338 Edge Bertram Brass Shoulder inconsistancies. Fireform First?

[TX mountain hunter]

100 Rounds of Bertram Brass are in from Defensive Edge. When I measured the shoulders with the Hornady .420 Headspace Gauge I found them to have 0.009" of variance, ranging from 2.456" to 2.465".

I would like to be able to do some initial load development without having to fireform custom brass that cost $3.15 a piece, but am afraid that the variance in the shoulder could skew my results on powder charge and seating depth.

Am I being too picky here? What are some recommendations? Begin load development with longer shoulder brass, shorter shoulder brass or fireform everything first (>$1 a shot + wasted time)?

 

[Broz]

Depends on the head space dimention of your chamber. I found the Bertram brass to be a little long on the shoulder for the last edge I did. So I simply set the shoulder back for a better fit right off the bat. That was a plus I feel.

Jeff

 

[TX mountain hunter]

Thanks Broz. Assuming my smith's .420 gauge and my own are the same diameter it looks like they will be 0.022" to 0.013" short. I'm not at all confident they are the same yet since I haven't picked up the rifle yet to measure my own brass vs. the chambering.

I guess I'm jumping the gun a bit here, but I'm a bit limited on prep time for hunting season as my only chances to shoot are weekends when I can make it to the ranch.

My brass measurements: 2.456" to 2.465"
Smith's fired brass through my rifle: 2.478"

Time will tell. Knowing I get to pick up my new toy tomorrow is making me feel like a kid on Christmas Eve.

 

[danj]

I had to bump the shoulder back on my bertram brass back as far as the die would let me . Still get some marks (ejector) on brass using 90 gr h-1000 with 300 smk.(2820 fps) Remington brass shows no marks with this load. I'll see what happens on second reload.Right now I have enough remingtons reloaded to get me through bear season. Also going to try 300 gr bergers with the bertram brass with this load.

 

[Kiwi Greg]

When I tested it ages ago against the Fed, RP, Nosler & Norma brass, I found the Bertram brass I had was long in the shoulder & I had to remove some metal from the bottom of my body die to push the shoulder back enough, it was quite hard & would spring back otherwise.

The necks were thinner & the head was bigger which meant it expanded less & held onto the primers even in obviously ovderloaded cases.

The Remington cases were happy with the same load & gave more speed.

The Nosler/Norma cases gave the best speed for powder charge but were overloaded, so the RP could take more powder & catch up in the velocity stakes.

FWIW, in the end I decided that the RP brass was the best overall brass for myself & clients to use, taking into consideration, ease of use, cost, velocity achieved balanced with longevity.