I recently bought a relatively large quantity of mixed brass off of someone and, included in the brass, was a combination of 30/06 and 270 win. I kept the 270 win because I know I can resize it to 30/06 and, even though I went with the ported gas plug, I still use garand compatible loads, so I am not worried about the brass being slightly weaker, if it is
However, in doing some research, the 270 win brass is rated for a higher max pressure than the 30/06, indicating that the web is beefier on the 270 brass. Out of curiousity, I took a handful of Winchester once fired 270 and winchester once fired 30/06, sized them, and trimmed them to length. First point of note, the 270 sized much easier, particularly around the web. the 30/06 had a very slight but noticeable bulge toward the case head, nothing to be worried about in reloading, but definitely indicative of a weaker case.
After trimming, I checked the thickness of the case around the neck. Despite being sized up, the 270 was actually slightly thicker on average, usually coming in around 15 thou as opposed to 12-13 thou. Upon weighing, the 270 cases came in slightly heavier, about 0.5 grains heavier, but with a spread of about 3-4 grains across all cases weighed, both 30/06 and 270, so this may or may not be significant. This may account for a slightly thicker neck and stronger case head.
Im hopeful that the 270 brass is actually better quality, but I'm not sure in what sense. Maybe for reloading hotter loads, or more consistent loads that generally seem to apply more even pressure around the neck on the bullet, or maybe just longer lasting brass
Figured I would report my findings, I would not have gone out of my way to buy 270 brass but it generally seems to be cheaper and easier to find for reloading. People who shoot 30/06 seem to reload more frequently, while those who shoot 270 seem to buy one expensive box of ammo once a year for hunting and eventually end up selling off the brass, at least around here anyway. Does anyone else have experience with using 270 brass or has found themselves wondering about this before?
However, in doing some research, the 270 win brass is rated for a higher max pressure than the 30/06, indicating that the web is beefier on the 270 brass. Out of curiousity, I took a handful of Winchester once fired 270 and winchester once fired 30/06, sized them, and trimmed them to length. First point of note, the 270 sized much easier, particularly around the web. the 30/06 had a very slight but noticeable bulge toward the case head, nothing to be worried about in reloading, but definitely indicative of a weaker case.
After trimming, I checked the thickness of the case around the neck. Despite being sized up, the 270 was actually slightly thicker on average, usually coming in around 15 thou as opposed to 12-13 thou. Upon weighing, the 270 cases came in slightly heavier, about 0.5 grains heavier, but with a spread of about 3-4 grains across all cases weighed, both 30/06 and 270, so this may or may not be significant. This may account for a slightly thicker neck and stronger case head.
Im hopeful that the 270 brass is actually better quality, but I'm not sure in what sense. Maybe for reloading hotter loads, or more consistent loads that generally seem to apply more even pressure around the neck on the bullet, or maybe just longer lasting brass
Figured I would report my findings, I would not have gone out of my way to buy 270 brass but it generally seems to be cheaper and easier to find for reloading. People who shoot 30/06 seem to reload more frequently, while those who shoot 270 seem to buy one expensive box of ammo once a year for hunting and eventually end up selling off the brass, at least around here anyway. Does anyone else have experience with using 270 brass or has found themselves wondering about this before?
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