Range Report

PhilOhio · 10-07-2009, 11:32 AM

Awhile back, I tried S&B ammo in several pistol calibers. I will not shoot any more of it.

I reload, and want only cases correctly made to industry specs, using good quality materials. S&B is not that.

The brass is FAR too soft, not at all to industry standards. No manufacturer should be marketing commercial ammo with brass so far out of spec. I can't imagine what they are thinking, unless they figure it will balloon to fit the largest worn or out-of-spec chamber without bursting.

When you have brass this soft, you can also have an extractor tearing off rims during extraction. And you get the same thing during the sizing step in reloading, unless case lubrication is just perfect or you have good carbide dies.

There are all sorts of problems with their primer pocket specs, requiring each fired case to be corrected and trued before a new primer can be seated.

If you want ammo to just run through a SMG or something where quality makes little difference, and you will leave the cases lying on the ground (good place for them), S&B may be O.K. But having given it a fair and objective chance, I'll pass on S&B.

My worst experience with S&B was in .30 Mauser; hot round and poor quality soft case brass; bad combination.

I've never had any of these problems with other commonly available American and foreign commercial ammo, although a few foreign surplus types also have similar problems other than the metallurgy.

10-07-2009, 11:32 AM	#5
PhilOhio User Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Ohio Posts: 145 Thanks: 5 Thanked 17 Times in 14 Posts	Awhile back, I tried S&B ammo in several pistol calibers. I will not shoot any more of it. I reload, and want only cases correctly made to industry specs, using good quality materials. S&B is not that. The brass is FAR too soft, not at all to industry standards. No manufacturer should be marketing commercial ammo with brass so far out of spec. I can't imagine what they are thinking, unless they figure it will balloon to fit the largest worn or out-of-spec chamber without bursting. When you have brass this soft, you can also have an extractor tearing off rims during extraction. And you get the same thing during the sizing step in reloading, unless case lubrication is just perfect or you have good carbide dies. There are all sorts of problems with their primer pocket specs, requiring each fired case to be corrected and trued before a new primer can be seated. If you want ammo to just run through a SMG or something where quality makes little difference, and you will leave the cases lying on the ground (good place for them), S&B may be O.K. But having given it a fair and objective chance, I'll pass on S&B. My worst experience with S&B was in .30 Mauser; hot round and poor quality soft case brass; bad combination. I've never had any of these problems with other commonly available American and foreign commercial ammo, although a few foreign surplus types also have similar problems other than the metallurgy.