30-06 Brass Weight: LC-44 vs FC

[Reed]

I've always read how military brass is thicker than commercial brass and so has a bit less powder space. I have a batch of 60 LC-44 that weigh from 187-193 gn. I also have a batch of 90 newish FC that weigh 199-202 gn. I'm reasonably sure the LC-44 hasn't received any special treatment as far as case prep. All this brass is trimmed to the same length. My small sample of Barnes -06 brass is closer to the LC brass: all around 193 gn. Maybe not all military brass is/was so thick after all? Or is FC just putting out some really heavy brass these days?

I haven't done any water volume testing yet, but I'm heading there.

 

[Ian]

7.62.51mm and 5.56x45mm military brass for use with disintegrating links in machine guns is thicker, heavier, and has less powder space.....most of the time. '06 brass has always been about the same for me, commercial or military.

I've found it necessary sometimes to reduce the powder charge by 1-2 grains in .308 when using WCC or LC machine gun brass. Same-same with 5.56, though I admit to never having measured any Federal 5.56 to see if their commercial and military brass has any difference (betting it does not).

 

[RBHarter]

I had extensive notes on 200 LC43 regarding weight , volume etc .
I found a lot of 100 RP from 1 lot of factory about 10 yr ago that scaled the same as the LC for proportion . When the same load was loaded in the same weight cases the everything was different . 50.3 gr of I4350 and a 150 SPBT that ran 1.5" at 2700 fps closed to under a quarter but slowed to under 2500 fps .

I can't vouch for FC but I suspect the story will be similar .

 

[Reed]

Appreciate the insight guys.

 

[Chris]

Not to awaken the thread, but for fun I just weighed (10) LC 63 Match (not resized so contains primers) at 200.0 average. Probably been resized twice.

(10) R-P with primers weigh 0.1 grains more.

I recall that in the past I weighed GI brass and found it quite heavier than commercial, so I think we should continue in vigilance regarding powder charges in GI cases of less internal capacity.

 

[KHornet]

Agree with Ian. To me, working with machine gun brass is a pain in the tush, that I have avoided for years.

Paul

 

[Reed]

I recall that in the past I weighed GI brass and found it quite heavier than commercial, so I think we should continue in vigilance regarding powder charges in GI cases of less internal capacity.

Your point is well taken. I found some older FC brass with much smaller print on the headstamp that is a good 20 gn or so lighter than my newer stuff. Bet if i measured water the older brass would have more capacity than the military or the newer FC.

 

[USSR]

7.62.51mm and 5.56x45mm military brass for use with disintegrating links in machine guns is thicker, heavier, and has less powder space.....most of the time. '06 brass has always been about the same for me, commercial or military.

+1. Guys find that 7.62x51 is heavier than most .308 commercial brass, so they assume that it is that way across the board with all military/commercial brass. It is not the case with the .30-06 and I load them the same.

Don