It all depends on what you want to do with the brass and how/what you're loading. "Long-range shooting" can cover a lot of territory. I have struggled for years with .223 Rem brass quality and performance in a very specific arena: loading 88-95 gr .224" bullets for F-TR. That typically means running pressures close to SAAMI MAX with velocities in the 2800 to 2850 fps range with heavies. Frankly, I appreciate that that is asking a LOT of the brass, so my relative disappointment may be misplaced. Nonetheless, I am always looking for something better. To that end, I have tested quite a few different brands of brass and my overall take is as follows:
Lapua - Probably the best there is in terms of uniformity of case/neck wall thickness and how well the flash holes are prepared. However, it usually the most expensive, sometimes hard to find, and only falls somewhere in the middle in terms of its ability to handle the stout loads we (me) generally use in F-TR. Precision is excellent, as good as any brand I've tested. Fire-formed case water volume generally runs from about 30.8 to 31.1 gr across various Lot #s.
Norma - Case/neck walls are very uniform, and visibly a little thinner than Lapua. The flash holes will require a bit more work than Lapua, but not too bad. I uniform all the flash holes with the K&M .080" tool anyhow, so a little flashing around the inside of the flash hole doesn't really matter to me. Cost for Norma brass in 250 count bags in the past has been approximately half that of Lapua. However, the only Norma .223 Rem brass I can currently find available is 50 count boxes, and the cost of those is comparable to that of Lapua. The thickness of the webbing is comparable to that of Lapua, and its ability to take the pressure seems comparable. Precision is also excellent; every bit as good as Lapua in my hands. Case water volume is a little larger; from about 31.1 to 31.4 gr across different Lot #s. I am currently using Norma .223 Rem brass in my F-TR competition rifles, if that tells you anything.
Starline - case/neck wall uniformity not as good as Lapua or Norma. I wouldn't call it a deal-breaker, but you might want to run it through a case wall concentricity gauge, depending on the specific Lot. Flash holes are not quite as pretty as Norma, and definitely well below the Lapua standard. Nonetheless, they can be cleaned up reasonably well with the K&M tool. IMO, where Starline brass really shines is its ability to handle the pressure of F-TR loads with heavies. The webbing of Starline .223 Rem appears to be a bit thicker than that of Lapua or Norma, but the Starline brass also seems to be hard as nails. In fact, I have taken to annealing Starline brass straight out of the box, something I have never found necessary with other brands. In my hands, the precision with Starline brass is not as good as Lapua or Norma. That is not to say it can't be made to shoot well, but it has never quite achieved the precision in my hands that is readily attainable with Lapua and Norma brass. It is possible that could be remedied with more rigorous sorting/preparation techniques. Case water volume with the Starline brass has ranged from ~30.5 to 30.8 gr.
I have used/tested other brands of .223 Rem brass including Nosler, PPU, and Lake City. I found them to be too inconsistent for my needs. I would welcome an entry into the .223 Rem brass from companies such as Alpha or Peterson, but they don't seem interested in producing it.
