Flash Hole Issues with Winchester 284 Brass!!!

[Raptor]

I could live with dented cases or necks but not flash holes that look like a bathtub...

 

[270WinDude]

I could live with dented cases or necks but not flash holes that look like a bathtub...

You have to look through the clear part of the bag with Winchester brass. I'm learning to just buy expencive norma brass and call it good though. For my Winchester Brass though I certainly have learned to look into the bag. It varies between batches. Most have neck damage but not all. Some have that oval shaped flash hole, I can not understate the size and strange deformities with the flash holes, the oblong shape directs the main blast in whatever direction the oval is mispunched at. If 1 in the bag has that crazy flashhole they all will. I have several batches down range with that crappy brass and plan on only changing to Norma for next batch of same charge, bullet, primer, head to ogive, etc. then should be able to comment on effect but my rest really sucked that day too...…. Winchester is a lot less money but if you peek in the bag you should be okay.

 

[Twicepop]

Not 284 brass, but a couple of years back I bought a large amount of Winchester once fired .45 ACP brass. About 50 of them had absolutely huge flash holes, the flash hole was so large that there almost wasn't any place to seat the primers in the primer pocket. On a whim I contacted Winchester to see if by some chance they would replace the brass. The rep I spoke with flat out told me "it wasn't their problem" and "that I should contact the vendor I purchased it from". I told him they only sold it, YOU MADE IT this way and passed it on to the shooting public, this got no response. I again said, are you people going to make this right and replace it, he said they would NOT, it wasn't their problem. I said that this was the last G-D time I'd ever buy anything with the name Winchester on it. I asked to verify the response, "you're not going to make this right with me" he said nothing except "is there anything else I can do for you"? I said "else" would imply you did something for the matter I contacted you about, then he hung up. If anyone from Winchester might read this post, take this to the bank I will never buy ANYTHING else with the Winchester name on it, with customer service like that you can kiss me where the sun don't shine.

 

[Raptor]

Not 284 brass, but a couple of years back I bought a large amount of Winchester once fired .45 ACP brass. About 50 of them had absolutely huge flash holes, the flash hole was so large that there almost wasn't any place to seat the primers in the primer pocket. On a whim I contacted Winchester to see if by some chance they would replace the brass. The rep I spoke with flat out told me "it wasn't their problem" and "that I should contact the vendor I purchased it from". I told him they only sold it, YOU MADE IT this way and passed it on to the shooting public, this got no response. I again said, are you people going to make this right and replace it, he said they would NOT, it wasn't their problem. I said that this was the last G-D time I'd ever buy anything with the name Winchester on it. I asked to verify the response, "you're not going to make this right with me" he said nothing except "is there anything else I can do for you"? I said "else" would imply you did something for the matter I contacted you about, then he hung up. If anyone from Winchester might read this post, take this to the bank I will never buy ANYTHING else with the Winchester name on it, with customer service like that you can kiss me where the sun don't shine.

It just amazes me the way some companies treat their customers esp. in this day and age with the internet. You can run down a company on any number of web sights that reach tens of thousands of people. I am also surprised by the lack of pride many now take in the work they do or the product they put out....

 

[flatlander]

I used to buy mostly Winchester brass, never had any reason to regret it. Almost all my considerable number of 284 cases were purchased from Powder Valley after I built my first 284 in 2006, and it was plenty good enough to use in 1000yd any rifle/any sight prone matches. Still using the vast majority of that brass, and it still shoots fine.

OTOH, I was prepping some WW 7mm-08 brass for fire-forming in a 7mm-08 Improved 30* rifle a month or so ago, and had one round that split at the shoulder when fired. Upon closer inspection of the headstamp, I discovered it was Hornady 6.5x55?!? How the heck did a Hornady case for another caliber find its way into a new, un-opened bag of WW 7mm-08?

 

[#40Fan]

Where is the "How the F? No way... Are you sure? Ok, I had a beer and I read you found a piece of Hornady brass in a bag of Winchester brass..." emoji?

No idea how, is my answer.

 

[alamo308]

Uh-oh. This thread made me run and check my brass, fearing it was Winchester.
Nope, it's all (four 100ct bags) Remington, and the flash holes appear nice and uniform, looking through the plastic bags.
OTOH, I just finished prepping 300 rounds of once-fired Lapua .308, and found just four flash holes with burrs, easily deburred. For the expense and quality, I can live with a 1.3% burr-rate.

 

[dannyjbiggs]

My son in laws both bought 400rds of new Winchester 284 brass from Cablea's and when they started to prep their brass they found that the flash holes are crap!! They are oblong or oversized like they were drilled or punched crooked and then redone. Out of 400rds of brass there were only about 100 cased that were "Usable". When we took it back to Cabela's they had a couple of hundred rounds on the shelf that were the same way!!! Has anyone else found this in their brass???

Yes. Back in 2010, I purchased 1,000 Win. .284 cases from Powder Valley. While I was "weight sorting" them, I quickly realized that I also needed to "flash hole sort" them also!! Out of the 1,000, I realized just over 600 cases that had nicely round flash holes after applying my Sinclair flash hole tool to them. Out of those 600 plus, I set aside the lowest weight batch (208.5 grains @ 211 cases each) as a reserve. They are still on the shelf in unfired reserve. (The rest, I sold off to hunters.) As someone mentioned, the primer pockets last forever even with hot loads, but I prefer the much lighter weight Lapua cases.

Dan

 

[spaniel]

A number of years ago the blue bag Winchester brass was the best VALUE rifle brass available. I'm still shooting it in my 300WM with great success at long range.

When the packaging changed the quality changed. It's simply crap now. I'll buy the straight walled pistol cartridge stuff but no rifle brass W-W. Tried multiple chamberings in the new packaging....all crap.