Best 223 brass

[Nathan]

I tried CFE 223, and abandonded it. I could never get the ES/SD to settle down.
I hear that magnum primers help, but i had already moved on.

Agree. I will be trying H4895 when I can get a couple pounds.

I'm now using Alliant Power Pro 2000 MR for the heavier bullets with good results.

Maybe I should look for that..hmmmm

Are you measuring each charge, or just throwing it?

Hornady dispenser....it throws good. Checked with check weights.

Consistant neck tension does matter. As does consistant crimp, if your using one.

Neck tension was 0.0025”-0.003” if I remember right. I need to look into that.

What kind of optic are you using? A 3MOA red dot isn't going to shrink group sizes.

SS 3-15x optic

This isn’t an newb setup. It should and does shoot pretty well. I’m investigating die setups for best neck tension. Just bought a Forster set that has not been tried vs my current Hornady. Also considering a type S die with expander.

Crimp is a light Lee FC, but I’m going to try no crimp.. I also need to look into runout as this is a mag length round, so straightness matters a lot.

The case question is who has data on the different case brands to help make a data based LC vs Norma vs Lapua decision.

[Nathan]

https://precisionrifleblog.com/2015/...rimers-powder/

These folks seem to like Lapua!

[Metal god]

I never read what powder you were using , if CFE 223 that’s your problem for sure . It’s not a good high accuracy powder . If you must throw the charge I’d look into the PP 2000mr but IMHO the stick powders are what you want IMR 4064 , 8208xbr , Varget , AR-Comp . I’ve recently become a AR-Comp fan .

[std7mag]

Good to know, MetalGod!
I've been debating trying it, haven't made the jump yet.
RL15 has been right up there with Varget, & PP2000MR with the heavier bullets for me.
By heavy 69-73gr for my 1:9 twist.

[Double K]

There's a lot theories behind using Lapua brass, I've prepped winchester and remington brass with every br tool in my box and never gotten as small a groups from my br gun when using lapua brass.
That being said I wouldn't waste my time with Lapua brass on a sporter rifle, maybe buy one box if your curious to see if your factory barreled gun can tell the difference but no more.

[Unclenick]

I think it boils down to the fact case prepping doesn't remove all the variables Lapua addresses. Long ago, Merrill Martin wrote in Precision Shooting about the "banana-shaped case" and the need to be able to measure case wall thickness runout back near the head (in the pressure ring area) to discern it. He had a randomly perfect (within the limits of his ability to measure that) case that he compared bananas from the same lot with, and I recall the perfect case shot better and produced a slightly differet POI, though I have no idea why that would happen. Current prepping tools don't do anything about uneven case walls in the case body or shoulder. The Lapua .308 and .30-06 I have all has necks with 0.001" or less runout and 0.002" or less back near the head. By comparison, some Winchester bulk .308 I bought and sorted back around 2004 had a lot of cases with as much as 0.008" runout back near the head.

But you don't know what you'll get until you measure it. I recently made up a .30-06 dummy round for someone and my first thought was to use a piece of Winchester brass I had in a bag of just 50 that I'd bought to compare current production case capacity to other cases with. So, I figured I'd measure the worst one, which my 308 experience suggested should be pretty bad, and use that. To my surprize, almost the whole bag had no more runout than Lapua does, and the few that were closer to 0.002" runout at the neck were still better than the worst ones I find sorting LC.

I used a different case for the dummy. I'm keeping that Winchester for an upcoming experiment. I have some new Lapua in 30-06 I can compare it to.

[603Country]

There was a real good article in a Varmint magazine a couple of years back. It was on cases - Rem, Win, Norma, Lapua and maybe one more. It showed measurements of about everything you can measure on a brass case, and if memory serves, Remington cases showed the best measurements (least variation). All that said, the article pointed out that Lapua was a favorite among most accuracy based shooting disciplines. It was unclear whether Lapua was actually the best case and that’s why it was used, or if some top competitors used Lapua and the others then felt they should use Lapua to ‘keep up’.

My personal experiences with cases convinced me that, with my 220, Winchester cases when prepped worked just as well for great accuracy as the Norma cases I had recently discarded. I have since gone back to Norma. Lapua is my choice for the 223. The 270 uses Norma. The 308 uses Nosler. The 260 uses Lapua.

Since I don’t compete, but just chase accuracy and hunt, my personal data is likely of limited value. I do, however, feel confident in saying that if you want super accuracy, start with a super accurate rifle. The best cases in a poor shooting rifle won’t help much, if at all.

[Unclenick]

Keep in mind that Winchester and Remington get made on contract now. Norma's 2013 manual points out it is common for companies to make cases for other brands, especially when a big contract ties up a lot of equipment. Norma says they have, for example, made Remington headstamp brass in the past (and Remington almost bought Norma at one point). So, the obvious question is, who actually made that Remington brass in that article or the tight dimension Winchester I have. One thing for sure, you can't count on every lot being that good going into the future.