What Brand of Brass Do You Prefer?

[Dave1]

I have always used Remington R-P 243 brass, usually purchased in 100-500 count lots. I recently noticed the inside of the case neck is very rough on some new brass. I don't have the specialized tools to clean up and true the ID/OD of these cases, check for run out, thickness, etc. but am now wondering if one of the other brands may be better, more uniform, etc.

Has anyone found any brand of new brass to be better than others?

Thanks, Dave

[billc]

When buying new brass I generally purchase Winchester. I'm too cheap to buy Laupa. I don't have the equipment to take the measurements and make an informed decision. I feel that Winchester case life is longer than Remington cases.

With virgin brass I chamfer the inside flash hole, full length resize, chamfer the inside and outside of the case mouth. After each case in the new lot has been fired once I trim the case to minimum, chamfer the I/S & O/S of the mouth, and shoot til they need trimmed again.

[swede]

I shoot Laupa for benchrest and long range rifles.

Remington & Winchester in other firearms. For me, one brand will shoot better in a particular weapon than another. Case capacities will vary from brand to brand and also lot to lot. I separate accordingly.

[whelenman]

I always use a little bit of fine steel wool over then end of a q-tip to polish the inside of the necks. I picked that up from Varmint AL. That will help with your rough brass unless it's just terrible. The Lapua brass is hard to beat but costly.

[pposey]

I use Winchester for everything,,,,,

[KerryB]

I like Lapua best..............it is pretty pricey though. Second best for me is Hornady and for cheaper brass, i like Winchester. In military brass, i like the Lake City Match............

[mountainam]

The reason your brass is rough in the neck is probably due to excessive temperature during the neck annealing process. I use Remington brass in my 6mm and load Winchester in my son's 6mm VLS just so there's never a mix up. The guys are correct. Lapua is best if money's no object. But if you bought 2000 Rems a few years back when they cost 1/3 of what they do now,like I did,it would be money well spent to purchase a Forester case trimmer on Ebay and get a new inside neck reamer from Midsouth Shooter Supply. If you treat your brass like an integral part of your rifle, they'll last longer anyway. If you're shooting for money then you should step up to one of the higher quality brass. I like Rem brass over Win brass for my 6mm,but that's like the Ford/Chevy debate.Good Shooting!

[dannoboone]

I really like the lazy man's brass, Nosler. ;D But that only gets
ordered when really pressed for time, so as to forego my anal
ways of brass prep.

IMI is really tough brass when you can get it, and comes in a
very few calibers. It is tough enough to take 4300fps loads when
.223 cases are sized for the Tactical 20.

I have tried Lapua, but don't believe it's what it is cracked-up to
be (especially considering the price). Winchester is just about as
good.

Remington is ok, usually, but have come up with cracked case
necks on the first load, and a mild load at that. Annealing took
care of the problem, but should have gotten at least four shots
out of a case prior to any neck splitting.

Just ordered some PRVI cases in .243 to check them out. Have
read good reviews about them on other forums. Seems as though
they are of the quality of Winchester.........we'll see.

[spaniel]

I've gotten every factory gun I own under 3/4 MOA with Winchester brass. It is as good as my reloading technique. I guess if I had custom guns, turned necks and used bushing dies, chasing .25 MOA, perhaps I'd pop for Lapua.

I briefly tried Remington. The two lots I tried were really, really inconsistent.

[whelenman]

The batch of Winchester I just bought last week for the 25-06 had some problems with quality control. It looked as if the brass had had flash holes punched with a die that had the pin bent. Several of the holes were elongated and punched in a sidewise manner. More expensive brass where the holes are drilled would eliminate that problem but the primary problem lies with the quality control. I hope it isn't slipping as I've had good luck with Winchester Brass in the past.

[10ga]

Whatever you leave on the range! Free brass. I've picked up FA, Lapua, Rem., Win., Wolf, Nosler, Fed., Horn., and about any other brand you can name. I have uses for some and can trade most any kind that hits the ground. Currently have about a lifetime supply of FA 308 match that the mil guys walk away from, of course they know that us civil guys really appreciate some of what they leave, 12 pack of favorite brew will get you nice stuff when at a match they compete in. Even the wolf stuff is reloadable 1 time. Great for plinkin and walkin away. Free is free. 10 ga

[billc]

Just loaded my first batch of Lapua brass for a 6.5 Grendel. I am totally impressed by the quality of this brass! I will consider buying more Lapua brass for my serious shooting from now on,

[joe21a]

I'm with 10GA. any brand name seem to work. I use almost all compressed loads so If I notice a case fuller or with a lot less in it I set it aside. If I were looking to get the .001 smaller group to win a match then I would be concerned. For me 3 or 4 shots in 1" if golden

[artjr338wm]

When I first started out reloading over 20yrs ago, I only had Remington or Winchester rifle brass to chose from, BECAUSE I could buy it cheaper and dramatically so, through the mail from NSS in comparison to any other type locally OTC. It was so cheap in fact I bought it in the same lot# around 1500ea for my 338wm, 300wm, 6.5x55, and even 7mmSTW.

I chose Winchester over Remington as Win/brass always arrived to my door in MUCH MUCH better shape than did Rem/brass. The Rem/brass always had far more cases that had to be discarded they were so badly damaged.

I have only ever bought one other make of brass for my rifles. That was new Federal brass in 338wm. NSS was offering it already primed with #215M LG/RFL primers considerably cheaper than new unprimed Win/brass.

Based on the excellent accuracy I have had using Winchester brass, I strongly doubt I will ever use anything else, and that includes the next rifle I will buy with my 2010 tax return. Either a T-3 or a A-7 in 300wsm.

I have never seen anything that would lead me to believe based on my first hand experience that the type of brass used makes that much of a difference accuracy wise. I say this because I have reloaded rounds for my friends M77 in 300wm using Federal Gold Match brass, Win/brass, and the new Nosler brass and he never experienced any noticeable increase in his rifles accuracy.
But I admit my experience is limited to only my rifles and the rifles of my friends, not enough in number to prove my beliefs as conclusive.

In my rifles I have shot Rem/brass, Win/brass and Fed/brass and also saw no increase in accuracy.

But I am sure others have had experiences that differ from mine.

As far as the brass I use for my pistols and revolvers I buy the cheapest I can find that is still quality brass.

[cfvickers]

Whelenman, Federal 25-06 brass from every lot I have tried is superbly consistent +-.3 grains, and I get my best groups with it. winchester is second to that, and within +-.7. remington and prvi are the worst I have tested with the 25-06 but prvi 6.5x55 is very good. It is more costly by a considerable margin but Lapua and Norma are the best in my oppinion if they make it in your caliber. they don't do 25-06, but they do make 6.5x55. I get no noticeable difference in 45-70. Frontier and winchester do the best in my .300 win mag. I hate remington cases, I throw them out as I am able which tends to be after aboput 3 shots in any caliber. I get tired of trimming, its to soft, and higher pressure loads will crack case necks on remington where the rest are still holding up well.