Varmint Hunter
Well-Known Member
Getting started on the new 6.5x284 project. Which brass has proven to be the most consistent in this cartridge; Lapua or Norma?
VH
VH
Which brass - Lapua or Norma?
- Thread starter Varmint Hunter
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Austin
Well-Known Member
The Lap brass is a little on the hard side, and the Norma seems to give more loadings and better consistency, so... I am biased to the Norma brass. Though.... Lapua is FINE brass. Hard to go wrong either way.
Ian M
Well-Known Member
Dave,
I switched to Norma last year and it is very nice brass - but it does not seem to give me as many loadings as Lapua or Win. (BHA). I get marks on the head (ejector plunger ring) with loads that don't make the same mark on the other brass, might be a little softer than the other two. I can only speak for .308 Win. and .300 Win. mag. Mostly have shot .308 and some of the boxes have five reloads but the pockets are about shot.
Seems to me it is quite a bit more $, but it is very nice and consistent brass. I did the flashholes and trimmed them but the trimming was almost a waste of time - the lot I got was very uniform.
I switched to Norma last year and it is very nice brass - but it does not seem to give me as many loadings as Lapua or Win. (BHA). I get marks on the head (ejector plunger ring) with loads that don't make the same mark on the other brass, might be a little softer than the other two. I can only speak for .308 Win. and .300 Win. mag. Mostly have shot .308 and some of the boxes have five reloads but the pockets are about shot.
Seems to me it is quite a bit more $, but it is very nice and consistent brass. I did the flashholes and trimmed them but the trimming was almost a waste of time - the lot I got was very uniform.
panzer075
Well-Known Member
I remember when I first got into 338 Lapua magnum loading, Tecrep at Sierra told me a bunch of loads for 338 Lap. I wrote them down, then he told me to make sure to only use Lapua brass, Norma was allright he said, but much less interior capacity, and something about the softness of it not working as well. I have found the same to be true of the 300Wm brass. I believe BH used to use Norma for 300 WM, then switched to their own BHA match.
just my experiences lead me to see Lapua has always been better for me.
Chris
just my experiences lead me to see Lapua has always been better for me.
Chris
Austin
Well-Known Member
Dave: I can't remember where I picked up this last batch of Norma, but it was pretty cheap as far as .338 Lapua Mag brass goes ($125.00 for 100 cases). I seem to remember that all of their brass was a pretty good price. I'll find the invoice and get back with you on it.
TH
TH
Austin
Well-Known Member
Ian: My brass was VERY consistent also and required little or no work. All the flasholes and primer pockets were almost dead on. I've also noticed extractor/ejectory marks with loads that work well in other brass, but I called Norma and they said that there were some lots that a releatively soft head but that the problem was resolved. When I was fireforming for my 7/338, I would see quite a bit of stretching in the head area as well. I was using VERY light loads during this process. After a couple firings though, the case seemed to harden and the problems went away for the most part. I have another lot of the Norma stuff and i'm going to try it out to see if I have the same problems.
TH
TH
