The exclusive Canadian importer of Bertram Brass
If you are looking for obsolete or hard to find cases to make ammunition for your antique firearm, we either have it or can get it for you. Our goal is to ensure that Canadian shooters are able to keep their sport alive regardless of the firearm used.
A Short History of Bertram Brass
Bertram Brass is an Australian manufacturer of brass and bullets, specializing in small runs (<1 million cases) of less common cartridge cases. Bruce Bertram bought out Super Cartridge, an Australian company, back in 1982. A real boost came a few years later, just as happened at Longbranch in Canada, the Australian government decided to outsource the manufacture of ammunition, they sold all the equipment to make brass cartridge cases for scrap metal prices. This equipment that was designed for one purpose and would have been incredibly expensive to re-create, was discarded. Buying it gave Bertram everything that was needed to be a fully integrated bullet and case producer. Since then Bertram brass has grown from supplying the Australian market with brass and bullets to being the primary global supplier for obsolete and less common brass. Their flexible manufacturing process allows them to focus on runs of 10,000 to 1 million cases, a level that the major companies have ignored.
Today Bruce and his son David manage the production of over 240 different cases, plus those made on a bespoke basis for clients. David is the lead die maker for the operation and leads the commercialization of new cases such as the recent introduction of the 8 x 52mmR Thai round, that has not been available for decades. Until now if you wanted to get your Type 66 or Type 45 Thai rifle shooting it took forming dies and a protracted process to make the cases; now that problem is eliminated.
While Bertram is most widely known for obsolete brass, that is only a small fraction of what they produce. Their core market is obsolete calibres but their flexible manufacturing process means that they make any cartridge case to commercial or milspec standards in runs that the major companies will not do. So while Bertram continues to actively support obsolete cartridges and expand their offering, they have expansive range of modern calibres that are not well supported by the major manufacturers. So if you are looking for 7mm SAUM, 375 Winchester or 416 Taylor, Bertram has the brass ready for you to use and in stock.
How Brass is Made
The Bertram manufacturing site is a modern facility that specializes in short runs of less common brass. While Bertram makes a full range of modern brass, it is the less common calibres that have made him known anywhere people want to keep older guns firing.
The pictures below show the different stages in how a simple brass cup is converted into the cartridge cases we all take for granted. While the number of stages will vary with the case, the same general process is used for all of them.
Making 338 Lapua
The process to make brass cases is a complicated one that involves varying numbers of steps and annealing along the way to ensure that the case performs the way it should.
Brass Cup
The first step in the process is to take a brass cup and begin to lengthen it by repeated drawing (stretching) and annealing. As it is stretched, the brass becomes hard and brittle. Annealing reverses this and keeps it soft.
Different Starts
The size and weight of the brass cup will vary with the cartridge and each one may be adaptable to 10 - 15 different cases. Typically the drawing process is stopped before trimming and forming so that depending on demand, it can be used to make a variety of cases.
Annealing
As the brass cups are stretched, the brass work hardens and must be annealed between each drawing step. This keeps the brass soft and ductile. If this was not done the brass work be prone to cracking in subsequent stages.
Final Work
Cutting the extractor groove (for rimless cases) and final trimming of the rim, ensures that the finished cartridge is uniform and meets design specifications. The photo on the right is before this step is done.
The Result
After all the dimensions have been checked the case is given a final annealing and then cleaned. At this point it is packed and ready for use. Here is a finished 338 Lapua case.