Which manufacturer makes the best brass case for reloading?

adephue · March 6, 2006, 12:04 AM

I am planning on getting into reloading soon and I am saving my brass cases after trips to the range. Whilst I wait, which brand of ammo should I buy so that I can save the cases for reloading? I have .45 ACP, 454 Casull, and my friend has .357 Sig, .40 S&W, and .38 Spl...

any suggestions?

trooper3385 · March 6, 2006, 12:56 AM

Well, I had the answer for you until I got to the end of your post and noticed that you are going to be handloading for pistol rounds. For rifles, I would say that Norma would be your top of the line brass. As for a pistol, you got me on that one. I would guess that any major brand is going to be using good quality brass. Your winchester, remington, federal, speer and I'm sure I left something out, should do just fine.

shooter429 · March 6, 2006, 01:05 AM

Brands that I use: Remington, Federal, Winchester, CorBon, Hornady
Obviously, for consistency, it will be better to choose one brand/type of ammo and use that exclusively, but not a must. You should keep it dry and clean (tumble it too, if you want them to look and glide along like new). Keep all once fired ammo together and load/cycle it so that you can keep track of the number of loadings each lot has gone through. If you are loading within SAAMI limits, most cases will go, well, I have had .38s go a dozen reloads with little stretch or wear.

Conversly, Magnum rounds and high-pressure semi-autos like the .357, or 10mm will tend to stretch and fatigue more quickly.

The hottest loads for hunting, bear defense or competition, especially in the autos, which are more ammo sensitive than revolvers, are the ones to trim, mic, debur etc. for complete uniformity.

Plan to pay a little more to buy from the name brands. It is well worth the coin, IMHO.

I know a guy who bought thousands of rounds worth of ancient Berdan primed military ammo from Whereintheheckistan. Needless to say, the ammo was not only not reloadable, but it ruined the gun. The bolt rusted shut sitting in a closet. The bore was in terrible shape. So, my advice is: Don't buy military surplus or reloaded or white box no-name ammo, either from the OL vendors or shows etc.

Shooter429

Rimrock · March 6, 2006, 01:12 AM

http://www.midwayusa.com/ebrowse.exe...**652***670***

In addition to the list in the prior post take a look at Starline!

Rimrock

maas · March 6, 2006, 01:14 AM

i like remington peeters and winchester seem to last a long time

esheato · March 6, 2006, 01:35 AM

Honestly, it depends what you want to do with it. For the utmost in accuracy, buy it new, and prepare it all the same. Keep that brass together for its lifespan and treat it well. For a bunch of pistol plinking ammo, just use whatever you find on the ground (except AMERC, :barf: ).

Among pistol brass manufacturers, Starline is considered the best. If you're looking to purchase factory loaded ammo to shoot and save the brass, any of the major manufacturers are fine.

Among rifle brass manufacturers, Lapua is considered the best.

Ed

randleland · March 6, 2006, 07:00 AM

Do you supose that Winchester's "value pack" offering (100-round boxes of pistol ammo for less than $20; Wal-Mart) has the same quality brass as the rest of their line? If so then, might that not be the way to go? -r

Phxdog · March 6, 2006, 10:22 AM

Another vote for Starline pistol brass.

azredhawk44 · March 6, 2006, 11:41 AM

I am NOT impressed by my 45acp brass from corbon. I bought some 165gr JHP +P stuff from them about 2 years ago.

I shot some of it to get a feel for how it fed and recoiled. The brass is paper thin. It wasn't starline, which is what they supposedly use most of the time.

I really like PMC brass in 357mag, 38sp, 44mag and 45acp. Remington and Federal are okay. Starline is excellent, but you will be buying raw brass since no one does bulk commercial loading with it. Winchester is pretty good stuff too. Magtech ain't bad.

Stay away from nickel plated brass. It's pretty and stays clean a long time, but the nickel plating is tough as nails and is reported to tear up your dies over time.

For rifle, I hear that nosler, hornady, lapua and norma are some of the best. Winchester and Remington vary quite a bit in weight from one case to the next. I was weighing some primed winchester brass last night and got anywhere from 162.7gr to 165.5gr.

tapehoser · March 6, 2006, 12:08 PM

For pistol, I like Federal and Winchester. The walls of Federal are a little more sturdy and a little thicker. I reload 9mm (for fun), 357 Mag, and 44 Mag.

Remington is OK.

Starline and S&B suck. Royally.

Russ5924 · March 6, 2006, 01:21 PM

Wow that is a hard question,but I use a lot of winchester and federal but also load about every brand( but WWC and A-merc), but do keep them sorted by brand.When I started reloading I tried to keep them sorted by times fired but found was almost impossible to keep them sorted.The more you shoot the harder it is to keep everything straight.

I am sure that most of the winchester that I shoot is mostly WWB.For me I load on the lighter side and very rare to have a round split with the brass, now the nickle they seem to wear out faster

maas · March 7, 2006, 03:42 PM

another thing to conceder is finding it easly avalible. i do verry little mail order usually i pick my stuff up at a gunstore when im coming back from work. but if you use midway or other online stores thats not an issue

caz223 · March 7, 2006, 04:35 PM

+1 for starline.
Ebay is your friend.

March 6, 2006, 12:04 AM	#1
adephue Member Join Date: December 20, 2005 Location: Keystone State Posts: 96	Which manufacturer makes the best brass case for reloading? I am planning on getting into reloading soon and I am saving my brass cases after trips to the range. Whilst I wait, which brand of ammo should I buy so that I can save the cases for reloading? I have .45 ACP, 454 Casull, and my friend has .357 Sig, .40 S&W, and .38 Spl... any suggestions?

March 6, 2006, 01:05 AM	#3
shooter429 Junior member Join Date: July 21, 2005 Location: Washington Posts: 190	Buy quality, American loaded, commercial ammo Brands that I use: Remington, Federal, Winchester, CorBon, Hornady Obviously, for consistency, it will be better to choose one brand/type of ammo and use that exclusively, but not a must. You should keep it dry and clean (tumble it too, if you want them to look and glide along like new). Keep all once fired ammo together and load/cycle it so that you can keep track of the number of loadings each lot has gone through. If you are loading within SAAMI limits, most cases will go, well, I have had .38s go a dozen reloads with little stretch or wear. Conversly, Magnum rounds and high-pressure semi-autos like the .357, or 10mm will tend to stretch and fatigue more quickly. The hottest loads for hunting, bear defense or competition, especially in the autos, which are more ammo sensitive than revolvers, are the ones to trim, mic, debur etc. for complete uniformity. Plan to pay a little more to buy from the name brands. It is well worth the coin, IMHO. I know a guy who bought thousands of rounds worth of ancient Berdan primed military ammo from Whereintheheckistan. Needless to say, the ammo was not only not reloadable, but it ruined the gun. The bolt rusted shut sitting in a closet. The bore was in terrible shape. So, my advice is: Don't buy military surplus or reloaded or white box no-name ammo, either from the OL vendors or shows etc. Shooter429

March 6, 2006, 01:14 AM	#5
maas Senior Member Join Date: November 13, 2005 Location: The state of Jefferson Posts: 897	i like remington peeters and winchester seem to last a long time __________________ I don't try to offend....some times i get lucky! There's always one thing that makes Republicans look good on election day...........Democrats!

March 6, 2006, 01:21 PM	#11
Russ5924 Senior Member Join Date: February 18, 2005 Posts: 1,874	Wow that is a hard question,but I use a lot of winchester and federal but also load about every brand( but WWC and A-merc), but do keep them sorted by brand.When I started reloading I tried to keep them sorted by times fired but found was almost impossible to keep them sorted.The more you shoot the harder it is to keep everything straight. I am sure that most of the winchester that I shoot is mostly WWB.For me I load on the lighter side and very rare to have a round split with the brass, now the nickle they seem to wear out faster __________________ Russ5924

March 7, 2006, 03:42 PM	#12
maas Senior Member Join Date: November 13, 2005 Location: The state of Jefferson Posts: 897	another thing to conceder is finding it easly avalible. i do verry little mail order usually i pick my stuff up at a gunstore when im coming back from work. but if you use midway or other online stores thats not an issue __________________ I don't try to offend....some times i get lucky! There's always one thing that makes Republicans look good on election day...........Democrats!

March 6, 2006, 12:56 AM	#2
trooper3385 Senior Member Join Date: September 8, 2005 Location: South Texas Posts: 814	Well, I had the answer for you until I got to the end of your post and noticed that you are going to be handloading for pistol rounds. For rifles, I would say that Norma would be your top of the line brass. As for a pistol, you got me on that one. I would guess that any major brand is going to be using good quality brass. Your winchester, remington, federal, speer and I'm sure I left something out, should do just fine.

March 6, 2006, 01:12 AM	#4
Rimrock Junior member Join Date: February 19, 2006 Location: CA Posts: 273	http://www.midwayusa.com/ebrowse.exe...652670** In addition to the list in the prior post take a look at Starline! Rimrock

March 6, 2006, 01:35 AM	#6
esheato Senior Member Join Date: May 18, 2004 Location: Marysville, CA Posts: 110	Honestly, it depends what you want to do with it. For the utmost in accuracy, buy it new, and prepare it all the same. Keep that brass together for its lifespan and treat it well. For a bunch of pistol plinking ammo, just use whatever you find on the ground (except AMERC, :barf: ). Among pistol brass manufacturers, Starline is considered the best. If you're looking to purchase factory loaded ammo to shoot and save the brass, any of the major manufacturers are fine. Among rifle brass manufacturers, Lapua is considered the best. Ed

March 6, 2006, 07:00 AM	#7
randleland Member Join Date: February 10, 2006 Location: Ohio Posts: 22	Do you supose that Winchester's "value pack" offering (100-round boxes of pistol ammo for less than $20; Wal-Mart) has the same quality brass as the rest of their line? If so then, might that not be the way to go? -r

March 6, 2006, 10:22 AM	#8
Phxdog Senior Member Join Date: January 18, 2006 Location: Phoenix Posts: 236	Another vote for Starline pistol brass.

March 6, 2006, 11:41 AM	#9
azredhawk44 Junior member Join Date: September 28, 2005 Location: Mesa, AZ Posts: 6,465	I am NOT impressed by my 45acp brass from corbon. I bought some 165gr JHP +P stuff from them about 2 years ago. I shot some of it to get a feel for how it fed and recoiled. The brass is paper thin. It wasn't starline, which is what they supposedly use most of the time. I really like PMC brass in 357mag, 38sp, 44mag and 45acp. Remington and Federal are okay. Starline is excellent, but you will be buying raw brass since no one does bulk commercial loading with it. Winchester is pretty good stuff too. Magtech ain't bad. Stay away from nickel plated brass. It's pretty and stays clean a long time, but the nickel plating is tough as nails and is reported to tear up your dies over time. For rifle, I hear that nosler, hornady, lapua and norma are some of the best. Winchester and Remington vary quite a bit in weight from one case to the next. I was weighing some primed winchester brass last night and got anywhere from 162.7gr to 165.5gr.

March 6, 2006, 12:08 PM	#10
tapehoser Member Join Date: March 2, 2006 Location: Utah Posts: 17	For pistol, I like Federal and Winchester. The walls of Federal are a little more sturdy and a little thicker. I reload 9mm (for fun), 357 Mag, and 44 Mag. Remington is OK. Starline and S&B suck. Royally.

March 7, 2006, 04:35 PM	#13
caz223 Senior Member Join Date: May 15, 2002 Location: Michigan Posts: 1,429	+1 for starline. Ebay is your friend. __________________ I'm not just a gun. I'm YOUR gun. (Hold me.)