammo –
Pricey but it’s the best brass.
Vanammo –
have both large and small primer versions both types have performed flawlessly would definitely buy again
Vanammo –
Great and consistent brass, it is the only one brand I use
Vanammo –
Accuracy Reload for service rifle. Works right every single time
Vanammo –
The 5.56 and .308 brass I’ve purchased have been excellent. It is expensive but worth the cost.
Vanammo –
Excellent brass,
Vanammo –
Excellent, consistent brass, stands up to repeated use. If you reload this is the good stuff.
Vanammo –
Midway does not sell powder or primers to reload this brass. Kinda makes it useless unless you have a slingshot. I am 20+ year customer.
Vanammo –
very good, no complaints.
Vanammo –
This is my preferred brass for my Rem 700; have been using it in the 308 Win factory barrel with great results. I have had it rebarrelled with a Bartlein and am starting up in F-TR, so will be depending on this consistent brass.
Vanammo –
I use this brass for reloading and firing out of my Springfield M1A Super Match rifle which is very finicky about the brass you use to fire it in. I tried once fired brass to reload with. A total disaster in every aspect . I have a Frankfort arsenal Case Trim and prep center machine. I had to constantly recalibrate the case prep center to trim the once fired brass to get to 2.03 to 2. 07. It was also a waste of brass as you cannot fully resize the mixed brand once fired brass. The I tried a bag of new 100 PPU 308 brass. Thin walled and hard to accuratley trim and resized. Had alot of throwaways from the once fired PPU brass as a lot of them would not fully resize. One of the PPU brass casing snapped in half inside my resizing die after only the third time of reloading it. I had to throw out the resizing die. Then I found Lapua Brass. A bit expensive , but worth every last penny. I only had to calibrate my Frankfort arsenal case trim and prep center once to trim the Lapua brass, and every shell casing trimmed to exactly 2.05. No misfires no duds and all the Lapua brass casing reloads cycled beautifully each time I fired my M1A. No duds no stove pipes or failures to eject. from my M1A with the Lapua brass. Even after reloading 20 times. By far the thickest brass on the market out there. Brass alloy is perfect. No issues resizing. Never gets brittle. Even after twenty times of reloading of the Lapua brass. Every aspect of the reloading process is perfect and makes reloading a very enjoyable process. Do not waste your money on any other brand brass out there on the market. Only buy Lapua brass casings.
Vanammo –
Reloading several rifles.
Vanammo –
Best brass i ever bought
Vanammo –
Very good
Vanammo –
I have used lapua brass for 35 years. rem., hor., win., fed. brass does not come close to the quality of lapua. Beginning with the quality of metal, then, hardness, wall thickness consistency, primer pocket depth and size, flash hole burrs, and life.
Vanammo –
yes, i will continue to buy 308 lapua brass
Vanammo –
very good brass
Vanammo –
great quality brass
Vanammo –
i will buy it again
Vanammo –
worth the cost
Vanammo –
i will buy again