Starline Brass

[MMH]

Never used it. Is it good brass? Price for 44 mag is about the same as once fired brass.

[frankski]

I've only used their .357 pistol brass, and can say that it is high quality, consistent, and is good for many reloadings.

Starline has a reputation for quality.

[SgtRecon]

They are very high quality and run very consistent, It is all I use in my .41 magnum loading, I have loaded hundreds without an issue

Some time ago , I ran across an article online that Starline manufactured cases for the "big guys" at one time, WW, FC, PMC before getting poplar in their own right.

[Bang]

COR-BON uses it. So do I. It's the poor man's LAPUA brass.

[SgtRecon]

Here's a cut and paste from Ruger forums thread post #7 :
http://rugerforum.net/reloading/1000...-markings.html

Interesting read, I was unaware of the R-P and Winchester differences, as a fact most of my pistol case failures have been R-P brass now that I think of it

Just a few comments on headstamps ... Usually the headstamp indicates what company made the ammo but not necessarily what company made the brass.

Here are some good examples: Starline makes brass for several different ammo manufacturers and will apply what ever headstamp the ammo manufacturer wants. This is typically excellent quality brass but ... sometimes the same ammo manufacture also buys their brass from a different company. A perfect example is AMERC ... some of their brass comes from Starline and is excellent, however some comes from other sources and is absolutely the worst brass on the market ... all have the AMERC headstamp.

Several years ago, CCI Speer and Federal merged under the parent company ATK. Some CCI Speer ammo uses Federal cases, some Federal ammo uses CCI Speer cases. In this situation, the respective headstamps represent the ammo manufacturer, not the brass manufacturer.

ATK also runs the only US Military ammo plant ... Lake City Army Ammunition Plant, in Independence, Missouri. Both their FC (with year date) and WCC (with year date) headstamps are made to the same NATO specs at the same plant. Examples: WCC 05 would indicate Winchester Cartridge Co, made in 2005. FC 69 would indicate Federal Cartridge Co, made in 1969. This ammo is sold commercially in Winchester White Box (WCC headstamp) or Federal Eagle boxes (FC headstamp). Good quality ammo and excellent brass cases ... about the best you can get.

One of the biggest scams is R-P cases. Most are actually made by Remington and are good quality, however some R-P headstamp cases are made in Mexico and are pure junk. If you look closely, the Mexican R-P headstamps use a smaller font.

Winchester (Olin) makes several different grades of ammo. Some with a WIN headstamp, some with Winchester headstamp, some with Super-X headstamp, and of course some with WCC headstamp. Most of this brass is good quality, however it is not all made at the same plant. WIN headstamp cases are the poorest quality of the bunch.

Why does it matter? The typical formula for cartridge brass is 70% copper and 30% zinc. This alloy has the best properties for cartridges ... allowing expansion without cracking or rupturing and typically has good reloadability. The higher quality brass ... Lapua, Norma, Starline, and a few other manufactures use pure zinc and copper to make their brass alloys, however many companies ... especially foreign made brass, use recycled brass that may contain almost any metal. Impurities change the properties of the brass cases where it might not be suitable to reload. Remember one very important fact .... cartridges are designed for just one shot and cases are not designed to be reloaded. Most times we get lucky and are able to safely reload cases many times ... sometimes NOT.

Every brass case manufacturer uses slightly different dies to extrude and form brass cases. This means the outside dimensions are usually well within SAAMI specs (for US made ammo) but the inside of the case can vary a lot from brand to brand ... or more importantly, from brass manufacturer to manufacturer. Some cases have thicker/thinner walls, different shaped webs, or different head thickness. Further, some cases have different sized flash holes, which include the newer "lead free" or "Non-toxic" cases with 3/32" flash holes versus 5/64" for standard rifle or handgun cases. Flash hole diameter changes the amount of primer flash applied to the powder and in turn, also changes chamber pressure (higher chamber pressure with 3/32" flash holes than with 5/64" flash holes). So ... when you see Federal cases with "NT" on the headstamp or Winchester cases (not always specifically marked) that are used in "WIN CLEAN" loads, it means the flash holes are enlarged. For 45 ACP brass, it also means a small primer pocket ... not the traditional large primer pocket.

If you load handgun ammo for general range practice and plinking, chances are mixed headstamps won't be an issue. About the only thing you will notice is ... some brands give out sooner than others. If you load at the high end of the charts or are loading for precision accuracy, then keeping the internal case dimensions the same (same headstamp) will also help keep chamber pressure and velocity more uniform. There are some warnings in reloading manuals where certain rifle cases are specified ... or warnings NOT to use other specific cases. This has to do with the internal volume of the cases where less volume will increase chamber pressure. Simple solution ... either use the specified case or stay well below the max listed powder charges.
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[Bang]

I'd expect that all of the vagaries outlined above, plus possible human errors while reloading, is why arms makers usually advise no tolerance for handloads fired in their products. Good post.

[MT1]

I was at a local shop looking for .45 Colt brass a few weeks ago. The Starline brass was half the price of Remington. I've been very pleased with the performance.

[Bang]

I have Starline in .45-70, .45 Colt, .308, 357SIG. It's my go-to if needing new brass... especially working up loads for repeatable accuracy in the rifle.

[Steve in PA]

I bought 100 pieces of Starline brass in .44 Magnum to be used in my T/C Contender. I wanted to be able to tell this brass from my normal Remington brass I use for my other .44 Magnums. So far, the Starline brass has been great. No difference than the Remington I usually use. I plan on buying more.

[bamboomaster]

I've been using Starline for years - mostly .45-70 and .45 Colt. Haven't had a case split yet on Starline brass.

But just to extend the life of the brass, I do anneal the necks of ALL rifle brass after every five reloads (and some of the .45-70 has been reloaded close to 20x). It's mostly a "few day" summer project every couple of years. No big deal...