Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Biggest advantage to high quality brass

What have you found to be the biggest advantage to high quality brass? I have always shot the "cheap" stuff, primarily Remington. I do have some Starline for my 358 Win, not sure if that is considered high quality. I had gotten a box of Nosler brass in a trade for my 30-06. Last evening I bought another box, so I now have 100pcs Nosler brass for my 30-06. Not sure what to expect, not used to shooting 1.20 brass! So what can i expect? I am suspicious more uniformity, possibly more firings....

Uniform volume/weight and concentricity. Starting out with cases that aren’t concentric ain’t good. Grand scheme of the madness we spend money on? Skimping on brass, to me, is really fascinating.

Consistency. Domestic, commodity brass works great for hunting ranges and most will never need anything else. Once you start shooting at distance, the little things matter and it's noticed on the target. Nosler is decent brass but not what I consider top shelf. Top shelf brass is Lapua, Alpha, Peterson, ADG and a few others. Lapua is the original gold standard in which everyone is compared to.

Here is my take on it. I use Lapua, ADG, Alpha and RWS wherever possible.

My quick example of cost savings is I bought 100 pieces of RWS 300 Win Mag brass that I used to reform into 7mm Mashburn Super in 2016, I have only done 50 of them, as I figured I would do the other 50 when I started wearing them out. As of right now, I have at least 12 firings on those original's and I am about to load them all again. I have had exactly one case that developed a split neck probably from not annealing it or it got skipped, but they were FF'ed back in the day with 4350 and a 140 grain bullet and have withstood ALOT of firings with RL33, Retumbo and now N570 with 175's between 3050 and 3100 over and over. Pockets are still tight as new and they just keep working. After the first firing I have to cut the donut out of the neck which is a pain in the butt, so the less I have to do of that, the better.

When I started with the Mashburn I was lucky to get 5 solid firings before pockets would open. To me, I saved money by not having to monkey around with the lesser expensive stuff up front cause I'd have likely be on my 3rd batch of Hornady or Nosler.

Not saying Hornady and Nosler are bad, cause they aren't, at all, they just don't last like Lapua or RWS or ADG does so it is a time and cost savings when and where the better brass is available. I still use WW, some RP, Hornady, etc. Works fine as well, just usually requires a bit more prep.

There was a time I wouldn't pay the price of premium brass, but more recently I'm beginning to think it's worth it. My Lapua brass sure lasts a long time, has more consistent springback and neck wall thickness, primer pockets hold up very well, and seems to be "stronger" brass for lack of a better description.

Having said that, I also like the Sig brass I'm currently using, and good 'ol WW brass lasts a fair amount of time and can make accurate loads. I gave up on Nosler brass, some was so soft it was showing ejector marks with minimum powder charges, and in other cartridges still had a relatively short lifespan. My Hornady brass is not bad, but not great either.

Hmmm...reading this makes me wonder if I should sell my Nosler brass and buy something else...anyone actually have good results using Nosler?

I use it in the 264 and 338 Win. Back awhile ago I was able to buy a pile of 2nds for not too much money. It isn't great, but the loads I use are firewalled hot and it's lasting okay. I would never pay the premium they get for 1st round stuff myself. As others said, it is quite soft. I tried using a bit with the 300 RUM and with the chronograph and what should have been easy loads, Nosler puked way too early in my opinion. Good to have in a pinch but not worth the extra money.

Beretzs,
Who are your sources for RWS brass?

Huntingtons are where I usually look for it.

I have had good results with Nosler brass in 30-06, .270 Win, and 6.5x55. I did buy a bunch of .257 WBY Mag brass from Shooters Pro Shop and while using IMR 7828 I have to stop 1 -2 grains under max or I get sticky extraction and expanded primer pockets. I believe that is mostly due to the powder lot being hotter than what the manual used since I am also getting the max velocity at those lower charges. The Nosler brass weighs on average 25g less than the WBY brass I have.

In my 308, loads in Lapua brass tend to be .25 to .5 MOA more accurate than the same loads in US-made brass. I've only tested to about 400 yards but if I'm seeing that trend at shorter ranges, then it's likely more pronounced at longer ranges.


Okie John

Yeah, that's the only place I've been able to buy it from too.

I hate to say something as they’re a hidden gem sometimes. But only for weirdos like me looking for odd stuff mostly.

My experience has been that RWS and Lapua brass lasts long enough it’s practically an investment, as opposed to a “consumable item”.

Many years ago, I was given a box of new Lapua 30-06 brass. I checked them all out on my Audette gauge (was shooting benchrest then) and out of 100 cases, I had one cull.

I used them for high intensity 190 gr. loads for 1000 yd shooting for several years, and they are now used for hunting loads. I haven’t lost one yet.

RWS brass in my 6.5x55 has similar longevity. I’m at 6 reloads on my 9.3x74r, which usually only goes 2-3 with Norma brass.

Yep, had some 223 brass from them that was used for score matches, 24 firings I started to get the ring of death around the web. But I bought it when it was made by Norma. Yes Norma.
Funny everyone gushes about RWS and Lapoopoo but thinks Norma is too soft. Well guess what, Norma and RWS are both the same company RUAG Ammotek group, Lapoopoo is Nammo group.

lol.....

Although both are now owned by the same state run Swedish company (RUAG Ammotec) last I knew Norma brass was still made in Germany, and RWS brass made in Switzerland and some in Norway. That could have changed in more recent times. I believe Norma is a fairly recent acquisition by RUAG.

Well, my experience with good quality brass, is it lasts longer and I don’t spend much time cleaning it up. While I am limited here compared to many, Laupua and Sig brass have become my two top brands of brass. I’ve had decent luck with Nosler and Hornady, though I have to clean up Hornady more than the other 3. I started reloading with once fired factory brass. I’ve got some older Winchester brass that works pretty good, but some new Winchester brass I bought as I needed some .270 Win brass this summer is trash. I’d say I got what I paid for, but I paid less for Sig and Starline brass and got a lot better quality. My go to brass is quickly becoming Sig brass. The price is right, and to me, the quality is just under Lapua quality.

Well I have the 100 pcs...may as well use them up... I am a hunter, under 1moa @ 100 is fine for me. I do like to shoot my hunting rifles 100-200 x a year, so I figure worst case scenario is I shoot them 2-4 yrs and need to buy again.

You’ll be fine. I am limited to pretty much Nosler or Norma for my .300 WSMs. I’ve not had any issues with them. Of course at one time Norma made Nosler brass, at least for certain ones.

Great post and experience. Top tier to me is Lapua, as that is the most expensive brass I buy. I've checked that out every time I buy it and it always looks great. Just like if I had prepped it myself. Flash holes are drilled and very uniform and smooth, unlike other commercial brass you get. WW is about the worst I've seen. A lot of guys love PPU, but my swedish mauser doesn't like it. I've had cases split after 4 firings and never had an issue like that with any other brass I've used in that particular rifle. I generally just use Lapua in it to save the trouble. Although R-P has worked very well too. Lapua is also great in that it's always nicely annealed. It's always trimmed perfectly as well. I've measured and checked and it's always spot on, something you don't always find with WW brass. R-P has been good, just not as refined when you get it. Another good brand of brass I've found is Sig Sauer. I use that in my 308's and 22-250's. It holds up well and is pretty uniform when you get it. I've also use a bunch of Hornady brass and it's not bad, not nearly as good as Starline though, when comparing tit for tat with what I load for my Creedmoors. The starline seems to last longer and is more uniform out of the box. What I do find is the case capacity is almost exactly the same, so I use both brands with the same loading and get the same accuracy/precision. This makes it very convenient, but I just come to expect the Hornady will give up before the Starline does. For the most part, the beauty in upper tier brass is the quality out of the box and the longevity you get with it. In the end, it will save you money over other brands because it lasts longer. The catch is finding other brands that last almost as long, for a lot less money and then properly prepping your brass. After firing a lower tier brass in your chamber, it is then up to you to check it for uniformity and prep it correctly. Trim it to exact lengths, chamfer case necks, deburr the flash hole, uniform the primer pocket etc. etc. If the R-P, Hornady, WW, Norma or other commercial brass you load doesn't check out, toss it and find a brand that works for you...

Yes, Norma did make some of the Nosler brass.

I've used pretty much all types of brass. But have not bought spendy brass until lately when I couldn't find run of the mill brass. Back when I had more time than money I used to measure neck thickness and turned necks to uniform thickness, marking brass that had necks that were thick on one side and thin on the other figuring the whole case would be like that.

My 35 Whelen had a tight chamber cut by a very good smith. I messed around with different 30-06 brass necked up. Finally I bought some Nosler brass and it was way better in that 35. I'm not sure if it makes as much difference in factory chambers that are not so cut.

Ever since I started reloading 45 yrs. ago Winchester brass has always worked fine for me, the one exception is full power .44 Magnum hunting loads are assembled in Starline brass.

I spent as much time cleaning up a bag of Winchester brass that it would have been nicer to just get Lapua for the same price and probably more reloads... problem is Lapua doesn't make brass in 325 WSM! Nosler had some prepped stuff and that was nice... ready to go after visual inspection. I figure cost + time were about 1.25 : 1 nosler to win in terms of dollars and time. YMMV as they say.

Well I just bought a hundred pieces of Sig brass from Cabelas just because you said it is good stuff. They only have it in 308 but I can use it for my 7-08 or 260 easily enough. $28. for 50 and I had 50 bucks worth of reward bucks so I got 100 pieces for $10.

Quality brass typically lasts longer, usually due to the base/web of the case being beefier. Consistency in thickness/volume/weight should be characteristics of top shelf brass. I’ve really only checked volume consistency on three brands: Hornady, Nosler and Alpha. The Nosler and Hornady were very similar, but Alpha is simply stellar.

I have found SIG brass in 243 and 308 Winchester to be a good value with its reasonable price and very uniform neck walls.

I think you will like it. I am using it in .30-06, .308, 6.5 CM, and .300 WM. I forgot I had the bag of .300WM as I found it under my lading bench. LOL! I knew I had bought, but couldn’t locate it all summer.

I may save it for when I order my Criterion 308 barrel. I actually have a good amount of brass, trouble is most of it is Federal GMM brass that I saved from fired factory ammo. It does work and I have yet to have a neck crack. But it has thick necks and necking it down to .264 leaves me in the fitted neck brass category.

Good comparison, thanks for the info

Stay away from any Federal if you like hot handloads! to me, they are the softest! Love their factory ammo, but have had pockets opwn up with one firing, split sides, necks, just a waste. Have always had good luck with /winchester, but you have t prep them a one time job. I too "prefer" RWs, Lapua, Nosler, Norma, etc. But will use Remington and winchester all day lone, but prepped/sorted. I'm just now stuck with Horanay in my 338 RCM, so time will tell! Have a ball pard!