Hornady Brass Quality?

[Elkhunter1983]

How is this quality compared to others? I am looking at getting some for my 25-06 and would like some better quality. I would prefer Norma but it doesn't seem like there is going to be a run in the foreseeable future. I tried Nosler in my rifle and it was an absolute joke, nowhere near max loads and the primer pockets loosened up after 1 firing. Give me your experience with the 25-06 hornady if you have, if not let me know your experience no matter the cartridge.

 

[Browninglover1]

I have only done 5 reloads on my 6.5 Creedmoor brass but the primer pockets are still very tight even with loads slightly over max. I am hoping to get 10 loads, I've read that some guys are getting 15 to 20 loads with Hornady Creedmoor brass but I can't verify their claims.

 

[MudRunner2005]

Lapua & Nosler are better brass, IMO....That being said I use Hornady .308 Match brass for load development and then load up my Lapua brass once I have developed a load my gun likes. I also use Hornady brass exclusively for my .357 & .44 Mag pistol reloads.

Hornady is good brass, I wouldn't hesitate to use it.

 

[eshorebwhntr]

No experience with Hornady but I second the notion that the Nosler absolutely sucks. Especially for the price. I had the same experience, minimum loads loosen primer pockets after 1 shot.

 

[emn83]

Before I switched to Lapua, I used Hornady brass from ammo I had bought. I have no complaints with the Hornady brass and still have all of it. I had 3 firings through my .308, and the only loose primer pockets were caused by me having brain farts and over loading a couple rounds

 

[motown]

I have had very good luck with hornady brass over the years but imo they are pricing themselves out of there league especially when i can get lapua brass for only $10 more per 100 in the 223

 

[brentc]

I picked up some Hornady once fired 7mm Rem brass from Gunbroker when I couldn't find brass anywhere. Once I got it sorted, I loaded some up with my proven Winchester brass loads and it produced velocities equal to Winchester brass and excellent ES without any pressure sign. I guess we'll see how long it holds up.

 

[Outlaw6.0]

I've only recently been around hornady brass the last couple years. As far as Factory brass goes, I put Hornady ahead of Fed, Rem, Win & Nosler (overpriced junk).

George Gardner of GA Precision has gone as far as stating he feels Hornady brass (at least in the small calibers) is just as good as the Lapua he has been using.

I just bought a 6.5 'Creed which of course, runs Hornady brass. I should probably weigh cases out of the 250+ cases I have here & take an overall look at the consistency. I also have the ability to measure neck wall thickness which would be another consistency measurement.


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[winmag]

Wow
There's some haters out there. I've never used Lapua brass, but I Love Norma (Nosler) brass.
My favorite brass I've Ever used is Nosler. Hands down. (300Wsm) I can load them hot, durring load work up, & they hold thier primer pockets better than any other brass I've used yet. (66+gr of RL-17 under a 180gr in the 300 WSM for over 3100fps!) I've backed down to 65 for my accuracy load, but I'm on load 4+ with these. Pockets are great.
The absolute worst junk brass I've ever used is Hornady (300Wby). Split cases, loose pockets, case head seperation, cases stuck in dies, ripped heads off. All factory Hornady brass once fired from my rifle. 1 reload & strait into the trash can. All 6 boxes of it were crap. Lesson learned. Never again.
*Now I Have heard good things about Hornady brass in non belted cartridges like 308 or -06 parent case cartridges, & strait wall cartriges*
And Rem, Win, Win Nickel, Wby(Norma), & Federal factory have all been hit & miss. 270Wsm, 30-06, 300Wsm 300Win, 300Wby, 338Win. Some pretty darn good too. I've got 6 loads on some Fed. 270Wsm brass. They seriously need annealing, but are still goin strong.

Strange how some folks have complete opposite experiences.
Best of luck to you

 

[Lefty7mmstw]

Wow

Strange how some folks have complete opposite experiences.
Best of luck to you

I've been thinking that since I've been on this site.... why the hating on some of the more mainline stuff all the time?? I'm beginning to think a lot of it is more of a status symbol than anything of substance.
When you can take full throttle loads and get better than ten loadings at 1/2 moa out of mixed-lot us manufactured range pick-up brass there isn't any reason to drop $60(heck probably a lot more now) a hundred on the same stuff. I've done it with every standard caliber I've owned- rifle AND pistol.

I use hornady brass in my 405 win and I've shot some in my 300 win and 7rem. Decent stuff. I'm not fond of the fact that some of their factory 44 mag brass has crimped primers(why??) but it does just fine once you reverse mutilate it.

 

[MudRunner2005]

To some folks it might be a status thing. But it's not that way for all of us...Some of us just want the highest quality components we can buy so we can have better accuracy, or longer lifespan of the brass, or something to that affect. Granted some folks do buy that stuff just to say they have it. Only reason I have Nosler STW brass is because I got 3 bags (75 total pieces) of it new for $35 a bag...Compared to it normally selling for about $65-75 a box of 25.

I have Lapua .308 brass because I had heard it's the best and most durable...And so far it is living up to everything I've read. However, my cheap old Hornady once-fired Match brass I have been saving for years from my factory loaded ammo is holding up just as good as the Lapua. You can tell the Lapua is thicker and heavier, but so far the Hornady brass is hangin in there beyond my expectations.

But all the rest of my brass is mostly surplus brass from older factory loaded ammo I stored up over the years, and shoot a box or so when I need more brass, or I find a good deal on some once-fired from an individual, like I did a few months back.

 

[Aldon]

I like them in this order. Lapua, Federal, Hornady (except 338 Lapua), Norma, Remington, Winchester....all the rest.

Remington and Winchester are OK but require more steps in prep when buying virgin brass.

 

[Ludicrous]

I'm on my 7th reload of (*gasp*) Hornady 338 Lapua cases. In a Savage 338 LM. Doing just fine so far. Settled on 91.5 grains H1000, 215M & 285's. Have run a few of those up to 93 grains H1000. My control batch is 10 each of Lapua, Norma, Nosler and the Hornady. All have been full length sized and annealed each time. I also use Hornady 308 and 45 ACP brass. No problems here so far.

 

[Aldon]

My comment on the 338 lapua was not meant to be inflammatory. Those who used the earlier Hornady Brass suffered issues. Once I bought Lapua Brass no further issues. And no need to buy Hornady to give them another chance in this caliber as I am now stocked sufficiently.

The Hornady issue with this particular caliber is well noted in older threads.

PMC once fired was a bit better but not greatly so.

And yes, I too anneal and fully prep each firing, especially with the hotter rounds.

Edit - This was with the Savage BA