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Jevyod Offline OP
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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....


......the occasional hunter wielding a hopelessly inaccurate rifle, living by the fantastical rule that this cartridge can deliver the goods, regardless of shot placement or rifle accuracy. The correct term for this is minute of ego.
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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.

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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.

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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.


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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.


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Not being married to any particular political party sure makes it a lot easier to look at the world more objectively...
Having said that, MAGA.
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Jevyod Offline OP
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Hmmm...reading this makes me wonder if I should sell my Nosler brass and buy something else...anyone actually have good results using Nosler?


......the occasional hunter wielding a hopelessly inaccurate rifle, living by the fantastical rule that this cartridge can deliver the goods, regardless of shot placement or rifle accuracy. The correct term for this is minute of ego.
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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.


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Beretzs,
Who are your sources for RWS brass?


Casey

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Originally Posted by alpinecrick

Beretzs,
Who are your sources for RWS brass?


Huntingtons are where I usually look for it.


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Originally Posted by Jevyod
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 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.

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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


Originally Posted by Brad
If Montana had a standing army, a 270 Win with Federal Blue Box 130's would be the standard issue.
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Originally Posted by beretzs


Huntingtons are where I usually look for it.


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


Casey

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Originally Posted by alpinecrick
Originally Posted by beretzs


Huntingtons are where I usually look for it.


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.


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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.

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


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.



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lol.....


Casey

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Having said that, MAGA.
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Originally Posted by Swifty52


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.


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.


Casey

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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.

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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.


......the occasional hunter wielding a hopelessly inaccurate rifle, living by the fantastical rule that this cartridge can deliver the goods, regardless of shot placement or rifle accuracy. The correct term for this is minute of ego.
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Originally Posted by Jevyod
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.

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