I recently found and purchased some new Nosler 243 win brass. When I begin to prime them they were super tight and I wound up breaking my old lee priming tool, In an interest of not wasting primers , I called Nosler. Tech answered and said , ahh are you using Federal 210s, "Yes" .He said the primer pockets are made to minimum dimensions and federals are the biggest diameter primers , Try CCI primers. While on the line I primed a few easy peasy and I bid him Good Day. Nothing major But I would have wasted a few more being pigheaded and he cleared my mind and on I go.

Good to know. Is all Nosler brass like that? I'm actually looking for 243 brass right now but can't find any blue collar stuff. Is the Nosler and Lapua worth a $+?

Just loaded some F-215's into some Nosler .270 Win brass - nary a problem.

I don't now if they are all like that, I do know the tech knew what the issue I was having before I fully explained myself...... otherwise they are decent flash holes deburred inside and out and all square mouthed and same length. Durability remains to be seen.....

Lapua - yes, but limited flavors

Nosler - no, but they do make more flavors . . .

I apologize in advance for anything ignorant to follow.
I'm currently trying to start reloading. I know, I have impeccable timing! The brass I have on hand is a mixed bag from plane old shooting. I do have 80-100 hornady cases to get started with 308. Have heard hornady is good brass. 243 is a complete mix as is 30-06. I'm reluctant to buy high end brass to learn with.
Life long shooter and hunter just always used factory stuff. Been through a couple hard core shortages and don't want to get caught flatfooted again.

Get the Lapua

There's no need to buy high end brass, what you have will work just fine. I'd sort the mixed brass by headstamp and work with only one brand in a caliber until you get the hang of things or you wear that brass out. Then switch to another brand from your mixed lot. If you do that, you should back your load down a bit and work back up with the different brand of brass.

Some folks will sort by case weight within the brand but I don't.

Dale

Dale K, thanks, I'm generally "good at stuff" but that's because I'm a learner. Think I'll do what you said and learn the mechanics and nuances on less expensive stuff. I'll upgrade components and tools as the need arises.

One thing, what piece of gear would you recommend to upgrade from the start? As in, I have a balance beam scale but am going to just get digital scale up front as they are cheap, precise and will save me time.

I agree with sorting by headstamp. I also weigh my brass and try to keep lots of 20 within a grain of each other,
I keep track of lots of 20 as to when it was annealed and what load used. As for Nosler I like Nosler brass. I have noticed the tight primer pockets if not using CCI primers.

I started with a Lee Challenger kit. When I bought a used Ohaus 5-0-5 scale, mine is RCBS green but I've seen them in Lymans orange. I went a weighing 30-06 cases binge, now that I could do it. They ranged from 180grams and change to just over 200. There is going to be some case volume differences.

Case life, you should not do what I do, follow book advice. I shoot a P-14 303 with an expensive after market iron sights at the range a lot. Iron sight are great fun shooting standing up.I never shoot off a bench for fun. A good strong 303 is the same as a 308. The first batch of 303 I had was Gevlot headstamped, I got 18 reloads until a neck split while reloading . The next 50 were Winchester, they went 30 reloads. I guess I could have anealed and still be using them. I love Winchester brass.

When it comes to my match 308 Lapua brass, 5 and retired.

Good to know about the primers, I did not know that Fed were larger in diameter than others.

Makes me want to mic a few different primers - might be a solution to unintended loose primer pockets. Thanks for sharing.

It could also be dead soft brass. I have some NOS Norma 30-06 with Browning headstamps., They have a very short case life.

I read or heard somewhere that Nosler Brass was actually made by Lapua, I maybe wrong ,but I believe that is what I read.

The Nosler tech Said as a general rule CCi, Remington, than Winchester Than Federal in order of smallist to biggest in diameter.

I had always heard Norma made it to Noslers specs. It is better than the Norma 6.5x284 brass I had that is for sure.

I have never heard any was supplied by Lapua.

Early on I got some Nosler in 308 and 270 Winchester and 260 Remington that by all indications was Federal.

I believe Norma was an OEM supplier for them for a good while. I got some Nosler 308 that by several indications was Norma and it was very uniform.

The thing is, it will probably change at some point. When it does, there will be no notification.

Just the opposite for me. Had brand new brass in 270 bee. CCI wouldn’t seat and federal go right in. Pockets get loose and cci go right in. Had the same experience 30 years ago.

There seems to be a little variation between lots but this table has been close to real over the years.

Source:

http://www.jamescalhoon.com/primers_and_pressure.php

(Formatting is difficult on this forum)


Rifle Primer Dimension Chart

Cup
Thickness Diameter Height
Small Rifle

CCI
400 .020" .1753" .109"
450 .025" .1750" .113"
BR4 .025" .1755" .109"

Federal
200 .019" .1757" .111"
205M .0225" .1744" .1075"

Remington
6 1/2 .020" .1753" .109"
7 1/2 .025" .1752" .110"

Winchester
SR .021" .1750" .109"

Large Rifle

CCI
200 .027" .2112" .118"
250 .027" .2113" .118"

Federal
210 .027" .2120" .117"
215 .027" .2120" .117"

Remington
9 1/2 .027" .2100" .119"

Winchester
LR .027" .2114" .121"
Mag .027" .2114" .121"