PPU Brass

[Backyardsniper]

Hey guys, I need a little input on PPU Brass. 375 H&H brass is little scarce right now but PPU is pretty easily available. I bought 200 pieces. I'm new to the 375H&H. I've had one for 3 or 4 months now and I've ran through one of the batches of 100 I've got about 3 times. So far other than it is extremely thick which I guess isn't a bad thing it has been all right. I'm getting good accuracy but all I'm running now is 235 speer and 80gr of CFE 223 for practice loads. Pretty dang accurate. So anyway my question is do I need to look for something else for my serious hunting loads or is this PPU stuff all right. I load a lot for a lot of other calibers but I've never used the PPU before. Seems good enough but I was just curious if there was anything I needed to look out for with it or is it good to go?

 

[Wyatt Smith]

It wouldn’t be my first choice, but I wouldn’t be afraid of it either.
I’ve had good luck with mine but I seldom shoot my 375 from the bench.

 

[Backyardsniper]

It has been pretty accurate. I really just bought it to burn up for trigger time practicing since it was all that was available at the time but it seems pretty good. Any suggestions on what is good in the 375 as far as brass goes?

 

[mdwest]

I’ve got 60 pieces of ppu 375HH that have been loaded/shot twice now.. been no problem at all so far..

I’ve also got 40 pieces of older Barnes brass (pre Remington buy out) that’s been shot twice.. I really can’t tell any difference between it and the ppu in terms of down range performance, durability, or reliability..

And I’ve got 50 pieces of new Remington brass.. haven’t shot it yet ... it appears to be the “nicest” and most consistent of the three.. but I haven’t loaded it or shot any of it yet... so I really can’t compare...

 

[Hunter4752001]

I have 100 PPU .375 H&H cases. I've been quite happy with it and haven't seen any quality issues. Currently on 3rd reload and no sign of problem. Would happily buy more. Wish they made .458 brass!

However: The stuff you use for practice can be reloaded as many times as you're comfortable with. But keep a batch of new brass for your safari hunting ammo especially if planning on dangerous game.

 

[Backyardsniper]

That's the plan. I've got 100 set back for building hunting ammo and based on what I'm hearing I'm gonna scoop up some more new PPU to go with it.

 

[Longwalker]

I have 100 new PPU .375 H&H brass in my stash that is reserved for future hunting loads. In my experience with other calibers like .308 it beats the common USA made Rem / Win / Fed brass for uniformity, brass quality and durability. I just opened a new bag of Remington .375 brass this morning. And was disappointed once again. Banged up necks, uneven mouth, and two pieces had wrinkles in the neck.

 

[bruce moulds]

if it takes more pressure, or the same pressure more often, than norma or federal brass, it is better brass.
bruce.

 

[CharlesT]

For what it's worth, I use PPU brass and am on my 4th reload in 303 British and 5th in 9.3x62. When I need to replace the Lapua brass for my 6.5x55, I'll be buying PPU.

CT

 

[mark-hunter]

Serbia has their own copper mine, and it is generally known that brass is of good quality.

Although, not a question here - The problem with PPU could be uneven powder loads from lot to lot, but even that in lots for export is under better quality control. However, their powder frequently leave quite a lot residue in the barrel.

Brass, acceptable. No worry.

 

[GuttormG]

PPU is my first choice, prefer them over Noram (which is overrated and overpriced..).

 

[Vintageguy]

I use PPU in 375 H&H and 30-06 and love it. I target practice with it then reload the brass. My 375 H&H gives me sub MOA always with it and my best group at .54 inch came with 300 grain Swift A-Frames. Believe it or not but I shot some of my best groups by just pulling the factory bullets and seating an A-Frame in their place and crimping it and they read over 2500fps too. Nothing shabby about that. Feed like a dream with the A-Frames but just ok with their factory round nose bullets. I bought a couple hundred 375 a while back and should've bought more.

 

[Nevada Mike]

I bought a bunch of PPU brass for my .22-250 recently and was happy with it. I just received 100 rounds of PPU brass for my 30-'06 and so far I have found just a couple that had dents in the case mouth. The edge of the case mouths are not smoothly finished but I skim them in the trimmer after resizing and de-burr them. I actually like the brass better than WInchester brass, the quality of which has declined over the years. All the Remington brass I have is fine. So far.

 

[austrianhunter]

PPU is really good for the price - for premium jobs i use Norma or Lapua, for normal use, Hornady and PPU will do the trick.

 

[CoElkHunter]

I don’t know if their brass is good or not, but I was in a local gun shop today and they had PPU 300gr SP .375 ammo for $21/box/10. I bought four boxes. They didn’t have much of anything else. I thought I had won the lottery! That’s sad because it shouldn’t be this way, but there hasn’t been much good news lately with regards to finding reasonably priced ammo, so I feel fortunate. I went in there for .270 Winchester ammo, but they had ZERO! No .338WM either. I was checking on that for a friend.

 

[C.W. Richter]

It's "solid" brass for reloading (and cheap,) but the primer pockets often need a good going over (as the orig primers may be swaged a bit or really tight-fitting due to a smaller dimension primer pocket.) A primer pocket reamer is required for any I've reloaded so far or the CCI LMR primers won't always fit, as-is. Have had the greatest success with them in .22-250, 30-06., and 300 Win Mag when others (W-W, Federal, Hdy, and R-P) weren't readily available. No primer pocket isses on the American brass, excepting the the odd, off-center flash hole-in which case it get tossed.

 

[CoElkHunter]

It's "solid" brass for reloading (and cheap,) but the primer pockets often need a good going over (as the orig primers may be swaged a bit or really tight-fitting due to a smaller dimension primer pocket.) A primer pocket reamer is required for any I've reloaded so far or the CCI LMR primers won't always fit, as-is. Have had the greatest success with them in .22-250, 30-06., and 300 Win Mag when others (W-W, Federal, Hdy, and R-P) weren't readily available. No primer pocket isses on the American brass, excepting the the odd, off-center flash hole-in which case it get tossed.

Oh, I have a primer pocket reamer, primer pocket swager and a drill with bits, so I’ll make it work. We’re almost back to the “Dark Ages” of reloading where scrounging for stuff is becoming commonplace. That reminds me, I have still unused primers laying on the concrete floor in the basement from previous reloading sessions I need to pick up and use in something. They’re from the long forgotten cornucopia of primers at $19.95/thousand. Remember those happy days? Seems like a lifetime ago. Ha! Ha! Ha!

 

[C.W. Richter]

LOL you remind me of where to find my last dozen primers, when the time comes! Wan An!! Speaking of those lost primers...During the height of COVID my son and I retreated to an old family farm for a few months...'Set up a reloading area...Last fall I see my elderly mother sweeping around it (into a dust pan,) which she was about to toss into the fireplace! I caught her, and have since developed a new SOP of sweeping up after every session!!!

 

[Ridgewalker]

The only case failures I have experienced (my fault for not checking closer nor counting reloads) was PPU and Hornady. I use them for test loads at home, so failures only mean I have to stop testing. Case head separations on both just above the belt. Cases stuck in the chamber and I had to cast it with Cerrosafe to tap them out from the muzzle.
Im trying to count reloads better, but sometimes I forget to. It will happen again soner or later to this “cheap skate”.
Hunting loads are reloaded much fewer times (3-4) and Lapua or Norma brass. After that, they go into the PPU Hornady piles.

 

[fourfive8]

I’ve got a couple of batches right now set aside for two rifle calibers I recently had trouble finding brass for. Also grabbed a couple hundred PRVI cases when one of the big components shortages hit years ago.

I tried it in some calibers right after it first hit the American market in a big way- IIRC in response to one of the shortages. Seems to be pretty good quality overall. As has been posted, a few lots may have slightly tight primer pockets. Long enough ago, I can’t remember the caliber (s). Just an added step to correct- nothing major.

But beats the heck out of the opposite if the pockets were too large