Problem with brand new Winchester .44 S&W Special brass???

[SgtBFGunner]

I loaded some 44 Magnum in once fired brass. Very happy with the results.

I then loaded 44 Special last night in brand new Winchester brass. I'm not happy with it...

When wiping the rounds down (just for the helluv it) I notice that the little ring
that runs around the bullet is not level all the way around the brass. Like one
side of the brass is taller than the other... Or the bullet is cocked in the
shell? Looks like the brass to me. Not sure what that will do for accuracy (the
44 Mag looks fine). I should not have to trim brand new pistol brass!

Just measured brass... one side is 1.155 and the opposite side is 1.140!!! What the heck...
Hornady book lists .44 Special max case of 1.160 and trim of 1.150...

Any similar experiences??? Shame on me for not checking... I assumed it was new, it was good. Will it show up on the target?

Thanks!

 

[highlander]

You are the second person in the last couple of days I have read about that has the same problem. Case mouths are not even close to being square. You might want to contact Winchester and complain to them they may replace the brass. If I were you I'd get Starline brass from now on. Granted they may be a bit more money and you might have to wait but you know that you'll get first class brass with mouths that are square.

 

[SgtBFGunner]

I called when I got home from work... the guy I needed to talk to had gone home for the day already. That must be the problem "Case mouths are not even close to being square". Shocking for new brass.
Just wonder what the Hornady XTP 200 grain are going to do for accuracy. Trying to sight in a new Marlin levergun.

 

[Kenny474]

I called when I got home from work... the guy I needed to talk to had gone home for the day already. That must be the problem "Case mouths are not even close to being square". Shocking for new brass.
Just wonder what the Hornady XTP 200 grain are going to do for accuracy. Trying to sight in a new Marlin levergun.

I would break the rounds down and save the components, as it's not worth wasting good bullets with junk brass. It sucks the cases are off so bad. At least if they were within spec you could trim them, but .010 is a bit short.

Also, is this problem with .44 special brass only, or is Winchester having this problem with others as well? I have 200 winchester 30-06 cases sitting under my bench that I bought a couple weeks ago. I will be pissed if it's that far off.

 

[SgtBFGunner]

Right?! I have an unopened back of Winchester 44 Mag brass as well. I may just return it to Cabela's and pick up another bag of Remington. Bought one of each in Mag and Special. Heard that there could be "accuracy differences" (one could shoot better than another in my gun?). Hoping to receive a call back from Winchester today and we'll se what the story is.

 

[SgtBFGunner]

I called Winchester this afternoon as "the guy" never called me back.
I called the 1-800 number for ammo and spoke with a lady who referred me to "Cheryl". Cheryl wanted a sample of my ammo and is sending me a shipping label via UPS. I am to send 5 rounds of my .44 Special back and 5 44 Mag brass (she didn’t want me to bother loading them).

Took my ammo to the range this evening... The .44 special shot just fine... limited by my abilities with a Marlin buckhorn sight and the "cowboy" sights of my Ruger Vaquero.

Wow, my 18.9 grains of 2400 in the Mag was quiet flame thrower in the 4.6" barrel. The .44 Special loads were a pleasure to shoot. Both were no problem in the rifle.

So... it appears that the "crooked mouth" of the brass does not effect "normal" shooting... I can’t vouch for high end competition accuracy, but that is not what I'm looking for.

I will be sending in the requested ammo/brass and see what they have to say. I asked Cheryl how I will be notified of the results. She advised that usually the send a letter, but that she could call me. She also asked if I wanted the ammo back. I told her that I wished to receive a new bag of correctly sized brass or a refund. She was talking about a voucher or something.

Oh well, we'll see. I read one thread out there where a guy had a similar problem. He sent in the brass, received a letter back saying they found no problem, but sent him a new bag of brass anyway.

No more "new" brass for me! Gonna buy factory loads and reload that stuff!

I'll keep you all apprised of the results...

 

[highlander]

Unsquare mouths will cause an uneven crimp which could affect accuracy if you plan on loading for a some type of competition,but if you are just loading plinking ammo it will do. I will repeat what I said in my earlier post,order some Starline brass. Granted minimum order is 500 cases but it is just about the best brass you can get and if you have a problem they are a stand up company that will go the extra mile to make things right

 

[Woodstock]

I was wondering how the .44 Specials would feed in the Marlin. I've heard some of the pistol-caliber Marlins sometimes jam on .38 and .44 Specials, as they are a little shorter than the magnums. Glad to hear yours is OK. I'll be interested in hearing how W-W responds. I've always used their components with no problems.

 

[SgtBFGunner]

They fed just fine. With the exception of one shell where the bullet was seated just a little too deep (oops). Round got caught up on edge of the brass. Ejected it, put it back in, watched it, no problem. But other than tat the Magnum and the Special both fed wonderfully. Going to load some Magnum and Special in new Remington brass... we'll see how that goes. Winchester stuff is making the slow ride to Illinois.

 

[SgtBFGunner]

New in bag Remington .44 Special brass... very nice! Loaded great, everything is true and to spec. They even had 2 extra pieces of brass in there. Thanks Remington!

 

[SgtBFGunner]

OK, loaded new Remington .44 Mag brass... very nice, no extra this time.

I called Sheryl at Winchester to check on my submission. She told me she just received the results today. The .44 Special brass was "off" as I had reported. The mouth was cut at a slight angle... (my words not hers). The Magnum brass I submitted, one was shorter than spec. She advised that they were out of stock of both .44 brass. The .44 Mag brass was due for a run in June and the .44 Special brass had no run date. I dug up my receipts and she is sending me a check to refund my money. The other option (if I didn't have a receipt) was to receive a voucher for a bag of each.

Sheryl has been very cooperative through the process and they stand behind their product. Very much appreciated these days!

So happy ending I guess. That, and I love my .44's!!! The range stops and stares when I fire off one of my .44 mag 19 grains 2400 in my 4.6" Ruger Vaquero. I heard folks guessing 454 Casull... A couple guys tried one shot each. My boy (20 YOA) fired a dozen rounds... He's a nut like his dad!