Remington Braas Quality or Lack of ?

[MontanaRifleman]

I bought some new Remington 300 RUM brass about a year or so ago and just recently opened the bag for some load work I'm doing. It looks and feels very cheap.

I got some 300 Dakota brass in last week and it looks and feels like much higher quality. I weighed a handful of case each and the Rem 300 RUM cases weighed 269 gr on average and the 300 Dakota wieghed 266 gr which is a little over 1% difference in weight vs over 10 % difference in volume. And their both based off the 404 Jeffery.

You would think that for a clambering like the 300 RUM, Remington would spec a higher quality brass.

-Mark

 

[rscott5028]

I bought some new Remington 300 RUM brass about a year or so ago and just recently opened the bag for some load work I'm doing. It looks and feels very cheap.

I got some 300 Dakota brass in last week and it looks and feels like much higher quality. I weighed a handful of case each and the Rem 300 RUM cases weighed 269 gr on average and the 300 Dakota wieghed 266 gr which is a little over 1% difference in weight vs over 10 % difference in volume. And their both based off the 404 Jeffery.

You would think that for a clambering like the 300 RUM, Remington would spec a higher quality brass.

-Mark

Interesting choice of words...

When I hold up a piece of Lapua or Norma brass next to the others, I just think it "feels" better. ...Nosler is 3rd place in my book.

I suppose Remington makes what they think people will buy at a price they'll pay. But, I wouldn't think they would actually lower the bar for a given cartridge even when nobody else makes the brass if that's what you're suggesting.

Have you tried Nosler?

-- richard

 

[MontanaRifleman]

Oh, I'm just venting a little. But this 300 Ultra Rem brass leaves a lot to be desired. You can't push it very hard without loosening primer pockets and if you want any descent performance out of it, I think 5 firings would be asking a lot from it. The Ultra Mag cartridges have a lot of capacity and the brass should be manufactured to hold up better than it is. If Lapua can do it, Rem should be able to do it too. I think the Rem mindset is to do just enough to get by and make the biggest profit margin they can.

No I haven't tried Nosler yet because I read a number of unfavorable reviews on their RUM brass being too soft. I might give it try, I don't think it could be much worse than Rem.

 

[rscott5028]

I suspect we're in the minority.

The masses that drive profits for Remington just want to hear a really loud BANG!

 

[Kevin Thomas]

Bottom line here guys, our market is made up of the top end of the shooting community; competitive shooters, professional LEO and military users, very serious handloaders, etc.. Over the past few years, Remington seems to have been shifting their target market from the more serious shooters (the type that populate boards like these) to the Walmart crowd of bargain hunters.

You can have cheap, or you can have good, but rarely do you find both in the same item. Until Remington's management chooses to reevaluate this strategy, I suspect this is the way things will continue.

 

[MontanaRifleman]

Thanks Kevin, but that doesn't help me with my 300 Ultra. When are you guys gonna start making some ultra hulls?

 

[shortgrass]

When a company is part of a 'conglomerate' this is what you get, the quest for max profits instead of max quality.

 

[338 LEGEND]

Thanks Kevin, but that doesn't help me with my 300 Ultra. When are you guys gonna start making some ultra hulls?

I would buy some Lapua 300 ultra brass. kevin help use out man!

 

[rscott5028]

Bottom line here guys, our market is made up of the top end of the shooting community; competitive shooters, professional LEO and military users, very serious handloaders, etc.. Over the past few years, Remington seems to have been shifting their target market from the more serious shooters (the type that populate boards like these) to the Walmart crowd of bargain hunters.

You can have cheap, or you can have good, but rarely do you find both in the same item. Until Remington's management chooses to reevaluate this strategy, I suspect this is the way things will continue.

...and, there's nothing fundamentaly wrong with either strategy. Discerning reloaders choose Lapua Brass and the masses flock to Remington.

Lapua has to make a profit as well. So, they charge more for better quality and they don't produce brass if they don't think they can sell enough to be profitable. (I suppose there are other factors as well.)

In any case, "quality" is largely a matter of perspective. In fact, I'd wager that some of highest-volume shooters use Remington or Winchester brass due to the lower cost and "acceptable" accuracy.

-- richard

 

[venom600]

Mark,
Public Service Announcement: Wholesale Sports in Bozeman had 3 boxes (50 pcs. ea.) of Nosler 300 RUM brass in stock about a week and a half ago. If they're still there on Saturday, when I get back into town, I'm gonna go buy 'em.....unless you beat me to it.

Kevin,
I'd buy Lapua brass in 300 RUM if available. I'm sure many of us would. Since a large number of us shooting this caliber reload, you might have a market there. Or not....I'm no market analyst. But, add my name to the list of those who've expressed interest.

--Ben

 

[elkaholic]

Oh, I'm just venting a little. But this 300 Ultra Rem brass leaves a lot to be desired. You can't push it very hard without loosening primer pockets and if you want any descent performance out of it, I think 5 firings would be asking a lot from it. The Ultra Mag cartridges have a lot of capacity and the brass should be manufactured to hold up better than it is. If Lapua can do it, Rem should be able to do it too. I think the Rem mindset is to do just enough to get by and make the biggest profit margin they can.

No I haven't tried Nosler yet because I read a number of unfavorable reviews on their RUM brass being too soft. I might give it try, I don't think it could be much worse than Rem.

Mark...I went through a few pounds of RP ultra brass with my 3 ultras and I have to agree that the RP brass is only good for about three firings. You may also find out that sizing the web down to acceptable is also a problem at about two-three firings. A .550" case should size down to AT LEAST .0002" under to not stick in the chamber and NONE of the dies I tried would do it. New brass of that diameter head is usually approx. 005" under for a reason.......Rich

 

[MontanaRifleman]

Ben, I just got back from wholesale sports about 5 min ago and eyed those boxes up They're pretty proud of their Nosler brass. Midway is waayyy cheaper.

Come to think of it, they were out. The spot on the shelf where they were supposed to be was empty. Maybe you got there before me? LOL Anyway, I might check out that Fed stuff from Midway

 

[MontanaRifleman]

Mark...I went through a few pounds of RP ultra brass with my 3 ultras and I have to agree that the RP brass is only good for about three firings. You may also find out that sizing the web down to acceptable is also a problem at about two-three firings. A .550" case should size down to AT LEAST .0002" under to not stick in the chamber and NONE of the dies I tried would do it. New brass of that diameter head is usually approx. 005" under for a reason.......Rich

Yeah Rich, I know all about it. Early in my 300 Ultra career I got three case stuck in my Redding body die and it took a crow bar to get them out, at least that's what I used I figured out that I needed to size them a little at a time working the lever up and down till they were full sized.

Got home from the range last night from working up 4 bullet powder combinations and all the brass on the upper end of the pressure spectrum needed the special care on the body sizing and primer pockets were loose.

I blew out one primer pushing a GS 177 @ 3600 with 93 gr of RL17. It took quite a bit of force to get the bolt up. The charge before, 92 gr, showed a flattened primer but easy bolt lift and about 3550. When I tried to seat the primer in that pocket, it fell out. The 91 gr held the primer, but very loose. All easy bolt lifts and somewhat flattened 215 primers and some ejector marks. the external pressure signs were similar from about 89 gr to 92. RL17 can be weird sometimes.

With your 210's I got to 94 gr of Retumbo showing about 3130. I just ran that case through the body sizer with some Imperial wax that i just got and the case went through smooth as silk. The primer pocket was a little loose but offered a little resistance. I think that's the max for your 210's. I shot a Berger 210 with 93.5 gr of Retumbo and the chrony showed about 3170. So I'll be loading the rest of your 210's with 94 of Retumbo to do the drop testing.

But you're right... if you want to push the 300 Ultra, the Rem brass will be hard pressed to last longer than 3 firings. with Lapau quality brass I could probably be pushing those GS 177's well over 3500.

 

[pitbull320]

montanarifleman I have been using federal 300rum brass and it is hands down better than remington and nosler brass and it is priced better than nosler brass and natchez has it in stock