Best brass for 223 and 6.5CM

[Rsadams]

Just me chattering but if you are just starting to reload I'd start with a pile of range pick up 223. You'll need to practice cleaning brass, trimming, setting up your dies, inside & outside mouth de-burring ( don't forget the steel wool spinner), lubing cases, bumping & measuring shoulders. It's just junk to practice on, you can either throw it away after practice or load and shoot. You won't be out anything if a case or two gets damaged in the learning curve and its bound to happen. Buy the good stuff after practice, I can tell you it really hurts to rumple up a piece of your good brass. And, if I was going to order brass tomorrow it would be Peterson.

This is REALLY good advice.... When I first started , I prepped 200 LC brass in .223.... Right after that I started shooting pistol a ton and basically stopped shooting rifles , never loaded them... About a year latter I found that brass in a box all bagged up...
I had been reloading rifle for awhile and checked it , I ended up just tossing it in the scrap bucket , it was way over sized from not knowing how to set up the die to minimum size the brass etc... Definitely get some junk brass to learn on when you first start.... I would rather toss $20 worth of brass than have a problem in a $1500+ Rifle... You never really master reloading , you just get better...

 

[Rsadams]

I used to use a lot of Winchester 223 brass. It's not good today. If you can find once fired WCC, I believe it's as good as Lapua once sorted, trimmed, and sized.
The new SIG brass is worth looking at. Their 300 mag brass is superb

+1 on the sig brass , I bought a bag and took it home.... After inspection I went back and bought the rest of the .308 brass they had... I am still shooting up the old brass I had but it looks really nice... Saving it for a rainy day...

 

[Rich S]

I think in general Lapua is hard to beat for match amo.
For a more economical choice take a look at Starline. I recently won a certificate at a shoot for Starline. I knew they made quality pistol brass but had not used their rifle brass before. I applied it toward (500) 223 brass for a prairie dog trip. It seems to be quality brass. Its a bit heavier than some of the others (I compared to Lapua & LC) thus I assume capacity is slightly lower. I didn't do much other measuring but was getting 3500 fps with 55gr Noslers in a 28" barrel with no signs of pressure, low ES, and consistent groups about .2 moa.

Sounds like you have ordered several different brands already. For consistent amo, I'd recommend sticking with 1 brand. Also don't assume some of the factory amo will be consistent. I caught some Lapua on sale for basically the same cost as their brass and used it to break in the same rifle. Groups weren't much better than 1 moa and velocity was all over the place. On the plus side I broke in the barrel and have 150 fire formed brass for the cost of the brass.

 

[riflewoman]

I’ve loaded almost all makes over my 40 plus years of reloading...the best is very subjective. Lapua makes some very good brass, but it isn’t a panacea for making accurate ammunition. I’ve loaded some very accurate ammunition in all makes. Winchester is the best value. Consistent and cheap. Norma is good but some calibers were a tad soft. Remington are ok. Federal used to be good and present experience indicates that it still is. Hornady, Starline, Fiocchi, PPU, Magtech etc, I have not formed an opinion. LC, and LC match are robust if nothing else. They were designed and built for service rifles and they’re excellent for that.

The upshot, select your brass for the intended purpose. Most makes are excellent. I can’t just pick one brand.

 

[Baddog0302]

http://www.accurateshooter.com/cartridge-guides/223rem/

 

[clunker]

Just me chattering but if you are just starting to reload I'd start with a pile of range pick up 223. You'll need to practice cleaning brass, trimming, setting up your dies, inside & outside mouth de-burring ( don't forget the steel wool spinner), lubing cases, bumping & measuring shoulders. It's just junk to practice on, you can either throw it away after practice or load and shoot. You won't be out anything if a case or two gets damaged in the learning curve and its bound to happen. Buy the good stuff after practice, I can tell you it really hurts to rumple up a piece of your good brass. And, if I was going to order brass tomorrow it would be Peterson.

You must have read my mind. I have fired over 200 rounds through my .223, and I saved every single casing (Nosler, Hornady, Federal Premium, Sako, Barnes, Winchester, and Frontier). That's my brass for practice loading. Since good brass costs almost as much as ammo, I want to start purchasing ammo with the best brass instead of based on which factory ammo my rifle likes best. It will be a while before I can afford quality reloading gear, so I might as well start stocking up.

 

[MGYSGT]

Lapua is good, no doubt. I have also worked LC once fired .223 and the results were just as good, just a lot of work. Primer pockets, inside/outside neck turning, trim to length, bla bla bla. Out of the box, Lapua is the choice for me.

 

[Idaho-45]

I , like others have said , like & use Lapua brass. If loading for a bolt gun, I definitely recommend it. I've used Winchester, Remington, & LC also. Gotten decent results with all of them. But, my experience is the most consistent loads I've gotten were with the Lapua! If loading for AR's, I'd definitely go with the Lake City.

 

[dickn52]

OK, Starline obviously read my notes concerning their brass and they have graciously provided a sampling that did not come from Larry's gang. I got it today and specced it with every gauge I own...and it is all within spec. I'll load up a batch tomorrow and take them to the range on Monday or so. BUT when I looked at what they gave me and what I bought from 'bulk' with Potterfield, well things were slightly off. Shoulders were off on the bulk, but NOT off on the provided samples from the factory. Not sure how that happened, but the new stuff chambers fine. Used a Whidden shoulder/bump gauge on these. The new ones were in the -.002 range where the bulk ones were near the nogo side or +.005 or so. It's all confusing to me. BUT kudos to Starline for stepping up and asking me to review their product line, and I hereby officially apologize for my older comments. In addition, if anyone thinks these manufacturers aren't reading our posts, be assured they do.

 

[clunker]

Berger has released some match ammo in 6.5 CM with Lapua brass. At $1.50 per round, it is about average price for good factory target practice. Is there any reason to think that the brass is different than if I ordered brand new casings from Lapua? Seems like a no-brainer if I get the same brass.

dickn52, Are you saying that Starline saw your post on this forum and contacted you? I had no idea manufacturers were so diligent in protecting their reputations.

 

[dickn52]

Berger has released some match ammo in 6.5 CM with Lapua brass. At $1.50 per round, it is about average price for good factory target practice. Is there any reason to think that the brass is different than if I ordered brand new casings from Lapua? Seems like a no-brainer if I get the same brass.

dickn52, Are you saying that Starline saw your post on this forum and contacted you? I had no idea manufacturers were so diligent in protecting their reputations.

They did and responded in a PM. We worked it out to my satisfaction as long as I gave their product a valid review after I got them. It appears to me, (Opinion only) that the brass they sell in 'bulk' may get mistreated or even be slightly off. In either way, the sample they sent to me from factory is definitely better on the gauges. But YES, they do read these posts.

 

[BleedsBlue]

Dead Santa (Starline), I want some Nosgar brass!

 

[dellet]

You must have read my mind. I have fired over 200 rounds through my .223, and I saved every single casing (Nosler, Hornady, Federal Premium, Sako, Barnes, Winchester, and Frontier). That's my brass for practice loading. Since good brass costs almost as much as ammo, I want to start purchasing ammo with the best brass instead of based on which factory ammo my rifle likes best. It will be a while before I can afford quality reloading gear, so I might as well start stocking up.

You might want to consider sorting these by headstamp. There is a good chance that using it for practice will be an exercise in frustration if you don’t. The different brass will likely respond to sizing differently, driving you crazy because your process might be absolutely correct, with your results having a wide variation.

 

[walker2713]

For the 6.5 I much prefer Lapua and Peterson...have 200 pcs of each.

However, for greater volume while using Reloder 26 I've also got Hornady brass.

 

[Bc'z]

They did and responded in a PM. We worked it out to my satisfaction as long as I gave their product a valid review after I got them. It appears to me, (Opinion only) that the brass they sell in 'bulk' may get mistreated or even be slightly off. In either way, the sample they sent to me from factory is definitely better on the gauges. But YES, they do read these posts.

Funny, I got 1000 pieces directly from starline in 223, a long with 500 45acp.
The 45 I trimmed up a bit to have an even crimp. The 223 was all shorter than trim to length most by just a couple .002
Couple hundred by .004, and another hundred or so .005-.600 short.
Other than length it really is nice brass.

 

[tomswede]

Funny, I got 1000 pieces directly from starline in 223, a long with 500 45acp.
The 45 I trimmed up a bit to have an even crimp. The 223 was all shorter than trim to length most by just a couple .002
Couple hundred by .004, and another hundred or so .005-.600 short.
Other than length it really is nice brass.

Sounds like the length is good. It is really +-.002, not much variation. Being a tad short is not a big deal.

 

[Kermit in Va.]

Cant believe nobody has said anything about IMI for the 223...
Maybe I should have kelp my mouth shut...lol


Kermit

 

[Bc'z]

Sounds like the length is good. It is really +-.002, not much variation. Being a tad short is not a big deal.

Agreed, it's not a real big deal as long as its sorted.
As for the swift brass I mentioned earlier.
Out of 200 cases pockets and length are all on the money out of the box.
Camphor and go.

 

[tomswede]

Agreed, it's not a real big deal as long as its sorted.
As for the swift brass I mentioned earlier.
Out of 200 cases pockets and length are all on the money out of the box.
Camphor and go.

Are you actually saying that +-.002 makes any difference on the target?

 

[Bc'z]

Are you actually saying that +-.002 makes any difference on the target?

No I didn't say that. I did say that 97-98% was shorter than trim to length. I also stated it isn't bad brass. Yes it'll work just fine
I will let you know how it measures up when my budy starts loading it in his 6five, as he bought 250 pieces of it.
I was using a light crimp at that time in my life. So consistency was key for uniform results.
No I ain't freaking crimping anymore.
Figured I'd get that out there before I have to hear bout it again.