Brass Brand

shrpshtrjoe · Posted: Wed May 18, 2005 3:51 pm Post subject: Brass Brand

Howdy. What brand of brass do you prefer was just curious if anybody has noticed a difference with reloads. I know mil brass is thicker and to start loads out lighter was curious about other brands. I have mostly used rem brass, some win and bha match recently i haven,t noticed much diference.

moose2 · Posted: Wed May 18, 2005 4:41 pm Post subject: Re: Brass Brand

I've read through the years that winchester was pretty good and I've stuck with them. Probably should be brave and experiment a little more with other brands. Will be interesting to see what other folks have to say. Out of a hundred rounds, I usually wind up culling about 20 to 25% of them. Smile

BillPa · Member Joined: Mar 17, 2005 Posts: 89

For the most part I use Winchester. The exceptions are Lapua for 2 308s,270-08AI. Remington for the 280AI. I have 500 rounds of 308 Fed GM brass, but the stuff is next to awful. Necks vary .018 -.023". I don't use any MIL brass at all. I waiting to get a couple batchs of Nosler to see how it stacks up.

Bill

Gil Martin · Posted: Thu May 19, 2005 4:00 pm Post subject: It depends

My preferences are Winchester, Remington and Federal and they make up 98 percent of my reloads. Cannot say there is a lot of difference in performance between the big three. I have used some PMC and encountered some off-center flash holes and broke a few depriming pins. GFL is a neat brand of brass and I load it when it appears at the range. Other brands of brass do not appeal to me or are too expensive. All the best...
Gil

Blaine · Member Joined: Feb 24, 2005 Posts: 260 Location: Maine

I weigh and batch all my cases, and I find a quite a bit of difference in weight between brands. The weighing is done after the cases have been sized, trimmed, neck turned, so the outside dimensions are as close to the same as I can make them. Therefore, any difference in weight has to be the inside dimensions/volume. I guess it's possible that different brass alloys could account for some of the weight variance, but I'm thinking most of it comes from dimensional variances. for example:
These are approximate averages of 308 cases for comparison:
Winchester 155 grs
Hornady 165 grs
Federal 176 grs

Blaine

Flint54 · Posted: Fri May 20, 2005 1:19 am Post subject: Re: Brass Brand

I use Winchester, Remington, Lapua and Starline mostly. Most all CF Rifle & Custom CF Pistol (Contender) loads are Winchester (Weighed & Sorted. I also get 15 - 20% loss) Lapua for all match loads and hunting loads. Remington for mostly .357 Maximum and 45 -70 handgun loads, also my only Nickle case that is used in a Custom .308 Bellm Contender barrel for hunting (only loaded with 150gr Nosler BTs). Starline brass for .38, .357, .41, .44 & .45 LC. If I could afford to I would probably use nothing but Lapua and Norma for any caliber they make cases for but I like to buy the rest of the components so I can shoot. I have 50 Norma cases that are in .308 Win and they are worth their weight in Platinum!!! Wink

GroovyJack · Member Joined: May 21, 2005 Posts: 621 Location: Bama

After years and years it's Winchester only
Jack

calsibley · Super Member Joined: Jan 28, 2005 Posts: 317

I'm a fairly recent convert to Lapua, both brass and bullets. They don't make brass in all calibers which is unfortunate. It's amazingly uniform in weight and shape which is fairly rare in todays market of shoddy workmanship. You guys who like to weigh your cases will love this stuff. Also, they drill out their primer pockets instead of punching them out so there's no internal projection sticking up for you to ream out. It's a little more expensive than our US made brass, but much better. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

calsibley · Super Member Joined: Jan 28, 2005 Posts: 317

After several years of ranting about the poor quality of US made brass it appears someone may be listening after all. Hornady and Nosler both are entering the brass market with what they call precision made brass. It's a little more expensive, but it may be worth it. Supposedly it's very uniform in weight and dimensions. The primer pockets are drilled instead of being punched out so there's no internal projections sticking up that have to be reamed out. Hopefully the necks are more uniform also. Actually what they are doing is the same thing Norma and Lapua have done for years. I found my last purchases of US made brass pathetic and simply refused to buy any more of it. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

Zeeriverrat1 · Rookie Member Joined: Jul 24, 2005 Posts: 15

For years and years I used only remington brass for my rifles...recently I purchased some Rem brass in 35 Whelen and I was quite disappointed in it...now I am making my 35 w brass out of 30-06 Win brass and my results are much better... I have had good luck with Lapau brass in my 7.62X54 loadings..but at 40.00+ a hundred it ought to be good stuff for sure...I will probably continue to use mostly Win and Rem brass...

Zeeriverrat1 Smile

Handloader · Guest

For big game purposes I prefer Winchester. I can get more reloads and it is more consistent in weight than Remington. Remington brass seems to have a lot of brass flash to be cleaned from the flash hole.

For varmint hunting the new Nosler brass is exceptional and a bit pricey. But, there are no culls as they are pre-weight sorted and the flash holes are perfect. This alone saves me much time and effort. Regretably, it is not available in a wide ranges of cartridges.

Pistol brass seems less tempermental as long as it is brand sorted. Revolver brass, OTOH, is often loaded to higher pressure with the magnum loads and here, again, my preference is for Winchester or Starline.

LittleMagnum · Member Joined: Jul 05, 2005 Posts: 105 Location: Vermont

I tried most of the brands. In hunting rifles I have had good luck with Federal match brass,Norma, Hornady and Winchester. I will use Remmington brass as a last choice.

Jack · Member Joined: Oct 19, 2005 Posts: 98

I've tried about everyone's brass over the years.
For 'popular price' brass, I stick with Winchester. I've had much better luck with Winchester than Remington.
Lapua and Norma both make real quality brass, but it ain't cheap, and isn't available in some calibers. I use Lapua and Norma brass in varmint rifles that need to be really accurate.
In my game rifles, I stick with Winchester whenever possible.
I have not tried the new Nosler or Hornady stuff, tho.

yooperchuck · Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2005 11:42 pm Post subject: Re: Brass Brand

My hand goes up for winchester brass also. Especially when i can buy it already primed, virgin, .308 and other brands at Natchez. I got lucky? Had winchester brass recommended to me and went with THAT.

Crackshot · Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2005 7:33 pm Post subject: Re: Brass Brand

Winchester, Lapua, Federal match, Starline.