Is match brass worth the extra cost.

[shegs]

Having always used Remington brass in my .223 rem and got good results, I was think about trying some upmarket brass like Hornady match or Lapua match. You're supposed to get a lot more reloads out of the cases and the weights and wall thicknesses are more consistent, but are they worth the extra cash?

 

[Mudcat]

Out of a service rifle, NO. Bolt or match rifle, maybe. in the AR, i pretty much ran LC and kept reloading it until I couldnt load it anylonger. Did use Win commercial for 600 yard use, but I never found a difference. Made HM shooting the AR but couldnt say brass had anything to do with it. YMMV

john

 

[Forum Boss]

There's a world of difference between "Hornady Match" and Lapua brass.

That said, in a .223, if you're shooting low-BC bullets, you might not see much of a difference. In my 260 Rem, I immediately saw a difference switching from Remington brand brass to Lapua .243 necked up. Fewer flyers, more consistent bullet seating.

 

[jo191145]

If your shooting a bolt gun buy the Lapua.
As long as your setting your resizing dies correctly the extra life you'll get out of quality brass is worth it.

I have 26 reloads on my Nosler brass in 204R and plan on getting a few more before the season is over. I definately got my moneys worth out of this batch. I wish Lapua made 204R brass.

 

[shegs]

You said you've got 26 reloads out of your Noslers, is this just continual reloading or have you had to anneal the case necks? I presume you don't run very hot loads through them as this can harden up the necks considerably.

 

[people]

shegs you bring up a very good point. My Grandpa has been shooting the same lot of brass since the mid 70's in his 22-250. He shot them about 2 to 3 times a year maybe a few more times when he lived here in ND. He did anneal them every 3 to 4 firings. That is at least 66 times fired.

 

[SooStan]

I have a 223 bolt gun with a 1x8 rock barrel. On a 300 yd f-class target using rem. brass I could occasionally shoot a clean with 1 or 2 shots that did not match the wind. With Lapua brass those fliers have gone away. The rem brass was lightly neck turned to uniform, flash holes deburred and weighed the same. Lapua brass was out of the box. It depends on your rifle and your measure of accuracy. It is worth it to me. My 260 on the other hand has not done measurably better at this point with Lapua but the testing is still early.

 

[jo191145]

Actually Shegs I've been known to run some super hot loads. It depends on where I find the accuracy with a certain set of components. They have been annealed. For the last six reloadings I've switched to a bushing FL die because after twenty loads the web area needed to be squeezed in. Before that it was a shoulder bump neck die.

I had good enough luck with the FL sizing I just stuck with it.
Out of 150 I lost twenty to loose primer pockets. Lets call these way over super hot or 20BR hot.
The rest of the primer pockets are pretty loose and thats the main reason they'll be retired. I have another 150 Noslers and a new barrel ready to go.

 

[nfhjr62]

I have a quantity of Federal 308 nickle plated brass, how good are they really.
An inquiring mind wants to know