Choice of brass?

[NF1E]

For those of you that do precision loading, what brass have you found to work the best?
In the process here of running a test with 3 different mfg of brass. Prepping 100 cases each .308 Palma srp brass Alpha, Lapua and Starline. Trimming to 2.0, running mandrel to set neck tension to .002, uniforming primer pockets , de-burring flash holes and turning necks all to .0145. The intention is to keep careful records of how each of these perform during initial firing and again after fire forming, annealing and re-loading. All cases will be loaded with HBN treated 110 gn Sierra hp varminters with OAL set to 2.650 over 46 gn of Varget set off with 205M primers which should provide a speed of approximately 3050 fps. Love this sort of Winter project to keep what's left of the mind occupied. Whatta Hobby!

 

[K9TXS]

I've been using Peterson brass recently in my 6 BR. Haven't had any issues with it, no splits, dents, etc. I always use Hornady 1 Shot or the Imperial Wax.

 

[NF1E]

Thanks for the reply. I don't expect to see any great difference with them all prepped and loaded the same. Whatta Hobby!

 

[Txhillbilly]

I mainly use Lapua and Starline for my precision needs. I do use Peterson with my 25 CM. In the past I've tried Alpha and Peterson with my 6.5 CM loads, but found they have less capacity and will over pressure long before getting near the velocities that I get with Lapua or Starline brass.

 

[CoalCrackerAl]

I use Starline.

 

[NF1E]

Never even tried Peterson brass but I have some on order just for the halibut. Whatta Hobby!

 

[CFJunkie]

I have used Lapua for years on my target bolt rifles. Prior to that I had tried Norma, Hornady and Winchester.
The Norma was good but more expensive than Lapua and didn't last more than 16 reloads.
With Winchester, Hornady and Norma there was some slight drop in accuracy compared to Lapua as the brass was reloaded.
With Lapua brass, shooting .223, 6.5mm CM and .308, I was getting 20 to 23 reloads before I experienced enough primer pocket wear that I felt it was time to change. Rarely had neck splits even up to 20 reloads.
I have been able to maintain a supply of 6.5mm CM SRP brass and .308 LRP brass.

When the .223 Lapua became unobtanium, I tried Starline.
Starline was cheaper and I bought 400 rounds worth.
I found that there was more variation in Starline cartridge length than with Lapua brass out of the box
The longest Starline .223 cartridge base to tip was 1.747 and the majority were 1.746 to 1.745 with some OALs as short as 1.742.
Even the brand new Starline brass had some variation in primer pocket tightness.
Starline also seemed to have variation in the initial felt neck tightness when reloading.
After about 6 to 8 reloads, Starline started to get some neck splits and after 9 reloads, there was enough primer pocket looseness in enough cases that I was concerned about primers falling out.
After 8 reloads, the Starline brass OAL was primarily 1.744 to 1.438

I managed to get 300 rounds of Lapua .223 and found almost no variation in OAL out of the box.
Variation was +/- 0.001 around 1.750 with the vast majority right on 1.750. A 0.001 difference could have been my variation in caliper pressure.
The Lapua primer pockets were so tight on the first load that I had some difficulty getting the primers to seat completely without really heavy pressure on my RCBS hand primer tool. After the first reload, the brass OAL was primarily 1.749 with many at 1.748, some still at 1.750 and a few at 1.746.

In the target .223, Lapua produced slightly better accuracy.
Starline average group size was 0.215 for 404 groups from May 1st through Dec 31st.
Lapua average group size since Jan 1st was 0.210 for 32 groups since Jan 1st.

Hopefully, I can find some more Lapua .223 in the future.

 

[SevenFan]

Peterson here too, 6.5CM, 22CM, 7BR. Bought some Lapua 6BR last year to see how it compares. I've already necked them up to 7mm, just need to finish prepping them. Rotator cuff surgery in Nov put that work on the back burner.

 

[Show me]

Can a non precision shooter join in.
How about if there's not an artistic bone in my body.
So much to be read at other sites are all about competition and precision.
Common folk don't have a chance.
I'm one of those people that have been told. " Shure you can shoot small groups at 500 yds . But not with those rifles "

So if no one minds. I've use a variety of brass. I'll only talk .223 and .308 for this.
Most expensive has been Peterson. Including SRP . Not for precision but because Hillary encouraged me to stock up on primers. Started using too many LRP. Works just fine year around.
Peterson lasts for many loads.

I've bought hundreds of new 7.62 primed winchester from Midway and it's fine and handy. They way overdid the sealer which is why it was surplus. I firmly believe.
Hundreds of new lake city 556. Works great.
Then comes many packs of Starline and some PPU.
The usual assortment of used and can't forget all the Top Brass I've accumulated.

My range out the barn is limited to 125 yds
My property is 1/4 mile deep with timber in the middle.
So my testing is that far. I can't walk all the way out back to hunt the back field so my successful hunting in the woods where the deer live anyway will never ever reach past 75 yds.

So if anyone handloads for shorter distances for more than several autoloaders, lever and bolt actions I suggest watching for good deals to pop up. I suggest throwing well used brass in coffee cans for use where you leave your brass behind and buy in bulk to have the same year or lot numbers for best results.
Anneling by hand is voodoo to me and I'll never buy a machine. New brass is way too easy.
The great thing about Internet talk is people can easily ignore comments by me.
Any common handloaders out there ?

 

[NF1E]

I think you will find we are all common handloaders and depending on the discipline we are loading for, we might change operations.
I have a range in my yard that goes to 300 but mostly I shoot 50 yd rimfire and 100 - 150 precision and plenty of auto loader M14 and M1s mixed in. It's all fun and the conversations gained are a plus for all. At 77, my days of competing against anyone but myself have long passed. Whatta Hobby!

 

[Show me]

I think you will find we are all common handloaders and depending on the discipline we are loading for, we might change operations.
I have a range in my yard that goes to 300 but mostly I shoot 50 yd rimfire and 100 - 150 precision and plenty of auto loader M14 and M1s mixed in. It's all fun and the conversations gained are a plus for all. At 77, my days of competing against anyone but myself have long passed. Whatta Hobby!

View attachment 85View attachment 86View attachment 88

Brass catcher is great. I shoot out the barn so it's easy to block even minis . Unchecked a mini 14 can hit the tin wall at 30 feet
Used an umbrella for ever. Till I got a SFAR. The muzzle device blew it apart.
The dog and I can get snorted at retrieving a target.

 

[Charlie98]

The dog and I

Blue Heeler... best dog on the planet.

 

[Charlie98]

I don't really have a dog in the hunt. I have my preferences for brass, but that is biased because I'm still using rifle brass I sourced back in the '90's. It is my opinion that today's mainstream brass is not the same quality as older brass. I have had newer Winchester rifle brass, for example, fail before my 'loaded too many times to count' older Winchester brass. In any event, until recently, I never really had a rifle that would benefit from expensive brass, nor the skills, either. That changed a few years ago, when I got my Savage 10TAC in .308. After putting some decent glass (Burris) on it, and working with it over the past 5 years, I've finally reached a point where the rifle and I are the match for my reloading prowess and components. Heretofore, I've used a single lot of RP LP .308 brass, and done quite well with it. That brass is probably about done, so I've got a lot of newer production RP brass... we will see how that does. Eventually, I'll buy a single lot of Lapua .308 brass... and only because I've read on threads like this that the variations from production are typically less with Lapua, than even with other premium brands, and the brass stays consistent throughout it's service life, which I think is a key factor.

Autoloading rifles like the AR-15 and the M1a get military brass... LC, PMC, and Prvi white box (which is actually .308, but the early lots are just as good... or better... than LC.)

 

[NF1E]

Finishing up loading the new fully prepped Startine 100 cases this morning. Dang I love this part of the operation. Whatta Hobby!