Which brass do you use?

[Johnboy]

the brass you use is what your back pocket and mind will let you use.

[bigngreen]

I have used Norma, Remington and Winchester brass for my 270WSM and by far the best brass was the Remington. I found the base of the case was significantly thinning with the Winchester and Norma but the Rem was thinned barely enough to tell.
The Win brass made it 8 firings and I had to turn the necks and fix the primer pockets before shooting.
The Norma made it 2 firings plus one fireforming then it developed a horrible dougnut in the neck that I have to get a reamer for but I really like the consistancy of it, it still lost accuracy after 2 firings though.
The Remington brass made 18 firings, I tryed annealing half of them and there was no life difference between annealing and not. I did turn the necks, the primer pockets are good, very little thinning at base.
Most shots fired were hot and I am over working my brass, I need a bump die or something better but it does show how tough some brass is.
The Rem brass shoot more consitantly than any other brass, the others I had to really tinker with and watch or I would go from sub MOA to 3MOA.
I'm going to order several hundred Rem brass this spring, tune them up and go to work.

[Winchester 69]

Originally Posted by bigngreen

I have used Norma, Remington and Winchester brass for my 270WSM and by far the best brass was the Remington. I found the base of the case was significantly thinning with the Winchester and Norma but the Rem was thinned barely enough to tell.

Most shots fired were hot, and I am over-working my brass, I need a bump die or something better, but it does show how tough some brass is.

You can bump the shoulders with the FL die you're now using, just like with a bump die. It should eliminate case head separations and reduce donut formation. Size your brass just enough for it to chamber in your rifle. The shell holder doesn't need to contact the bottom of the die.

[4bycamper]

For my 270 wsm I load Winchester and Norma brass. I like to sort my trimmed brass into lots by weight. Fifty of the Norma brass fell into 2 lots: 231.0 - 231.9 and 232.0 - 232.9, 24 in each lot and 2 out of spec. The Winchester brass is harder to sort this way. All of this brass is used to launch 150 gr. Noslers @ 3150 fps. and has 6 loadings on it, NO problems yet. 3 shot groups are still inside 0.8 consistently.

My 7mm RM Nosler brass was a surprise. Fifty pieces fell into One lot, the most consistent brass I have ever tried. Prior this 50, all of my brass has fallen into 2 or more 1 g. lots per 50. The Remington brass for my 7mm RM works equally well but once again is harder to sort. This rifle is also sub- MOA.

Because my brass endures heavy loads but not serious abuse, it all endures pretty well. I'm expecting 10 loadings with some of it. About brass I do believe you get what you pay for. So far I'll put Nosler brass at the top of the heap with Norma, Remington, and Winchester brass close behind.

The next rifle I build will be in a Lapua brass caliber. I'll let you know how it works out.

[Alfred Crouch]

My initial posted statements, which were based on comments I have heard over a period of time, sure didn't hold up when compared to the comments posted here. Seems there are a lot of Rem fans here which I found a little mystifying after the statements I have heard. I am going to give the Rem brass a serious test now. Cheaper always sounds good if it does the job.

Thanks for all the input. Al