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Does brass quality really matter??

4K views 8 replies 7 participants last post by  slayer 
#1 ·
Just wondering if brass quality really matters for more accurate loads? I know I said this last year and it didn't happen, but next year my buddy and I are going to be running up loads for our 7mm Rem. Mag's to see what kind of accuracy we can get out of them and to improve our longer range skills. He is currently using RP/Remington brass that nets him 3-5 reloads before the neck splits and I have some Federal brass that have around 7 reloads on them and I annealed them after the 4th reload with a propane torch. I haven't experienced any problems with mine as of yet, but I know they are just about done. We currently full length side them, but I'm about to buy a neck sizing die so that should help some. I figure next year we will throw $250.00 each into the kitty for loading materials to see what our particular guns prefer. He just purchased a inexpensive chronograph so we can get a good idea on what kind of velocity the loads are running at. Through a little online research I found that most people swear on Lupua or Norma brass and Lupua doesn't produce a 7 mag cartridge so Norma it would be, but at $130.00 for 100 pieces seems pretty steep. I usually just reload my once fired factory brass or for things like my 9mm's or .223 Rem. I will buy once fired brass off of CL. The only new brass I ever bought was Starline 44 Mag. cases and they were $50.00 for 250 cases. Just wondering what brass you guys would recommend us using?
 
#2 ·
It depends on how you shoot. The 600 and 1,000 yard long range guys in my club won't use anything but Norma or Lapua brass for several reasons - consistent weight, consistency of wall thickness, consistent flash hole size, and no flash hole burrs. Notice the word "consistent" that is the key and is why you pay so much for their brass.

All of my shooting is between 100 and 200 yards and I've spent a lot of time trying to determine the optimum brass for 223. I've sorted brass by head stamp, by weight, and by headstamp and weight. Then loaded identical rounds in each class and I really cannot find any measurable difference until the weight difference gets above 6 grains. Then the groups start to open up and I get flyers. Within a specific headstamp only PPU had a weight difference of 6 grains or more. A mix of different head stamped brass can vary by more than 6 grains so now I sort and load by headstamp.

Three things that I know will make a difference is fire formed brass, bushing neck sizing to get uniform neck tension, and uniform neck wall thickness. Brass that has been fire formed, and bushing neck sized will consistently produce better groups than full length resized without neck sizing. The brass will also last longer. I'm on my tenth reload on some .223 brass and have never annealed any of them.
 
#4 ·
This has been kind of covered before:

http://www.thefirearmsforum.com/threads/which-rifle-brass-is-best.58372/

But the article in Handloader is the key:

Handloader No.252 April 2008

There is a way better than neck sizing for any Magnum cartridge. Read the sticky I wrote about this:

http://www.thefirearmsforum.com/threads/reloading-advanced-techniques-for-better-accuracy.76156/

Magnum cartridges are not my favorite. They are tough on brass especially if full length re-sized. Throat burn through is the failure after you minimize case head separation when you follow the sticky recommendations for partial sizing. I have one magnum, 7mm, and I'll never buy another belted case cartridge.

LDBennett
 
#5 ·
Is it really worth it then LD? I mean are we talking about gaining 1/2"@ 500 yards or better by seating the bullet right off the throat? is it only magnum cartridges that are susceptible to throat burn through or is it any cartridge that is seated that way? And lastly we shall say my most accurate load is in the middle of my min/max charge, how many rounds do you think I would be able to shoot before throat burn through would start affecting accuracy with the rifle?
 
#6 ·
There is a difference in accuracy when you use mixed brass.
I should have to say that when it comes to a hunting load, it really makes very little difference. And most hunters are happy with 1. to 2. moa.

However when it comes to benchrest , you work within the rules of consistancy. Every thing must be uniform. This would be brass weight, neck thickness, neck tension on the bullet .ect.
I quit shooting bench rest in 1980 or so and things have come a long way. The brass is far more uniform today than it was back then. I never had to pay for my brass, it was given to me by Winchester. After weighing and measuring the brass, I think I used about 55% of the brass that was given for benchrest. The rest was allocated for hunting loads due to weight differences in the brass.
 
#7 ·
Try using some of the Remington brass in your rifle, and the Federal brass in his rifle with the same load. His rifle could have a chamber with maximum dimensions and yours at minimum dimensions. The rifle with the larger chamber will work the brass much more and cause it to wear out faster than the rifle with the smaller chamber. A fiend of mine had an old model Ruger 77 chambered in .338 Win Mag that had a really big chamber, it would take 3 grs. more powder than what any of the manuals listed for any powder with no signs of high pressure. The brass had to be tossed after 2nd or 3rd firing. Belted mag brass has a tendency to expand right in front of the belt, and sizing dies don't squeeze this area back into proper size/shape. There is a collet die that resizes this area back to factory specs, but at last check it was about $75.00 for this and probably more now, and no I don't remember who makes it.
 
#8 ·
street bob:

Magnum brass is not the only brass the gets neck burn through. Any of the higher pressure cartridges can suffer the same fate. I rarely see normal cartridges like those based on 30-06 or 308 cases do the neck burn through. Mild cases like 30-30 basically never get throat burn through. it has to do with lots of powder, high pressure, and many reloadings.

LDBennett
 
#9 ·
As Twicepop said, his chamber may be a little big. An easy way to check that is to measure the case neck after seating a bullet and once again after firing and then compare those measurements to your cases. You also don't need a seperate die to size the neck, that can be accomplished by setting your FL die to either just slightly bump the shoulder back or to not bump it at all. I shoot and load for 3 belted magnums, a 308 Norma, 300 Winchester and 338 Winchester and I only size enough of the neck to hold the bullet. I have found that (in my 300 Winchester) R-P cases are more prone to split necks than other brands. I get a lot more loadings from federal and Winchester cases.
 
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