Norma .223 brass ??
- Thread starter bpd459
- Start date
No weight check done, but before I started to hand load, Black Hills ammo selectively used Norma brass in .223. I now anneal every firing, full size every five firings and have been handloading for six years or so. I still use the 200 cases I have and they have lasted forever. I have between 30-40 firings on each. I have used them so much, one can barely see the headstamp any more. I do not go near max pressure and shoot 73 or 80 grain Bergers with Varget or CFE .223. I do not compete, but rather shred paper at 100-200 yards for fun.
They are every bit as good as Lapua cases in that caliber.
They are every bit as good as Lapua cases in that caliber.
Ned Ludd
Silver $$ Contributor
I just recently purchased some Norma .223 Rem brass and have started working up a fire-forming load with it. I began checking it out by weighing 50 cases. The overall weight range was definitely narrower and more uniform than Lapua, especially the most recent Lot of Lapua .223 Rem brass I purchased, which was terrible. The Lot of Norma brass I received is noticeably lighter than Lapua (~5.91 g vs ~6.19 g average case weight = ~91.2 gr vs ~95.5 gr). Some of the weight difference is within the case necks (and therefore likely the case walls also), which are visibly thinner than Lapua. If some portion of the weight difference also lies within the webbing/casehead region, I'm not sure how well it will stand up to stout loads such as I typically use in F-TR with 90 VLDs. Time will tell, and fire-forming the Norma brass at a reduced charge weight the first time may help work-harden the case head a bit. The case walls/necks appear to be very uniform in thickness. As expected from the weight difference, the Norma brass averaged ~31.4 gr internal (water) volume as compared to ~30.8 to ~31.1 gr for various Lots of Lapua brass. Unlike Lapua brass, there is visible flashing inside most of the cases from punching the flash-holes, which will need to be removed.
I have only fired a few loaded rounds with the Norma brass to establish a baseline and calibrate QuickLoad. Nonetheless, the shots groups very well, even with a load that was not optimized in any way, shape or form. I view that as a very good sign, because I've tried another brand of .223 Rem brass that never exhibited the same precision possible with Lapua brass even with optimized loads. In fact, I'm going out for some preliminary load development with the Norma brass as soon as I finish typing this post. The main reasons I purchased the Norma brass were because A) I had heard good things about it (anecdotally, of course), and B) it was on sale at a price approximately half that of Lapua brass, so I figured even if it won't hold up to the stout loads I use in F-TR, which typically kill the primer pockets of Lapua brass in 2 to 4 firings, I can always load it for other purposes. If I have any further observations that might be of interest after today's session with the Norma brass, I'll add them here. My overall initial impression of the Norma brass is that it is very well-made and consistent.
I have only fired a few loaded rounds with the Norma brass to establish a baseline and calibrate QuickLoad. Nonetheless, the shots groups very well, even with a load that was not optimized in any way, shape or form. I view that as a very good sign, because I've tried another brand of .223 Rem brass that never exhibited the same precision possible with Lapua brass even with optimized loads. In fact, I'm going out for some preliminary load development with the Norma brass as soon as I finish typing this post. The main reasons I purchased the Norma brass were because A) I had heard good things about it (anecdotally, of course), and B) it was on sale at a price approximately half that of Lapua brass, so I figured even if it won't hold up to the stout loads I use in F-TR, which typically kill the primer pockets of Lapua brass in 2 to 4 firings, I can always load it for other purposes. If I have any further observations that might be of interest after today's session with the Norma brass, I'll add them here. My overall initial impression of the Norma brass is that it is very well-made and consistent.
Jdne5b
Gold $$ Contributor
If Norma doesn't work out for you, I'm having good luck with Starline 5.56. It is definitely stronger than their .223Rem brass. I'm on my 5th firing, 4 of which were pretty stout 88ELD loads with H4895 @2820. The last firing is 90vld with 24+ Gr of Varget. I finally lost one to a split case neck, which I'm chalking up to a fluke. The only prep I did to these cases was to turn the necks for my tightish chambers.
The latest firing has racked up 2 200s with low teen Xcounts and several other strings just dropping one or two points so even at 5 firings the precision is plenty good for me.
The latest firing has racked up 2 200s with low teen Xcounts and several other strings just dropping one or two points so even at 5 firings the precision is plenty good for me.
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Albany Mountain
Silver $$ Contributor
How do Norma primers compare for accuracy/softness?
What barrel length? We're getting 2797 fps with a 23.75" Tikka bolt gun using 24.5gr Varget and Wolf SRMs.
dcali
Bullet Maker
I've been using it recently and so far have found it to be very good. At least as good as Lapua, but I haven't trashed any cases yet, so I'm not sure how long it will last. So far two firings of stout 90 grain loads hasn't done much at all to the primer pockets, so fingers crossed. Accuracy and consistency have not been an issue at all.
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Jdne5b
Gold $$ Contributor
28 inch
I have not started reloading them yet but I have bought 500 rnds of Norma 5.56 ammo to get the brass . Cheaper than just buying the brass . At the time they were a little over $ 20.00 for 50 .
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