Which brass do you use?

[Alfred Crouch]

Have heard:
1) Norma has soft metal and primer pockets open up fast
2) Remington has poor quality metal & isn't consistent in dimensions
3) Winchester isn't very consistent in wall thickness, weight & length
4) nosler has lot of variation is dimensions & weight from lot to lot (which I
have found to be true).

Which do you use and what has been your experience with brass put out by different manufacturers?

 

[Varmint Hunter]

Have heard:
1) Norma has soft metal and primer pockets open up fast
2) Remington has poor quality metal & isn't consistent in dimensions
3) Winchester isn't very consistent in wall thickness, weight & length
4) nosler has lot of variation is dimensions & weight from lot to lot (which I
have found to be true).
Which do you use and what has been your experience with brass put out by different manufacturers?

Overall, I've had the best experience with Lapua brass and use it whenever possible. I have also used Norma brass which was also rather consistent but sometimes costs even more than the Lapua.

Even though Rem brass is arguably considered some of the worst brass out there, I have used it in a custom 7STW and regularly shot .25 - .5 moa at 200yds after match prepping the brass.

 

[wadevb1]

I've been shooting Norma in my 25-06AI (270) and 204 and have been pleased with it despite max loads. I bought 1K 300WM Lapua hulls when I heard they were going out of production and consider Lapua to be the benchmark.

Any future custom build will be determined on Lapua brass.

 

[boomtube]

Virtually all my cases are Remington, WW, mil. surplus, Fed. and Norma, in that order. For factory rifles I really doubt it matters. ??

 

[Clark]

I can get <0.5" 5 shot groups at 100 yards with mixed range brass in .223.
That is with the bullet + powder is 1500 times lighter than the scope + rifle.
The rifle recoils .016" before bullet escapement.

I get <1.5" 3 shot groups at 100 yards with new matched prepped brass in 7mmRemMag.
That is with the bullet + powder is 300 times lighter than the scope + rifle.
The rifle recoils .080" before bullet escapement.

1 moa error is .006" change in position of each end of the rifle about it's center.
I moa error at 100y is typically from 20mph wind.
1 moa error is typically .004" of bullet tilt from bent brass neck from expander ball.

What does it all mean?
Brass brand effect is down in the noise compared to wind, rifle weight, ammo concentricity, bore cleanliness, barrel heat warp, etc.

 

[MontanaRifleman]

I've been getting sub 1/2 MOA groups in both my Senderos with unsorted Win brass (25-06) and unsorted Rem brass (300 Ultra). I trim the necks and debur the flasholes and the the 300 brass I turn the necks and use bushing dies for sizing. I also use a competiton seater.

I have Norma brass for my 300 WSM and have shot quite a few "warm" loads from it in load development. Some of the brass has been fired up to 5 times with only a few that have loose pockets, but they still hold the primers well.

Mark

 

[boomtube]

"2) Remington has poor quality metal & isn't consistent in dimensions
3) Winchester isn't very consistent in wall thickness, weight & length"

Hummm.... been loading since '65. All brands of cases have some variations, by lot, but I've never noted any such firm and predictable results by brand. Sounds like conventional "I read it on the web" wisdom to me.

I really didn't see any particular "improvment" in accuracy with Norma cases (nor epanded primer pockets) in my highly accurate .22-250 that could be attributed to the brass so I quit buying it long ago. Never bothered with the expansive Lapua stuff but I really doubt there's any great difference in accuracy with it either.

Of course, the "you get what you pay for" crowd is right, in a way. I mean, if you pay for 100 new Norma or Lapua cases that's surely what you'll get!

 

[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]

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. gun)

 

[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