Looking to try a better quality brass in my 338 Win Mag.Any opinion's on these two? Thanks

I run a 300 RSAUM.
Loaded 5 dummy rounds of both Nosler and Norma.
The Norma had lumps on the necks.
Wasn't much of a lump but you could measure it with 0-1 mics.
No size difference on the necks of the Nosler brass.
Ran the Nosler brass.
Have 9 to 10 reloads with no problems on the Nosler.


dave

Love that all the nasty prep work is done on the Nosler stuff too.

Almost a reason for me NOT to buy the Nosler brass. I know it's good stuff, but I enjoy the prep work a bit.

With that said, I do still purchase Nosler brass.

A little birdy once told me that alot of the Nosler brass is made by Norma, FWIW.

I ponyed up a while back and bought some Nosler brass, I love the stuff. I am curious who makes the Nosler stuff. I just bought some Norma brass for my 7X57 to see how it works.

I've heard the same thing. Difference being is that the Nosler brass receive more prepwork than the straight Norma brass.

It takes all kinds but if I never have to trim a piece of brass again I'll be happy as a clam.
Almost got my boys thinking trimming and chamfering is fun.
They're not buying it completely though.

I'm trying to remember if what Nosler doesn't get from Norma was Federal or Hornady. Pretty sure I was told Federal. The bulk of it is Norma though.

I was told it was Federal or Norma.

Now that's funny stuff.

Yeah, I get new brass, run through expander, sort for neck thickness, neck turn, clean up primer pockets (usually not necessary), debur flash holes (usually not necessary), sort by weight into groups. I would guess when I get 100 pieces of brass it takes me 2 or 3 weeks to do all the prep.

Does it shoot better than not prepped brass? A little, but not much. If I feed my rifle something it likes it normally shoots just fine, and if I don't, it doesn't. But it's fun to do the work. I prefer it to watching TV.

That IS the info that I have too.

I'll be looking here to see if anyone knows that's wrong.

There are only a few reasons I wish I was still actively shooting, hunting and writing gunny articles.

The first reason is that I would surely love to test and work with the Nosler brass. I have heard nothing but rave reviews; and that from writers and hunters whose opinions I fully trust. The Nosler brass simply MUST be great stuff.

Some might remember that I recently bought a Ruger Number One Light Sporter (1-KA) Stainless in .257 Roberts. It is a gorgeous little rifle and probably my last.

I've not actively written for five years now, except for two little book thingies, so the folks at Nosler have probably, and quite rightly, forgotten about me. Anyway, I don't feel free to call them up and ask them for some brass ... because I can no longer do them any good in print. That's fair

That being probably true, I fully planned to buy 200 or 250 Nosler .257 Roberts cases for my new Lil' Darlin'. Amazing thing here, a gun writer who will actually pay money for components (that have been free for the last 20 years).

Would you believe that there are absolutely NO .257 Roberts Nosler-brand cases to be had???? I was really disappointed.

So, I ordered 250 virgin Winchester cases.

In the meantime, one of the GREAT 24HCF members sent me a bag of 40 Winchester .257 Roberts cases and that will surely get me started. He also sent me a set of Bonanza dies and a couple hundred bullets. Gene, again, my sincere thanks ... I am not used to folks sending me gifts, it always has gone the other way, with me helping kids. Anyway, thanks.

The second reason I kinda wish I was still an active hunter, shooter and writer is because of one cartridge. After several hundred thosand rounds, I settled on the .223 as my varmint and predator cartridge. The reason? It just plain worked.

The .17 was a pain in the ass to load. And that's true. When I wrote that in an article, the small-bore mavens came out of the woodwork. For prairie dog use, when a guy is shooting 500, 600, 700 and occasionally 800 rounds a day, the .17 just never cut it for me.

Today, we have the .204. I have never fired one, it came after I walked away from the insults of writing, but I REALLY BELIEVE that the .204 shows the promise of being the ultimate prairie dog and predator cartidge.

I really, really wish the .204 had been out when I was actively shooting and writing.

I always had the inkling that the .223 and .223 Ackley was maybe a scosh too large. Don't get me wrong, I love the .223/.223 Ackley but that doesn't negate the fact that the .204 might be better.

Today, I have several .223 and ,223 Ackley rifles and for a Schit-Hits-The-Fan cartridge, there is probably nothing better. When and if there is civil unrest in America and Obama's buddies, the Muslim Hoards, come marching down our road ... they will lose quite a few before this old fart dies.

Back to Nosler Brass ... folks I trust tell me that it is superb. Perhaps one day I will be lucky enough to find out for myself. Until then, I absolutely believe it is true.

Sorry to ramble on. This is a down day, a really sucky day. It's raining, I'm very, very tired and every one of my joints feel like intense tooth-aches. Extreme arthritis and old age are not for the weak at heart. I'm going to take a Vidodin or three and go to sleep in my chair now.

May God Bless You All,

Steve

I'll bet Lee24 could set the record straight.

Thanks,It's for a Pre-64 Griffin & Howe Mod 70.Figured I'd feed it something special. [img:center][/img] [img:center][/img]

You know me only from here, but believe me Nosler brass hasn't all been great. I got a batch of 308 that was the prettiest, weight sorted, flash hole deburred and case mouth chamfered stuff you'd ever see, but the neck walls would have needed a .003" cut to even them up.

Friend Mathman, I've read enough of your comments to know that you are serious, dedicated and know your gunny stuff. I would trust your experience totally.

CRAP, that is very disappointing.

Then, Lapua must be the remaining good stuff.

Steve

Steve,

It's been several years and QC kinks may be totally worked out now. I haven't tried any in a while, and current runs could well be perfect.

Even Lapua has fallen off in more recent times. The next to last batch I got didn't have neck walls all that great. I found that out the hard way: I trusted them to be good and loaded a large batch of a standard load that didn't perform up to par. When I processed the brass for round two I found the thickness issue. My last batch of Lapua had case mouths chamfered on one side but not the other. I had to trim them back and rechamfer do get them even.

m

My experience with Nosler brass has been good. I have found that it may be soft depending on caliber. Max loads will expand primer pockets substantially. I have some 270, and 7mm08 with 30 firings. I tend to like win and hornady and federal brass when available.

Several years ago, I was doing an article on the 6BR. Amazingly enough, 6BR brass was not on Remington's sample list (consumables that they send to writers).

About the time I learned of this problem, I went to the SHOT Show in Dallas. I atteneded the Remington seminar and there was a time for gunny writers to talk one-on-one with the Remington execs.

One of the execs walked up to me and asked, "Is everything going well between you and our writer's contact folks?"

I told him of the problem of the 6BR brass not being on the writer's sample list. The exec told me, "You will have a box waiting for you when you get home!" He took my card, wrote a note in his DayPlanner and that was it.

When I arrived home, a FedEx package from Remington was waiting for me.

The box was a full CASE of Remington 6BR brass. The case contained something like 1,260 rounds of brass.

Now, here's where it gets interesting: The 6BR brass in the case are spot perfect. In measuring many, many cases, the necks have a runout of .000", as closely as I can tell. The case weight runout is well under one-grain. It is without a doubt the finest lot of brass I have ever seen ... bar none.

I've often wondered about that case of 6BR brass, most of which still remains in my gun room. Was it someone's "hideout" brass. Was it the product of brand-new forming dies? Obviously, this brass is the exception, rather than the rule. And YES, it shoots wonderfully.

The remainder of the 6BR brass, perhaps 1,000 rounds will go with my 6BR rifle, a converted XP-100 Holland Vee-Block, when I sell the rifle. One day, someone will use this brass and be amazed by it.

I bought 140 rounds of .257 Weatherby brass from Cabela's about three years ago and it was absolutely SUPERB. All of the necks measure within .001" and I'm surprised by how very consistent it is from case to case.

I haven't fired my .257 Weatherby yet, but I expect great things from it. The rifle is a Remington SPS Stainless/Synthetic with the 26-inch barrel. I've free-floated the barrel, Marine-Texed the recoil lug mortise and action and teched-out the trigger to a perfect 3.0-pounds.

Anyway, fabulous brass CAN BE MADE and it sometimes comes from the strangest places.

In the long-run, I've always been enormously pleased with Winchester brass. Yes, I have to detail it, but after I've pitched the four-to-six percent of the cases whose neck run-out exceeds .001" (one one-thousanth) and done several case detailing operations, I always end up with superb brass. Winchester is for sure a WINNER ... it just takes a little work and knowledge to render it perfect.

Blessings,

Steve

You're so right. Some of the best neck walls I've measured came from RP 243 Win. brass out of a lowly box of Core Lokt factory ammo.

Doesn't that have more to do with the case design than the brass itself? I have shot my WSM brass more than eight firings & have yet to trim. The 7 Wby brass, on the other hand, needs trimming almost every firing.

Norma makes Nosler's brass.

It can also have a lot to do with how the as fired dimensions of your brass interact with the sizing die.

Reloder28,

Norma makes quite a bit of Nosler brass, but not all.

mathman,

Exactly.

The shoulder angle has something to do with how much brass stretches, but die/brass fit is at least as important.

Exactly.....I "unofficially" confirmed this through a couple of my old contacts quite some time ago that have been with them for a long time........and don't ask me who.

I recall reading a Wolfe mag (Handloader or Rifle) article by John Haviland about his trip to the Norma factory. Norma was making 300 WSM brass with a Federal Cartridge headstamp. Makes me wonder whether Norma also made the 7mm WSM brass for Federal also.

Lapua does need some prep work and it is not perfect but it absolutely has the best metalurgy of ANY brass.
I have some lot's of brass from other maker's that are phenomenal (6mm Remington brass made by Remington ...etc.) but day in day out Lapua has the best primer pocket's, flash hole's too. they just dont make brass for every chambering and is to expensive for some.
btw: nice to still see you posting Steve !

Well, at least I wasn't totally wrong this time.

Same with me.

Nosler is Federal (supposedly)..this has been discussed to death when Nosler was first brought to the market.

Nope. Some is Federal, some is Norma. I know for sure Norma makes the .280 AI and 9.3x62 brass. Some Nosler brass may even be something else.

Most major brass manufacturers make cases for other major brass manufacturers from time to time, for various reasons. Which is why I often chuckle when somebody on the Fire has very firm opinions about the characteristics of any "brand" of brass.

Well, I know for sure that WW brass (in 300 WSM) has split necks often on first firings and way too regular on second firings. I won't wast my money on it.

Well I have always used WW or Fed brass

Never had that happen in a REAL mag.

Seriously, SO FAR I have not had any problem w/WW brass

I shoot Winchester 300 WSM brass too. No problems with up to 6 to 8 reloadings so far. I wonder if you got a bad batch?

Maybe I did get a bad batch.

Sorry about the thread necro but I bought some 300 wby nosler brass based on the info in this thread. It's a bit cheaper than weatherby/norma brass so I was hoping it was the same thing just headstamped nosler. It weights the exact same as weatherby brass. I also have hornady which was significantly heavier and remington 8mm rem mag which I fireformed to 300 wby that was even heavier. Not sure if 8mm rem mag and 300 wby by remington weigh the same but it's a simple neck down and it's good to go.

I for one am convinced 300 wby nosler is the same as wby/norma based on the fact their weight is identical.