hands down best brass for reloading 7mm rem mag

[rockwind]

i guess lapua doesn't make any so is there a consensus here? i think rws makes it and i was almost going to get some but thought i would verify with the experienced folks here

 

[LaHunter]

I personally use Federal brass and have about 3-4 firings with no issues, but I can't say it's the best. Federal is all I have ever used in my 7mm rem mag. I read a lot about Nosler brass being the best, or at least one of the best, but I have no first hand experience with Nosler.

 

[bigedp51]

Chambers and resizing dies vary in size so you could pick the best brass but if your chamber is on the plus side and your die is on the minus side you could still have problems.

Meaning the answers you get here are not written in stone and can even vary between manufacturing lots of cases.

Below a example of .223/5.56 cases, the Federal case on the left has a thinner flash hole web than the Lake City case on the right. The thicker flash hole web adds radial strength to the base of the case and makes the primer pockets last longer.

On the belted case the diameter and thickness of the case above the belt and the brass hardness also has a big effect. I would also look for the highest rated cases "BUT" proper fire forming and not allowing the case to stretch on the first firing is also very important also.

 

[rockwind]

Chambers and resizing dies vary in size so you could pick the best brass but if your chamber is on the plus side and your die is on the minus side you could still have problems.

Meaning the answers you get here are not written in stone and can even vary between manufacturing lots of cases.

Below a example of .223/5.56 cases, the Federal case on the left has a thinner flash hole web than the Lake City case on the right. The thicker flash hole web adds radial strength to the base of the case and makes the primer pockets last longer.

On the belted case the diameter and thickness of the case above the belt and the brass hardness also has a big effect. I would also look for the highest rated cases "BUT" proper fire forming and not allowing the case to stretch on the first firing is also very important also.

probably a stupid question,,how do you "not allow" the case to stretch on the first firing

 

[hometownhero]

probably a stupid question,,how do you "not allow" the case to stretch on the first firing

Hard jam into the lands to hold the base of the case against the bolt face

 

[Dosh]

Wind, just loaded some 7mag for a friend and myself. Used Nosler and it was a breeze. I only needed to neck size to insure the necks were round.

 

[bwaybuilder]

I have had good luck with Norma brass, very little case prep.

 

[PowellSixO]

Don't use Winchester brass. It's crap. I'd get 2-3 firings if I was lucky, and I was not at my max load. The primer pockets would be trashed. I switched to Norma brass, and won't buy anything else for my 7mm now. You can pick it up at Sportsmans Warehouse most of the time.

 

[g0rd0]

When I got my sav 111 in 7rm I got 10 boxes of federal ammo. So far I have 1577 rnds down range. The original 200 factory loads and all of the rest reloaded. The brass is still going strong with no signs of wear. Mind you I only N size and keep under max load


Last year a friend gave me 20 nickel plated win and 20 rem once fired brass from her rifle for me to use. I FL sized the rem and tried them the belts where a hard fit into the die so I cycled them into my chamber all where sticky, cycled them into my friends chamber all where sticky (tossed them into the recycle bin). I did not try the Win stuff (I don't like nickel) but, I did FL size them and they cycled perfectly in both rifles.

 

[LaHunter]

Hard jam into the lands to hold the base of the case against the bolt face

No disrespect, but this is very bad advise. This can result in excessive pressure. Also, would be related to bullet seating depth, not brass fit in a chamber

 

[J E Custom]

probably a stupid question,,how do you "not allow" the case to stretch on the first firing

All brass will grow/stretch the first firing, but the best way to minimize case groth is with zero or minimum head space. If you restrain the shoulder at the neck shoulder junction it doesn't have much room to grow. The Ackleys do this best because when you fire form them, the first time the proper way to set the head space is with - .004 thousandths head space in order to get a slight crush on the shoulder neck junction.

Most Of my Ackleys only grow .004 to .006 thousandths the first firing, after that, the 40o shoulder keeps cartridge groth to a minimum, especially if you neck size only until the cases become harder to chamber and then size only enough to chamber.

Even this process will not completely stop case groth,and after many firings they will have to be trimmed to length depending on how hot your loads are.

Nothing will completely stop case groth.

J E CUSTOM

 

[surgeon260]

No disrespect, but this is very bad advise. This can result in excessive pressure. Also, would be related to bullet seating depth, not brass fit in a chamber

I jam bullets all the time when firing virgin brass in my Ackley chambers to control headspace with great success. I also agree with JE's post above that a properly cut Ackley chamber should control headspace via crush fit at the neck-shoulder junction. I have found that the case head to neck-shoulder junction dimension can vary quite a bit from brand to brand and even lot to lot, so fireforming with a jammed bullet is an additional measure of headspace control. Jamming bullets in general does increase pressure, so adjust the powder charge accordingly.

This practice is directly related to brass fit in the chamber. When you have excessive headspace, case stretch results when the force of the firing pin pushes the entire case forward in the chamber, away from the bolt face. The pressure inside the case causes the case to grab the sides of the chamber, and then the case stretches backwards to the bolt face. If the bullet is jammed in the lands, it provides resistance to the force of the firing pin and helps to anchor the case against the bolt face. At least that is my understanding. YMMV.

 

[bigedp51]

No disrespect, but this is very bad advise. This can result in excessive pressure. Also, would be related to bullet seating depth, not brass fit in a chamber

Reloading 101: Fireforming Cases
https://sierrabulletsblog.com/2016/09/14/reloading-101-fireforming-cases/

The most common way:

With a new case, we will want to seat a primer first off. The next step requires us to determine at what length the bullet (we want to use in the fireforming load) will touch the rifling. (It is best to use a heavier weight bullet for the cartridge and if available a flat base bullet.) Then, select a powder for the cartridge you are working with. The better powders are those that fall in the middle of the burn rate range for the cartridge and bullet weight. Use a mid-range load with the powder and bullet selected. Then seat the bullet to touch the rifling. The bullet touching the rifling causes the cartridge rim to be in contact with the bolt face or receiver, so that the firing pin strike cannot cause the case to be shoved forward. This then allows the case to expand to the chamber dimensions with out the weakening stretch that otherwise would take place. It is always best to use new unfired cases. Cases that have been previously fired, whether it be factory ammo or cases that were loaded and not fireformed first, will almost always have a certain amount of stretch that has occurred. This initial stretching is usually when the most damage occurs.

NOTE, when using Quickload it tells you jamming the bullet into the lands will raise the start pressure approximately 7,200 psi. So a mid-range load would be more than safe and well below the max rated chamber pressure.

 

[MudRunner2005]

i guess lapua doesn't make any so is there a consensus here? i think rws makes it and i was almost going to get some but thought i would verify with the experienced folks here

Nosler