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!

 

[FeMan]

I prefer Lapua and shoot it when its an options, but also like Alpha and ADG for a few of the calibers that Lapua doesn't make.

I have shot a lot of 284 Win over the years. I love and shoot Lapua now too that they are making it. Before that, I shot Norma and Winchester. There was a lot more prep (especially with the Win) and they didn't last as long, but I honestly couldn't tell you that there was a difference on-target between them and the Lapua.

I am interested to see what you find. Keep us posted.

 

[Fuj]

With large primer brass, I alway's used Norma. Maybe would have got
onto the Lapua gravy train but, never could find anything at the time I
needed for a specific project. Norma went away and moved to Peterson.
could not be happier......Newer projects have me working more with small
primers. Again, Lapua was scarce for what i needed and Peterson filled the
bill. I'll stay with Peterson. US made, and not far from me along the I-79
corridor.

 

[wkdickinson]

I have used Peterson (.243 Win & 6.5 CM), Alpha (6 Dasher) and Lapua (243 Win & 6 BRA), all have performed very well. But my preference would be Lapua.

 

[SKWERLZ]

Lapua, Peterson ADG and LC brass are my preferred manufacturer's

 

[bks22345]

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!

I get the idea of only varying one item, but I’ve always thought tests in which you have a variation in the combustion are questionable. Your 46 gr load may be a one hole’r with Lapua but a 3/8 group with the starline because the internal volume of the cases is different. The SD/ES might be higher but if you went to 46.2 they might equal out. Same for the classic primer test. Brand X is faster than Y but has a bigger SD. What if you got the best load worked up for Brand X, could you get an SD like Y? I think if you get a consistent internal volume and a consistent neck thickness you could make any of it shoot well. And FYI I’ve got all 3 brands and wouldn’t hesitate to shoot any of it. However for my competition loads (the ones I take to a competition, not that I really compete ) I use Lapua in my 284 and 7 BSM but Peterson in my 260.

 

[Nevned]

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!

I currently use Lapua for the three primary cartridges that I shoot. The primer pockets have held up very well under many firings. I do anneal each firing with an AMP. I'm just getting started loading 6GT with the new Lapua offering. So far, so good.

 

[LCazador]

We're very fortunate to have the brass options that we have nowadays. I remember when it was the L brand or nothing. When the L brand didn't work we made the inferior brands work. And when it was a cartridge capacity thing we changed the chamber dimensions to work. It was a lot of work and expense but the learning was fun. I don't understand exceeding the cartridge potential when we also have so many fine alternatives.

 

[Steel Mover]

I used Win for a long time, but they got squirley so went to Rem, Used som Star- Line but I like using nickel plated for my match brass. If you do a 100% prep on new brass, including selection of case water capacity after fire forming you should not have much difference as long as you are loading target pressure loads.
But 110s in a 308 case are not known for pin point accuracy at distance to start with. So you may need to step up the bullet weight a bit to the 150s or 165s.

 

[PhilC]

Peterson here too. Do have a box of Lapua 6BR I've necked up to 7BR but haven't had time to finish it yet.

 

[BHP9]

Norma for my Rem 700 in .308. Found that it wasn't happy with Lapua.

6.5 Creedmore - Lapua

.223 - Anything.

 

[CJ6]

Lapua, Sig (really like the way these are working out), Norma, Winchester (old).

 

[Liven The Dream]

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!

Lapua SRP for Palma ...................

 

[kenhwind]

I'm not a precision reloader I generally loaded what I shot but certain cartridges are limited to what is available.
For the .348 or 25-35 Winchester, Winchester brass was about all there was.

I used the Graf's brass for the 25. 30 and 32 Remington because there wasn't too much of a selection. Remington 30 Remington brass was available at one time.

 

[NF1E]

Lapua SRP for Palma ...................

Far from a Palma shooter here. I just like the longevity of the sr pockets. Whatta Hobby!

 

[NF1E]

I'm not a precision reloader I generally loaded what I shot but certain cartridges are limited to what is available.
For the .348 or 25-35 Winchester, Winchester brass was about all there was.

I used the Graf's brass for the 25. 30 and 32 Remington because there wasn't too much of a selection. Remington 30 Remington brass was available at one time.

I started loading in the late '60s when there was nothing available for , what used to be called, 7.62 Russian, now 7.62 x 54R. Only brass available at the time was Norma. Didn't load a lot of it , but it sure did a good job of filling the freezer with venison. Whatta Hobby!

 

[Bob3700]

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!

For 308, I have some NOS Winchester Palma brass ( LRP) that is thinner n allows more Varget for higher velocity.
Lapua Palma ( SRP) is great for longevity at higher pressures.
I use Peterson for 6 XC n 6 BR n like the consistency.

 

[jds holler]

Some old bastard says, "I remember when we had Winchester, Remington, and military; and the Rem and Mil were pretty much interchangeable. Then we stared seeing that Federal junk".
jd

 

[Steve Donlon]

I bought a bunch of 6.5 CM Starline brass to experiment with neck turning because I didn't want to turn my Lapua brass and was pleasantly surprised. It has more volume and seems to take pressure and is the most accurate at this point with what I have done with it. But I have no idea how long it will last. It's as good as you can make it.

 

[RabbitSlayer]

I have 2k pieces of starline 556. I tried to measure neck thickness to select some pieces to sacrifice for aztec mode. They were all over the place. It was extremely frustrating.

In comparison, even with hornady creedmoor brass weighing 10 was mostly a waste of time cuz they were all so close. ADG measures even better. Im not positive, but I think its why I can't beat a 40 fps es for 25 shots with the starline. I hope their other brass has better neck wall consistency.

I would be interested in you measuring the neck wall of 10 pieces of each brand and posting your findings. It would be best if the ten pieces represented the average weight.