Ranking Brass

[filmjunkie4ever]

I know that most on here are Nosler/Lapua brass junkies but I wonder how you all rank the "b" brand brass by manufacturers?

For me it has gone thusly:

Nosler/Lapua/Norma

Hornady

Remington (R-P)

Federal (F-C/Frontier)

Winchester (W-W)


Any opinions to the contrary? I am curious how the rest of the gunnies rank the various brands of brass.

Thanks -

Dale

 

[Dwh7271]

Pretty good ranking but I'd have to stick RWS up at the top also.

 

[DrMike]

My experience differs somewhat.

Lapua/Norma/RWS

Nosler

Winchester (W-W)/PMC

Hornady/Federal (F-C/Frontier)

Remington (R-P)

Remington brass appears far too brittle. Federal can be somewhat soft.

 

[Elkman]

What is the ranking criteria? If ranked for accuracy it would have to be seperated by caliber and rifle. If your ranking them on ease of loading, weight and consistency that could give you a different ranking than durability or accuracy. Here is an example: I reference an article written by Gary Sciuchetti in Handloader Magazine in December of 08. Gary's purpose was to find the most accurate .308 load for a particular rifle. While doing this he used a wide variety of components. I have referenced his data before. For example he found that Nosler brass produced the most accurate loads, but had the shortest longevity. Remington cases averaged groups .10 larger, but had almost twice the number of reloads prior to failure, than the Nosler. Lapua which is truly beautiful to behold, finished below the Remington brass in accuracy and in longevity. Again there are thousands of variables, but I did find the above interesting. My answer to the question is, whichever one gives my the best accuracy, the brand means nothing to me.

 

[HomerOz]

G'Day Fella's,

This is how I buy cartridge brass, if I can I will purchase Lapua, as it is The Best!
Next is Sako as it is very good quality and unlike Lapua, they have a larger and more varied range, then Norma for the same reasons.
Unfortunately as good as it is, RWS does not have a reliable supplier in Australia, so.................. (but that's what I use in my .404 Jeffery).

I also have and use 1,000's of Winchester .223 and .308 cases, in my working rifles.
Loosing them when out shooting, culling, etc, is not quite as big a financial loss as loosing those European cases!!!


I gave up on Remington cases 10+ years ago......................
Hope that helps

Avagreatweekendeh!
Homer

 

[Gunner46]

Unfortunately a lot of us are stuck with what we have available locally & by budget. So, that would probably mean R-P, Win, Fed, or Horn.

I have any of the first three on hand, at any given time, and just tweak as I go along. Granted I'm not burning 1000 rds every year, from any of my rifles, more like I go through a lot of 100. But, then again, if some R-P's, or Feds get 4-6 reloads ....I'm 10 yrs down the road when you include all my rifles.

 

[truck driver]

Funny that I have used mostly Nosler brass in the 35 Whelen/AI but recently fire formed some Remington to replace my aging Nosler mainly to see how long it will last. Granted some would say I torture tested the Nosler with the number of loadings plus the fire forming to create the AI case.
I have found no difference in hunting accuracy with either in that they both produce .75" groups or bellow in my rifle. The H2O capacity is greater with the the Nosler brass and how much this affects accuracy I don't know. I have been using loads based on Nosler H2O cap in both brands and have seen no differences at 100yds.
Win brass in the 257 Roberts has produced outstanding accuracy can't say much about Fed since I haven't tried loading it much since I don't have a ready supply of it QC with the Win brass has been the worse since all the primer holes have to be deburred and is a pain to deal with. but still produces some great accuracy in my rifle.
So use what you can and get the most out of it.

 

[filmjunkie4ever]

My criterion for ranking is first longevity, then accuracy and finally overall experience.

I bought some Winchester cases a while back that looked horrible. Lots of folds and scoring, like 10 or 15 of the 50 were unusable.

I am curious to see how the new Hornady cases hold up. I have typically been a Remington or F-C brass man whenever I couldn't get Nosler but have been unable to find F-C brass in .30-06 lately.

I need to order a lot of 100-200 pieces of new stuff, as I have been phasing out my older several times fired brass and would like some input. I have really narrowed it down to R-P and Hornady brass.

Cabelas is selling R-P brass cases for 27.99 per 50 in .30-06. Hornady brass is nearly 40.00 per 50, so R-P wins on price there. Is the Hornady brass better stuff?

Thanks -

Dale

 

[Bruce Mc]

Lapua
Nosler
Winchester
Hornady
Remington

The Lapua that I got in .222 rem is the most consistant brass I've ever used. I found the Hornady in .220 swift brittle.

 

[DrMike]

What is the ranking criteria? If ranked for accuracy it would have to be seperated by caliber and rifle. If your ranking them on ease of loading, weight and consistency that could give you a different ranking than durability or accuracy.

Bill has an excellent point in asking what criteria are employed in ranking brass. His point is well taken in reminding us that one must take into account caliber and rifle. I make my ranking on consistency and the need to prepare the brass before the first use. I also take into account malleability and/or ductility. These criteria rank high in my assessment of the value of brass. After the first prep, and assuming that the hand loader is annealing, the brass will work pretty much the same. However, being somewhat lazy, that first loading is sufficiently important to me that I rank pretty much as I have indicated. Fascinating thread that compels me to invest some time thinking.

 

[truck driver]

What is the ranking criteria? If ranked for accuracy it would have to be seperated by caliber and rifle. If your ranking them on ease of loading, weight and consistency that could give you a different ranking than durability or accuracy.

Bill has an excellent point in asking what criteria are employed in ranking brass. His point is well taken in reminding us that one must take into account caliber and rifle. I make my ranking on consistency and the need to prepare the brass before the first use. I also take into account malleability and/or ductility. These criteria rank high in my assessment of the value of brass. After the first prep, and assuming that the hand loader is annealing, the brass will work pretty much the same. However, being somewhat lazy, that first loading is sufficiently important to me that I rank pretty much as I have indicated. Fascinating thread that compels me to invest some time thinking.

Thinking keeps the cob webs out of the brain and old timers disease at bay or is it geezer syndrome. I should be careful since it might be contagious. :roll: :lol: :lol: :lol: :mrgreen: Boy I couldn't help myself.

 

[HomerOz]

G'Day Fella's,

Here are some examples, I hope the written print is legible.


Doh!
Homer

 

[gerry]

For me in making accurate ammo I have found this so far

Norma
Lapua
Nosler
Federal (they also made Speer I believe)
Hornady
Remington
Winchester.

 

[PJGunner]

Years ago the late Bob Hagel did an article in IIRC, Handloader Magazine where he tested brass for their metallurgical status. Winchester was the hardest, Remington next and Federal was the softest. That seemed correct based on longevity of the various brands of brass I used. I did some work with Norma 6.5x54 brass years ago and it was quite soft. Just loading to factory levels for the cartridge gave life of three loads, then toss. Quite disappointing and that ammo/brass was very hard to find. I do have some RWS and Lapua brass for my .404 Jeffery and .416 Rigby but haven't loaded any yet. Still trying to decide if I want to keep the guns or sell them. My 78 year old shoulder protests a lot sooner these days at the range. :lol:
A while back I ran into a deal for 100 rounds of Herter's 7x57 brass. Box says, "Made in Sweden." Norma??? :?:
Did a search but could not find anyone but Norma making ammo or brass in Sweden. I'll have load some up and see how they do.
Paul B.

 

[SJB358]

My experience differs somewhat.

Lapua/Norma/RWS

Nosler

Winchester (W-W)/PMC

Hornady/Federal (F-C/Frontier)

Remington (R-P)

Remington brass appears far too brittle. Federal can be somewhat soft.

I'm with the good Doc. Hornady and WW tied in my book.

 

[Paul Barnard]

Doesn't look like many are using PPU. I bought some in 30-06 and it's easy to work with. I can't quantify it because I didn't weigh and measure, but if feels like it is of good quality. I doubt it's Lapua grade, but it feels better than Remington and Winchester to me when I work with it.

Have any of you weighed and measured PPU?

 

[FOTIS]

For me:

Nosler/Lapua/Norma

Hornady

Remington (R-P)

Winchester (W-W)

Federal (F-C/Frontier)