Good Brass

IthacaDS · February 1, 2010, 10:29 PM

I'm just getting into the world of reloading.... and i am wondering about the proper brass that i should acquire. Up until now i have just bought boxes of factory loads and plan on reloading them. My reasoning for this is that i will be able to keep the brass, have some fun shooting those loads and not waist my money on shooting brass that is not fire formed to my gun yet... Is my thinking correct? And if not, any advise?

medalguy · February 1, 2010, 11:18 PM

You don't say whether you are shooting rifle or pistol, or the type weapon, there's a difference. Pistol brass is always full length resized so you may as well buy once fired brass and load it up. With rifle brass, there are two ways to look at it. For an autoloader you always need to full length resize, so again buy once fired. With a bolt rifle, the theory is that you can fireform to your own particular chamber, then neck size only for a couple of firings. The problem is that you still need to full length resize and trim every few times.

Personally, I generally buy once fired brass and load it unless I can get some very good deals on factory ammo.

Hope this helps some.

Jim243 · February 2, 2010, 02:31 AM

It depends on who's commercial ammo you are buying to shoot up. Remington and Winchester brass are pretty good to reload. Blazer and Wolf are a NO NO because they are steel. If you are going to fireform your cases, I would recommend that you purchase new cases for that purpose, yes I know that you have to waste a bullet to get the new case fireformed. But if you are going to go through everything you need to do to make MATCH ammo, you would be better off starting with better brass (Norma or Lapua).

Otherwise just blast away with whatever you have and full length size.

Just my 2 cents.
Jim

NWPilgrim · February 2, 2010, 03:48 AM

For pistol I have not seen much difference. Just make sure it is brass and boxer primed so you can reload it. I reload all of my brass mixed headstamps and number of reloads. They generally start to crack at the neck before anything else and when I see that I toss it into the brass scrap bucket.

The reasons for this are 1) Pistols are generally not shot for extreme accuracy (2" at 25 yds is very good) so slight variations in the brass have little practical effect; and 2) Pistol cases are subjected to much lower pressures than rifles.

Rifle cases can vary in wall or head thickness, thus in weight and internal volume. And since rifles may be shot for greater accuracy (less than 1" and perhaps less than 1/2") then every small variable makes a difference in terminal results. They can vary in neck thickness, especially after a few resizings. I sort my brass by headstamp and weight, but I have not found one better than the others, but then I am not trying for sub-MOA groups either. For hunting, self defense or informal target shooting between 1"-2" at 100 yds is good enough for me.

I shoot Remington, Federal, Winchester and Lake City mostly. They all seem good, though LC and Remington "seem" very consistent and I just like loading them. Rarely have any problems with R-P cases and I just like them for some reason.

A precision shooter can give you much more info, but if you are not into precision shooting then I don't think case brand makes a difference.

ETA: After re-reading the post above reminded me there are some premium brands of cases that are sold in batches of matched case weight and are inspected for uniformity. Besides Lapua and Norma, Nosler Custom is a reportedly very good.

Sidewinder72 · February 2, 2010, 06:04 AM

I agree with the above posts.

Ksmoker · February 2, 2010, 08:36 AM

all good information above, I resize everything regardless of brand, don't get in a hurry reloading, read the recipes over & over, just be careful & enjoy.

ammo.crafter · February 2, 2010, 08:50 AM

As far as rifle brass goes, I have found great sucess using Norma brass. I have 6 m/m brass that has been loaded numerousdozens of times over the last 30-years without signs of wear or breakdown.

As far as pistol brass, I found Federal to be extremely well made, as is IMI brass for revolvers.

Bart B. · February 2, 2010, 10:08 AM

Winchester brass has been used to win more matches and set more records in high power rifle competition that about all the others combined. It's also been used to shoot test groups at the longer ranges smaller than bench rest records with other makes. Full length sized cases were used to do it.

Neck sizing ain't the solution to accuracy most folks think it is. Otherwise, benchresters wouldn't be moving to full length sizing. Sierra Bullets' been full length sizing their cases used to test their bullets for accuracy since the early '50's. Nobody shoots 'em as accurate as they do. And Sierra does it in standard SAAMI chambers with metered, not weighed, powder charges.

February 1, 2010, 10:29 PM	#1
IthacaDS Junior Member Join Date: September 23, 2009 Posts: 2	Good Brass I'm just getting into the world of reloading.... and i am wondering about the proper brass that i should acquire. Up until now i have just bought boxes of factory loads and plan on reloading them. My reasoning for this is that i will be able to keep the brass, have some fun shooting those loads and not waist my money on shooting brass that is not fire formed to my gun yet... Is my thinking correct? And if not, any advise?

February 2, 2010, 03:48 AM	#4
NWPilgrim Senior Member Join Date: September 29, 2008 Location: Oregon Posts: 2,346	For pistol I have not seen much difference. Just make sure it is brass and boxer primed so you can reload it. I reload all of my brass mixed headstamps and number of reloads. They generally start to crack at the neck before anything else and when I see that I toss it into the brass scrap bucket. The reasons for this are 1) Pistols are generally not shot for extreme accuracy (2" at 25 yds is very good) so slight variations in the brass have little practical effect; and 2) Pistol cases are subjected to much lower pressures than rifles. Rifle cases can vary in wall or head thickness, thus in weight and internal volume. And since rifles may be shot for greater accuracy (less than 1" and perhaps less than 1/2") then every small variable makes a difference in terminal results. They can vary in neck thickness, especially after a few resizings. I sort my brass by headstamp and weight, but I have not found one better than the others, but then I am not trying for sub-MOA groups either. For hunting, self defense or informal target shooting between 1"-2" at 100 yds is good enough for me. I shoot Remington, Federal, Winchester and Lake City mostly. They all seem good, though LC and Remington "seem" very consistent and I just like loading them. Rarely have any problems with R-P cases and I just like them for some reason. A precision shooter can give you much more info, but if you are not into precision shooting then I don't think case brand makes a difference. ETA: After re-reading the post above reminded me there are some premium brands of cases that are sold in batches of matched case weight and are inspected for uniformity. Besides Lapua and Norma, Nosler Custom is a reportedly very good. __________________ "The ultimate authority ... resides in the people alone. ... The advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation ... forms a barrier against the enterprises of ambition." - James Madison Last edited by NWPilgrim; February 2, 2010 at 03:57 AM.

February 2, 2010, 08:36 AM	#6
Ksmoker Member Join Date: December 6, 2009 Location: NE Kansas Posts: 74	re-loads all good information above, I resize everything regardless of brand, don't get in a hurry reloading, read the recipes over & over, just be careful & enjoy.

February 2, 2010, 08:50 AM	#7
ammo.crafter Senior Member Join Date: June 25, 2006 Location: The Keystone State Posts: 1,970	brass As far as rifle brass goes, I have found great sucess using Norma brass. I have 6 m/m brass that has been loaded numerousdozens of times over the last 30-years without signs of wear or breakdown. As far as pistol brass, I found Federal to be extremely well made, as is IMI brass for revolvers. __________________ "Peace is that brief glorious moment in history when everybody stands around reloading". --Thomas Jefferson

February 1, 2010, 11:18 PM	#2
medalguy Senior Member Join Date: August 31, 2009 Location: New Mexico Posts: 1,033	You don't say whether you are shooting rifle or pistol, or the type weapon, there's a difference. Pistol brass is always full length resized so you may as well buy once fired brass and load it up. With rifle brass, there are two ways to look at it. For an autoloader you always need to full length resize, so again buy once fired. With a bolt rifle, the theory is that you can fireform to your own particular chamber, then neck size only for a couple of firings. The problem is that you still need to full length resize and trim every few times. Personally, I generally buy once fired brass and load it unless I can get some very good deals on factory ammo. Hope this helps some.

February 2, 2010, 02:31 AM	#3
Jim243 Senior Member Join Date: January 5, 2009 Location: Just off Route 66 Posts: 5,067	It depends on who's commercial ammo you are buying to shoot up. Remington and Winchester brass are pretty good to reload. Blazer and Wolf are a NO NO because they are steel. If you are going to fireform your cases, I would recommend that you purchase new cases for that purpose, yes I know that you have to waste a bullet to get the new case fireformed. But if you are going to go through everything you need to do to make MATCH ammo, you would be better off starting with better brass (Norma or Lapua). Otherwise just blast away with whatever you have and full length size. Just my 2 cents. Jim

February 2, 2010, 06:04 AM	#5
Sidewinder72 Senior Member Join Date: November 25, 2008 Location: Kansas Posts: 130	I agree with the above posts.

February 2, 2010, 10:08 AM	#8
Bart B. Senior Member Join Date: February 15, 2009 Posts: 8,927	Winchester brass has been used to win more matches and set more records in high power rifle competition that about all the others combined. It's also been used to shoot test groups at the longer ranges smaller than bench rest records with other makes. Full length sized cases were used to do it. Neck sizing ain't the solution to accuracy most folks think it is. Otherwise, benchresters wouldn't be moving to full length sizing. Sierra Bullets' been full length sizing their cases used to test their bullets for accuracy since the early '50's. Nobody shoots 'em as accurate as they do. And Sierra does it in standard SAAMI chambers with metered, not weighed, powder charges.