Seller & Bellot

[6pt-sika]

Any of you fellows used Seller & Bellot brass ?



I'm thinking of getting some S&B ammo in 7x57R and 6.5x57 so I have brass . Their loaded stuff is cheaper then Norma 7x57R brass and of course no ones selling actual new 6.5x57 brass that I'm aware of . Two boxes of either from Midway $40-41 . So it's a fairly cheap way to get either with the correct headstamp .

[DixieBoy]

Things might have changed over the last five or so years, but for the longest time our local gun shop used to include a little handout with new guns that you'd buy. It noted that they did not recommend S&B ammunition at all, actually suggested that we steer clear of it. Since then, when I scrounge brass at the range (mostly .45acp) I set aside any S&B brass that I find to trade to the local reloading outfit, so they can use it.

Maybe the quality has improved, but it used to be that S&B had an awful reputation. - DixieBoy

[6pt-sika]

Maybe so , but for the price I'm gonna give it a try .

[damienph]

I've reloaded S&B 303 Brit and haven't had any problems with it. I have some 7x57 (not R) that I am keeping with intent to reload but havn't reloaded it yet.

Seems like good brass to me.

[rond]

I've never had a problem with S&B ammo or brass. I load both 6.5 and 7mm.

[Tristan]

Their 6.5x55 has been fine for reloading... Same with the 357 mag, but I swage the primer pockets as a first step.

I've heard complaints about tight primer pockets in 9mm brass from S&B, but that may have been due to a light primer crimp being applied and not swaged out prior to reloading.

[COSteve]

I've never used it so I don't know, but some of the other reloaders at our range swear by S&B 40s&w and some swear at it.

[gamekeeper]

I have used S&B .22 Hornet ammo, I didn't reload but guys that did wanted my brass.

[1894c]

I've never had a problem with S&B ammo or brass.

+1 ...never had any issues with their ammo or brass, actually i perfer it... :)

[GonnePhishin]

Maybe a little dirtier than some, but otherwise never any problems feeding/firing.
Good stuff.

[Nath]

Only ever used their Hornet and 222 ammo besides the shot shells.Never had an issue apart from one 222 let go of a primer!

Nath.

[jcw]

I shoot it in my 9X18 Makarov. Great ammo. Except for the sealer around the bullet and on the primer it is identical to the Winchester "white box" ammo.

[ollogger]

3 years ago when you couldnt find anything I bought 15 boxes
at a pawn shop 5 357 & 10 38s, ive shot them all up & reloaded some
of them 5 times now, no problem so far

ollogger

[J Miller]

About 20 years ago, not long after S&B first started appearing in the US, I bought some in 303 Brit. It shot good, was accurate, and the brass gave me no trouble.
I shot a lot and found a lot out in the desert and scarfed it up.

The only thing I found questionable was the primer pockets were too shallow.
Standard LR primers stood proud of the pocket unless you really forced them in.

That was then. I have no idea what the current cases are like.

Joe

[Carlsen Highway]

I have used Sellier and Bellot in a number of calibers and it has averaged as probably one of the more accurate factory brands across the board, despite how cheap it is. The bullets they use are very hard though, when used on game.
I have reloaded their brass and done just fine.

[model55]

Like J Miller I had to rework the primer pockets and if I recall the brass at that time didn't seem to hold up for very long.

[cshold]

Only ever used S&B brand in 25-35 win.
The neck split on 1 out of every 3 rounds fired.
Other than that they shot well.

[RSY]

Reputations are just that...

I have some S&B brass for my .270 that started out as some of their 150-gr RN loads. Those rounds were stout. The brass seems pretty good, but as factory loads some were tough to close a bolt on, almost as if they were too long. They definitely benefited from being re-sized.

Ironically, the only time I've seen a piece of brass with a truly visible flaw was a piece of Weatherby/Norma brass that I have (.270 Win, as well). So much for them being the best, as they are so often touted.

I'd use the S&B brass until it gave you reason not to.

Scott

[6pt-sika]

Ironically, the only time I've seen a piece of brass with a truly visible flaw was a piece of Weatherby/Norma brass that I have (.270 Win, as well). So much for them being the best, as they are so often touted.

I've had brand new Remington and Winchester brass with uncentered flash holes and what I would call "gaps" in the necks as they came from the new bags !
Now granted I've probably had my hands on something like 25,000 pieces of BRAND NEW brass over the years . Heck I seem to remmember finding one piece with NO flashole !

[MrMurphy]

No idea why they'd give you the wave-off on S&B.

I've used it since the late 90s.

.303, 7mm Mauser, 7.62X39mm, .45, 9mm, .38, .357, 12ga, 5.56mm.

By the thousands in some of those cases, the hundreds in others.

Except for a single box of .357 158gr +P where the brass would stick on extraction in an S&W 581, I've never had a single issue with their ammo, and in the case of the .303 I shot that stuff out to 900 yards. Somewhat dirty (it's military-grade ammo, they used to make ammo for the Warsaw Pact) but perfectly serviceable.

[Old Ironsights]

Never had any issues with it, though the biggest quantity of S&B I have purchased was 1K NOS Military Contract .308 and it's all Berdan/Corrosive... but shoots well in my HK.

[Furncliff]

S&B is on my preferred ammo list. A friend just reload some S&B brass I gave him. No problems.

[Carlsen Highway]

It probably wont last as many firings as other brass, but you can get by with sellier and bellot.

[1historian]

I have used S&B in 7.62 X 39 (hundreds of rounds) and 9 mm Makarov (hundreds of rounds). Never a problem.
However I I never reloaded their brass...although at one time I shot a lot of mixed 9 mm luger brass so there might have been some S&B moved in. Could just be a local gunshop "preference"...I see that a lot.

[allhands]

I have used it in both of my 7x57's and it has now been reloaded 3x and still works great. My wife is doing alot of practicing for our upcoming safari, so it's getting alot of use and I have experienced no problems.

[guntar]

My experience with S&B ammunition has been 7x57 with 173 gr. bullets. It shot extremely accurately (about 0.5" at 100 yds.). I only used it on a couple of hogs, worked well.

However, when I went to reload the brass, it would not fit my RCBS shell holder. I checked it with every shell holder I had for that head size, probably a dozen in all (I like to have 2 with each set of dies), none of them would work. Closer examination showed a rim that was both too wide and too thick. Having neither the means nor the inclination to rework the brass, I trashed it. Periodically, I have checked and found the same problem. The last time was about 2 years ago.

If you want factory ammunition to shoot, it seems great. If you want it to reload, I think there are a lot better choices.

[Carlsen Highway]

I thought I would just mention related to the last post and brass in the 7x57mm

- I also have come across 7mm Mauser brass issues with fitting in the shellholder, and it seems that the European made brass is to a different size than the US manufacurers;
Sellier and Bellot and Prvi Partisan, (made in Czech and Serbia) both didn't fit the supposedly correct shellholder and (I think) neither did Norma. Remington and Winchester did.

I concluded maybe the US manufacturers base their 7x57 cases on the .30/06 rim and head size and the Europeans do something slightly different...

[6pt-sika]

I thought I would just mention related to the last post and brass in the 7x57mm

- I also have come across 7mm Mauser brass issues with fitting in the shellholder, and it seems that the European made brass is to a different size than the US manufacurers;
Sellier and Bellot and Prvi Partisan, (made in Czech and Serbia) both didn't fit the supposedly correct shellholder and (I think) neither did Norma. Remington and Winchester did.

I concluded maybe the US manufacturers base their 7x57 cases on the .30/06 rim and head size and the Europeans do something slightly different...

The S&B 7x57 brass I plan to get a couple boxes of is the RIMMED variety . So that is a non issue .

However if I decide to get a couple boxes for the 6.5x57 in anticipation of getting a rifle for that cartridge it may very well be an issue .

Thanks !

[6pt-sika]

I will say however that I have a couple loaded rounds of S&B 6.5x55 as well as a couple fired cases and they easily fit the same shell holder that I use for WIN 6.5x55 brass .

[Hobie]

Yes, I have. Some is excellent and some wasn't properly annealed. You don't know until you try that particular lot.

[L_Kilkenny]

Back when I had a .45 acp all my brass came from Winchestor WB and S&B that I ran thru the gun and there was a notable difference in the rim thickness between the 2 with the S&B being thinner. Never caused an issue though with my reloads. As for accuracy, I could slap togather about any reload and cut my groups in half over the 2 factory loads above so on that front I was far from impressed.

LK

[TedH]

I picked up a bunch of S&B 223 brass at the range one time, and have loaded it quite a bit. Seems to be fine.