???Best Quality Brass???

Euro brass (Lapua, RWS, Hittenburger) is probably the best brass out of the box, but the cost can be intimidating. When Winchester brass has been tweaked, it is the equal of the Euro brass, but it does require an investment in time to get it there. The funny thing is that I tweak my Lapua brass the same as I do my American brass, not becasue it's necessary, just becasue it makes me feel better. If I don't spend an entire day loading 50 rounds of match ammo, how can it possibly be as good as ammo I can load in half an hour? ;)
 
I use Remington and Winchester bulk brass. I've noticed the newer Rem brass seems to be of lesser quality, who knows what corner of the world it comes from?
Federal seems to be the poorest as far as longevity is concerned, particularly in calibers like 303 which are hard on brass.
 
Well, brass makers change from time to time. What was great brass 10 years ago is mediocre brass today, and vice versa, maybe. Right now, Lapua, Norma (although I've seen some soft Norma over the years too), RWS, Nosler, Hornady/Frontier, IVI when I can find it, Remington/Winchester, Federal. Other small runs by Euro makers can be pretty good, as well as some domestics (Speer comes to mind). There really isn't one "best" brass, it depends on the particular lot, in which caliber, and when it was made. - dan
 
In general, most calibers I find Federal brass usually gets loose primer pockets before Win or R-P with all things being equal.
 
Pete

hemidart said:
So what make of brass is the "BEST" quality for reloading. Winchester? R-P? Imperial? etc...:confused:
Pete....
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hands over fist Lapua. If it is something you are just going to chuck brass around then you won't want Lapua because it is pricier. Second would be Win in my book as it is the next easiest to acquire. If you can get Norma it would be second to Lapua then Win.
 
Look in Handloader or Rifle Mag from a month or two ago. There was an excellent article isolating every component of a cartridge for accuracy. The most expensive European brass wasn't always the best for accuracy or longevity. IIRC Federal plain was an all around steal, having very acceptable accuracy and good life span. One of the more high end brands had good accuracy but very short life span.
 
Howdy ; It would depend on what you plan to do . Pistol brass winchester for 44/40 black powder cause it thin and expands easy .Starline for Hot loads , it is thick and lasts well , winchester or R,P for general use if it is avaiable and cheap .Never Dominion its a PITA . Range brass when its bought buy the bucket at the end of a weekend match .
 
Federal brass may be fine for very mild loads, but as soon as any load even gets slightly "warm" - it's toast. The primer pockets open so easily and after 3 or 4 firings you can take a case, set a primer on the table anvil up, and seat it with hand pressure on the case. I have Winchester brass in 6mm Remington that has been fired with max working loads 12X, and the primers still seat with proper "feel". That is why I rated Federal well down the list. Regards, Eagleye.
 
I've generally felt good about the brass I've bought over the years. Up until last year I would have said Lapua and Norma in about a dead heat for being the best. But I had a bunch of Lapua that gave me nothing but donuts in my 6 mm when my tricked up Remington cases didn't. So, now I feel that most brands will do the job, but you can get an occasional bad batch with just about any maker once in awhile. I've certainly experienced that with Remington (excessive variation in weight and ragged, deformed flash holes) and Federal Gold Medal (brass too hard and necks cracked) too. I bought one batch of PMC brass for my 06 at a cheap price that I thought would be terrible and I'm still using it after 8 firings with little change, go figure.
 
Boomer said:
Euro brass (Lapua, RWS, Hittenburger) is probably the best brass out of the box, but the cost can be intimidating. When Winchester brass has been tweaked, it is the equal of the Euro brass, but it does require an investment in time to get it there. The funny thing is that I tweak my Lapua brass the same as I do my American brass, not becasue it's necessary, just becasue it makes me feel better. If I don't spend an entire day loading 50 rounds of match ammo, how can it possibly be as good as ammo I can load in half an hour? ;)
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I F**ked my decapping rod on RWS brass in 375H&H. The primer hole was not drilled out.:eek::( DAN>>>
 
I agree with Eagleye as I'm not a big fan of Federal brass for the same reasons. I load standard run of the mill calibers not to hot and haven't had any problems with any of the others.
 
this post got me wondering.

I split up 50 rds of Winchester and Remington .308 brass. So far its very obvious the Winchester brass is stronger than the Remington. When sizing you could tell the base of the Remington had expended more.

Other than a select 18 rds (still testing setups for my gun) All the brass will be trimmed to 2.007 and have Winchester primers with 43gn of Winchester 748.

I wont be going to the range untill sunday but ill post the target when i get back as well as witch brand expanded to what size and witch case brand is consistent in its expansion.
 
Still comparing and testing the brass between Rem and Win brass

The primer pockets of the Winchester brass are much more flat and consistent compared to the Rem.

I may be the only one interested in this but im posting it anyway :p
 
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