#1
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New production Winchester 22 Hornet brass: go or no-go?
As the title says, I need some expert opinion on the newer production aka "red label" Winchester 22 hornet brass. I've heard rumors that it isn't good and can split on the first firing. I found a site that has some in stock, along with PPU 22 hornet brass. The PPU, I believe, when K'd will have a hair too little capacity. The WW should be enough, though.
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#2
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I haven't had to buy any for some time, and generally prefer WW brass in general for my volume shooting needs, but he last time I had to buy new WW brass for my 220 Swift, I loaded a few rounds to do some load development. Those first loads, maybe a quarter of them had several neck cracks on first firings. Obviously, the brass was too hard from the factory. It even felt a bit hard, even on the first sizing. So, I annealed the rest of the brass before sizing and loading it, even the rest of the new brass (500 rounds total). After annealing, all worked great. That has been my practice since then, no matter the caliber. IF it feels too hard on first loading, it gets annealed. It is some extra work, but I do a lot of brass prep for all my brass, and like to get the best life out of it.
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#3
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In this day and age and the way supplies are short, if you need some hornet brass or want to stock up, then buy it. Don't go with RUMOR, check it out yourself and see if it is true or not.
If you don't like it, someone else will buy it from you. |
#4
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I switched over to Hornady a while back for my CZ 527 22 hornet and it has been doing very well.
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#5
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Good info, guys. The reason I'm even looking for brass is because I was just finishing fire forming the last of my Remington brass, which I loaded light this time around. All of the brass came out too short OAL, from 1.396" unfired to 1.382" or shorter after FF when I needed 1.385" minimum.
I'll look into the WW brass further. By the way, how do you all anneal you cases? |
#6
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Quote:
I personally wouldn’t be scared of it being .003” - .005” too short. I’d load it again and shoot. Pretty old school here but I anneal spinning the case in a map gas flame and for brass that I’m concerned about too much heat getting to the case head, I drop the brass into water. But now days there are a lot of good annealing options out there.
__________________
Shoot First... Ask questions later... On Saubier.com __________________ NRA Lifetime Endowment Member |
#7
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I'll look into the WW brass further. By the way, how do you all anneal you cases?[/quote]
Same way I anneal all my brass, when needed. With a small socket to hold the case and a blow torch. Depending on size of brass, just time it to the point of starting to turn orange/red. |
#8
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GLWenzl, that 1.396" was before sizing. The short length was after firming. The last batch that I did came out to 1.387" on average. The reason trim length is critical is because the rounds are crimped on a drive band.
I'll maybe try getting the WW brass and anneal then if they seem to hard. |
#9
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Same here as Bill K. said. I use a standard propane torch and rotate it with my fingers or on a small socket on and extension to rotate. I only do the mouth down to the neck/shoulder joint. For 22 Hornet with my propane torch, touch the blue inner tip just shy of the brass itself, and it takes 5-6 seconds, timed with a metronome to get a dull red color.
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#10
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Gentlemen, do you think a butane torch would work as well, or is propane the way to go?
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