[Powermwt]

Ah, I'm no expert but I can tell you what I have been told over the years.

The first shot shells were brass... they started using paper/brass combination not long after with the low brass. The paper would burn so the manufacturers made higher brass to cover the shell up to the height of the black powder... hence the more powerful charge was high brass.

This became a kind of standard that high brass shells were more powerful even after the change to smokless powder and is used more for marketing identification than anything else.

Modern shells can be low brass, high brass, all brass or no brass (all plastic) and still be safe.

See here.

http://www.rbs0.com/shotshell.htm

 

[DWARREN123]

The metallic part the holds the primer will be either short or long (low/high) brass. Now a days they may be aluminum. Usually low brass is for lower powered shell and high brass for the more powerful shells.

 

[ADK_40GLKr]

I've heard the term "LOW BRASS" refering to some types of shotgun shells and was wondering what exactly does this mean? I have never seen it listed on a box of shotgun shells so...:dunno: what is it? Can you tell "LOW BRASS" shells when you see them?

Thanks

Mick:thumbsup:

My father-in-law had a "Sweet Sixteen" -16 ga Browning Semiautomatic. He would never use anything but what he called "hi brass" in it. Low brass was not powerful enough to eject the shell, and the shotgun would jam.

The high brass base of the shell was ... "higher" ... About equal in height to the diameter of the shell. In Low brass the base is narrower like about 1/4" high.

 

[Jim Watson]

My father-in-law had a "Sweet Sixteen" -16 ga Browning Semiautomatic. He would never use anything but what he called "hi brass" in it. Low brass was not powerful enough to eject the shell, and the shotgun would jam

The friction rings may have been positioned for heavy loads and he did not know how to arrange them for light loads.
What my neighbor the gunsmith usually saw, though, was guns left in light load configuration and shot with everything. You can batter a Browning if you try.

 

[ChuteTheMall]

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[jeffreybehr]

The brass on the bottom of a shotshell (SS) contains the primer pocket and helps hold the bottom of the shell together. SSs have varying internal volume, walls straight or tapered (to varying degree), high internal volume (for higher-power hunting rounds) or lower volume (for lower-power target rounds).

Here's the crux of the height of the brass--high-volume, low-BASS hunting rounds have high BRASS because the bass of the plastic (or paper) case is weaker, and low-volume, high-BASS target cases have low brass because the case itself is stronger. So, generally...high-bass and low-brass = target round, and low-bass and high-brass = hunting round.

Used to load thousands of 'em, on a P-W hydraulic press; I'm glad I now don't do that. A Lee turret press loading only 357SIG for 2 pistols is plenty enough for me. :embarassed:

 

[tjpet]

These days high brass/low brass are used to designate hunting round from target round. It's more a matter of tradition then anything. Take a Remington low brass STS target hull and compare it to a Remington high brass Express hunting hull (both 2.75") and you'll find they both have the same internal capacity. In fact, most high grade target hulls can be loaded with just about any shot charge that'll work in a 2.75" length shell.