High Brass Shells?

[ZGunner]

What's the deal with high brass shells? From what I can find they used high brass when shotgun shells were made of paper wrappings. Now folks ask for high brass when they want a more powerful load. The thing is, a more powerful shell doesn't always have a higher brass base. And people get fighting mad if you tell them high brass doesn't really mean anything anymore.

School me on what high brass means today.

 

[rule303]

High brass only means exactly that- the brass goes further up the base than low brass lol. The ammo manufacturers mostly do load only target loads into low brass hulls still though. I know ammo inside and out, and load my own shells, but for some reason I still feel undergunned heading out to the field with low based hulls. I guess I'm not the only one. Sort of like auto manufacturers putting V-8 emblems all over a vehicle that can be had with a more powerful six cylinder.

 

[Virginian]

The deal is stupidity has no limits. I used to shoot the Activ Magnum loads and they had no brass at all. As long as you know what you are doing don't waste your breath on the idiots.

 

[oneounceload]

Zgun - your assumptions are exactly right on; yet makers still put high brass on basic hunting loads to assuage the feeling of those folks who "think" they're getting something more special. I've reloaded old AAs with hunting loads; friends were amazed that somehow the shell didn't blow up because it didn't have "high brass".............

 

[rcmodel]

High brass was used on more powerful loads back when paper hulls were all there was.

It was necessary to prevent larger charges of slower burning powder from burning pin holes in the paper sidewalls of the shell.

As noted above, it is no longer needed with plastic hulls, but has become a tradition to continue it on heavy loads.

The only advantage to high brass anymore is a visual clue of 'which is what' if you carry different loads in a game vest or something.

As a matter of fact, 'no brass' is necessary at all with compression formed or injection molded plastic hulls.

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rc

 

[Fred Fuller]

Not to mention that, today, much of the "brass" on shotgun shells is actually steel.

 

[PapaG]

One additional note: on early high brass shells, the base wad was shorter to make room for the bigger payload. Low brass shells had higher base wads as not as much room was needed.

 

[Jason_W]

Do any of the major manufacturers load low brass hulls with payloads weighing more than 1-1/8 ounce (12 gauge)?

 

[oneounceload]

Brass height has nothing to do with payload quantity or velocity

 

[Jason_W]

Brass height has nothing to do with payload quantity or velocity

Understood. I am/was a shotshell handloader. I just find it interesting that manufacturers only load payloads heavier than heavier than 1-1/8 oz. in high brass shells. Marketing?

 

[oneounceload]

Mostly, as there are still a lot of folks who remember these from decades ago (just ask RC! ) (Sorry RC!)
You can take a basic Rem or Win target hull and with the proper components, load 1-1/4 or more in those low brass hulls. Personally I prefer the lower brass when reloading, easier on the sizing die/collet and the hulls were made for reloading

 

[witchhunter]

Am I the only one that recognizes those Wanda's? My cousin bought into those when they first came out. He still has some of the reloading stuff for them! was that around 1970 or 71 RC?

 

[witchhunter]

Oh, and I load my heavier loads in Hi Base shells just to tell them apart like in the old days.....

 

[rcmodel]

Yes, must be at least a few of us that remember Wanda shells.

They worked just fine.
I still have some somewhere.

But I think nobody could wrap thier head around the fact they could work without a metal head on them of some kind.
So they just couldn't make a go of it.

rc

 

[ZGunner]

I appreciate all the input. Some good info here.

 

[oneounceload]

RC - you mean like Activ's?

 

[Captcurt]

RC - you mean like Activ's?

I'm not RC but I have lost teeth from shooting their 3" 2 1/4 oz turkey load. Never shoot a buttkicker lefthanded unless you are left handed. Never been kicked that hard and I have shot 458 Win Mag.

 

[urbaneruralite]

That load may have actually had more recoil than a 458. Turkey loads make no sense.

 

[WVGunman]

That load may have actually had more recoil than a 458.

Recoil is equally affected by gun weight as cartridge power. That must have been one light shotgun. (I've added at least 2.5 pounds in various ways to the Winchester 1300 I use for trap. It weighs about 9.5 pounds now, and it's STILL too light.)

Turkey loads make no sense.

Others noted earlier the effects of modern marketing; same here. Why not mark some heavy shell as a "turkey" load, if it gets people to pay 20% more for it?

 

[RMc]

Just for fun, type "High Brass" into the Shotgun section search.
When I did that it rang up 499 references, the maximum the search function would allow!