Starline and Midway .357 brass

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1sailor

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I'm really sick and tired of fighting with my winchester brass to the point where I've culled it out and won't be using it anymore. I need to pick up some more brass and have been looking at Starline and Midway. Thing is, I don't want another debacle like I had with Winchester. Are any members reloading .357 brass made by either Starline or Midway. Have you had any issues with it. Is it hard to resize, any issues getting primers to seat correctly, any other issues.
 
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I have used quite a bit of Starline 357 brass over the years with out any problems. But then I've used even more Winchester 357 Brass without any problems. YMMV
 
starline starline starline

I have decided I am only buying Starline brass anymore. I have never had any issues with it. It is super consistent and uniform and always top quality. When I have any problem with a case I know when I check the headstamp...it WON'T be Starline.
 
Keep an eye on Starlines sight I just got 1000rds delivered last week. They were sold out again by the time mine was delivered.
 
Star line has always had good brass. I used a lot of Winchester brass 20+ years ago and never had a problem with it, I guess things have changed.
 
Curious as to what the problem with the Winchester brass was. The only Winchester brass that gives me a problem is WCC with crimped primers, a bear to remove it.
 
Kurac said:
Star line has always had good brass. I used a lot of Winchester brass 20+ years ago and never had a problem with it, I guess things have changed.
Click to expand...

From what I've read on more recent reviews at Midway (2012-present), it sounds like the Winchester brass quality control has gone seriously downhill. I guess they are outsourcing their brass from China or somewhere else that has cheap labor. For my old 264 Mag rifle, I ended up buying 100 pieces of Remington 7 MM Mag brass and resizing it to 264 instead of buying Winchester brass. And I didn't want to pay over a buck a case for Norma or Nosler 264 brass. All my old brass for that gun is about worn out.
 
Geez... I have thousands of rounds of Winchester brass in various calibers. What sort of issues are you experiencing?
 
Starline is excellent brass and if you are willing to forgo squeezing every bit of velocity possible you can expect at least 10 or 20 reloads before you start getting splitting. As for the difficulty in obtaining their cases, I have taken delivery on 2000 cases this year in two separate orders. The key is Starline's Notify feature, sign up and as soon as you get a notice it will be available place an order and you'll be receiving that order within 2 weeks. BTW, my orders were in April and November so it seems the 357 Magnum gets run approximately every 6 months.
 
Thank you greg. I have some CBC headstamped brass in various pistol calibers but didn't know who manufactured it.
 
Starline brass

I too was having difficulty locating Starline brass.....solved that conundrum by calling Starline....finding out when their next batch of 357, 44 spl and 45 LC brass was going to be run.....placed an order with the nice lady over the phone....and when they ran the next batch of each, they charged me for it and shipped it...problem solved.
In regards to the issues you are having with the Winchester brass....w/o sitting at your bench and trying to load your brass on your setup....I am as puzzled as you are....I have been loading WW 357 brass since the 70's and have loaded a couple hundred thousand rds of 357 since I started....almost all of those loads ignited with CCI primers...never had any chronic problems with seating primers.....as far as the flaring/charging die...as long as I keep case mouths lubed ( I lube every 3rd or 4th if I am loading with a progressive - I lube them all if I am loading w/ single stage) I have no issues.
I have loaded thousands of rounds during the past several decades with Winchester brass in various calibers and it has always been my " go to" brass....the reason I started using Starline was that I simply could not find any WW brass for what I was wanting to load a year or so ago....so I started buying Starline direct from the factory and have been using their brass since then, but I still load what WW brass I have w/o issue. Wish I could be more helpful for the OP, but this is like trying to trouble shoot a mechanical problem over the phone....when I need to see, hear and feel what is occurring.
 
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Starline is my brand....but,

Starline is great brass. BUT this last time during the shortage I finally got my hands on some Starline .357 brass because I had such good luck with it before. This batch was hard overall (maybe thicker wall) and the primer pockets were REALLY tight and hard to prime. This could be fixed with a primer pocket reamer, but I did get them primed and I'm on my way. This isn't going to stop my from using Starline though. One tough, (not really 'bad') batch isn't slowing me down. I suppose after they've been primed one time and shot they will be easier.
 
For those who have wondered what issues I am having with my Winchester brass. first is the primer pockets. About half of my Winchester brass won't seat the primer all the way. I have reamed the pocket rims and cleaned the pockets spotless. Still won't seat deeply enough. When running them through the charging/flaring die the winchesters are extremely difficult to remove. Now I know that a lot of you are anxious to say that the die's need adjustment but it only happens with winchester. Every single time. Nothing else will exhibit these issues.
 
I've used Winchester 357 brass for many years with no particular
problems. If your primers are CCI they might be the problem. I've
found them difficult to seat in any brand of brass.
 
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