44 mag Winchester vs Hornady brass

[PD Gohil]

Would like everyone's opinion on Winchester versus Hornady brass. I have both available.

I currently shoot Hornady brass with a 240 grain XTP over 24.5 grains of w 296 and a Winchester LPP. This is in my Ruger super Blackhawk. Extremely accurate and hard hitting.

I'm now getting ready to load for my Smith & Wesson 329 PD. I'll be loading 240 grain Keith bullets from Missouri bullet company over alliant 2400 powder with Winchester LPP. I will be trying to push that pill pretty hard as I will be using it for defensive shooting and casual shooting some as well.

I know some people don't care to mix their brass but I want to keep mine separated if it provides any advantage at all. I've had one failure with factory ammo from the Winchester brass lot. Case split up the side. Didn't blow the primer so I'm blaming it on a bad piece of brass from the factory as this was factory ammo.

I have both available and would just like to know if there's an advantage one way or the other for my 329 PD



Thanks!

PGohil
WV

 

[Twicepop]

Of the two brands mentioned, I don't care for either one of them. IMHO, old Winchester used to be as good as it gets, the later stuff is pure garbage. I don't have much experience with Hornady, have only ever used a few pistol brass and they seemed alright. However, my neighbor gave me a large quantity of 22-250 brass mostly Remington and he asked me about why all the Hornady 22-250 brass that he'd bought and shot in his and both his son's 22-250s had split. He thought it was the guns, 3 Savage rifles(same caliber) that had never had problems with the Remington ammo they'd shot in them. I read at this site about similar problems associated with Hornady brass. I did some brass "harvesting" at a gun club I used to belong to and discovered a Hornady 460 S&W case that had separated right above the web, looked to be a factory round. Again just my opinion but I'll go to lengths to avoid using either one of these brands if I can help it.

 

[PD Gohil]

Any other thoughts?

 

[mongo chicago]

DECADES ago, I found Remington brass to be much longer lasting than Winchester. But that was WAYYYYY back then.

 

[PD Gohil]

I Plan to run these loads fairly hot. I was just thinking that maybe one brass would be less likely to have an issue at higher pressure. Obviously I'll still stay within recommended maximums and wIll watch for signs of pressure on the primer side.

 

[Minshooter]

If your experience with hot loads has been only with the Super Blackhawk, I'd suggest first shooting a couple cylinders of full power 250 gr. through the 329. Unless your skin turns green and your shirt starts to rip apart when you get upset, I just don't think you'll find it all that enjoyable an experience.
In the 329, a 250 gr at around 1000 fps is about max comfort for most of the experienced shooters I know. And these are 454 Casull kind of guys. The 360PD with full power .357's is in the same category.
If you prefer it, more power to you. (Pun intended)
Enjoy.
(And, I'm still shooting 50 year old Winchester .44 Magnum brass. Lost count of the number of reloads).

 

[TIMO]

I agree with the older 44 winchester brass being good. I have since moved on from the 44 Mag, owned several Rugers and Smiths through the years. One thing I never did was load the Smith to the same higher level that either of my Ruger's would be loaded at. The Smith is not quite the same strength in my opinion.

Just my .02
Tim