Nosler Custom Brass ?

[statjunk]

Hello guys,

I bought a bunch of Nosler Custom Brass for a .30-06. I've been shooting pretty mild loads and the primer pockets have gone loose in 6 reloads.

The loads I've been shooting are anywhere between 50 and 55gr of IMR 4350. Though most loads have been 54gr or less. The bullets I've been shooting are Nosler Accubonds. Loaded anywhere between -.03 and -.002 off the lands. Using Winchester primers.

I've seen zero signs of pressure but I'm thinking with as easy as the primers went in last night that I might start seeing some primers coming out. They went in really easy.

I usually get between 10 and 14 loadings out of Winchester brass, which is all I've used until now.

I'm concerned because I have two more boxes of the Nosler Brass in .30-06 and three boxes in .308Win that I have yet to use.

Is this normal for Nosler Brass?

Thanks

Tom

[Kevin Thomas]

Tom,

Admitting my somewhat biased position here, I'll still throw this out for your consideration. It's my understanding that the Nosler brass is made for them by Norma. Norma brass is generally of very high quality, very uniform and dimensionally held to extremely tight specs. It also has a reputation of being one of the softer brands of brass on the market. Not surprised at all to hear that you're getting more reloads out of your Winchester brass, but I'll wager that the Nosler/Norma is more uniform. Six of one, half dozen of the other, take your choice.

Most brands of brass have their own unique characteristics that set them apart from other makes, and that's what accounts for the wide range of prices we pay for such items. Nosler's good brass, but this seems to be the downside to dimensional uniformity they offer.

Kevin Thomas
Lapua USA

[statjunk]

Oh boy this is wonderful news... I'm going to give them a call because for the kind of pressure I've been dealing with I find this mildly unacceptable.

Tom

[hammertyme]

I would strongly encourage you to contact the maker. I have had wonderful success with Nosler brass. In your words there appears to be a problem and Nosler will want to correct it.

Neal

[Kevin Thomas]

Tom,

Like I said, it's good brass, and six reloads isn't "bad" for many brands of brass when pressures are at a normal max. Not thermonuclear pressures, mind you, just normal industry maximim. Federal's another that tends to be fairly soft, but I've seen (had) 20+ reloadings on cases that were fed lighter loads. Still, it's all relative. I do a lot of Service Rifle competition, mostly with ARs these days, but spent many years with M1s and M1As/M14s. For the Garand-based family of Service Rifles, you get three, count 'em, three (3) firings before you scrap your brass, period. As I said, it's relative.

The Winchester stuff you mentioned (generally) tends to be a bit harder, but again, probably not as uniform, dimensionally. For some this would be an advantage, for others, they'd choose the uniformity over the durability. Ask around here on the boards, and find out what everyone else is using and what sort of brass life they're getting. Nothing's gospel, but you'll probably see some trends that might steer you in the direction of what you want. Hope that helps,

Kevin Thomas
Lapua USA

[Boss Hoss]

Kevin is being reserved because Lapua is the Gold Standard PERIOD. In fact, when looking at a reamer to have Kiff build I ALWAYS try to develop a round that can use Lapua as the parent.

Many years have borne this out.

[21buck]

You might want to check out the primers. My experience has been that Winchester primers tend to be a tad smaller than other brands. They were falling out of new brass. Try a few other brands.