Good brass off the shelf.

[savagest]

Who makes good brass? I am having issues with my Federal brass. I have some hornady zombie max brass and some winchester brass. Are these good for reloading?

What I am asking I guess is if I were to buy ammo what brand has the better brass for reloading?

[Ozzieman]

Can’t say anything about Zombie but Winchester is good. I don’t know what problem you’re having with your Federal but for hand gun I have had good luck with Federal.
What caliber are you looking for?
I buy new brass in large number (500 or more) and then just go through them and buy more when they wear out. For new, Starline is my choice. Lot cheaper than buying new loaded for the brass.

[myfriendis410]

That's funny 'cause of the "big three" (Winchester, Remington or Federal) I've found the Federal to be the most consistent. Square sided primer pockets with flat bottoms, nicely centered round flash holes etc. Winchester is currently producing some of the WORST brass I've ever seen with the last bag of .300 wsm being sent back. The flash holes were so oblong and off center I was afraid I'd break a decapping pin. Nosler Custom (very good stuff) is made by Federal, for example. The best, of course, is Norma or Lapua. But expensive!

Is this for rifle or pistol. The above is in reference to rifle brass.

[Brian Pfleuger]

Norma and Lapua make the best brass for rifle cartridges. I really can't understand the objection to the cost. They cost about $1 per case and you get 10+ reloads per case most of the time if you know how to handle brass. There's no reason to think it costs more than 7 cents per shot or so. That's cheaper than all but the smallest rifle powder charges with the cheapest powders.

[savagest]

My bad this is for a 308

[RC20]

We had the same problems with Winchester in 30-06, came apart early with mid level loads.

I have a lot of FC I have picked up and that has done well.

RP seems to be ok but have not run a lot of that through yet.

that's funny 'cause of the "big three" (Winchester, Remington or Federal) I've found the Federal to be the most consistent. Square sided primer pockets with flat bottoms, nicely centered round flash holes etc. Winchester is currently producing some of the WORST brass I've ever seen with the last bag of .300 wsm being sent back. The flash holes were so oblong and off center I was afraid I'd break a decapping pin. Nosler Custom (very good stuff) is made by Federal, for example. The best, of course, is Norma or Lapua. But expensive!

Is this for rifle or pistol. The above is in reference to rifle brass.

[math teacher]

I just received some once fired Federal 338 nickel plated cases from a friend for reloading. They were from factory loads purchased five years ago by his father-in-law from Walmart. A third had cracked necks and all had loose primer pockets. I would have suspected that someone had overloaded them except that I was there when they were purchased. The father-in-law came down with terminal cancer about then and the cartridges sat in his gun cabinet until a couple of months ago when the son-in-law fired them. I have heard of problems with Federal rifle brass before.

[Paul B.]

A few years back, a friend of mine on he Border Patrol gave me 1,100 rounds of once fired Federal Gold Medal Match brass. I loaded a few up and every one of those cases has an almost too loose primer pocket. Years back there was an article by the late Bob Hagel where he had the different brands of brass tested for hardness and federal was the softest, Remington was in the middle and Winchester brass was the hardest. I've alway had a fondness for Winchester brass as I could always get a bit more velocity form them with my top loads. Still, I have one batch of Federal brass in .300 Win. Mag. that has held up very well and is on it's fourth reloading. The Remington brass that I've been using in my 7x57's has also held up quite well.
The only RWS or Lapua brass I have is for my .404 Jeffery and they've worked out well so far. I don't load or shoot that boomer very much due to arthritis in my shoulder.
I keep hearing complaints on the quality of Winchester brass but I have not seen any problems with what I've bought recently, nickel cases for my .280 Rem. to be exact. There wasn't even one dinged up neck.
I'm thinking that over the years, I've probably used more Winchester brass than any other brand. It's never been a problem.
Paul B.

[arizona98tj]

Over the past several years, any new rifle brass purchases have been Winchester in both .223 and .308. I've been totally satisfied with the performance.

[Unclenick]

It's a mixed bag. First, in .308, Federal commercial (not their mil-spec NATO brass with FC headstamp) is softer and the primer pockets do get loose at lower pressure. Second, they are heavier than Winchester, meaning there is less room in them, so the same powder charge you use with Winchester will reach a higher peak pressure in Federal. Not as high as in mil-spec 7.62 NATO brass, but 7.62 brass is not soft.

The softness isn't all bad. The malleability that comes with it means the brass will last through a lot of resizing cycles. You just can't load it as warmly. It has to be for light to moderate loads.

I've seen several complaints about Winchester brass over the last couple of years. It's not consistent, and I speculate it has something to do with their move from Alton, IL to Oxford, MS (announced in 2010 for ammunition). Probably lots of new people learning their jobs.

[Mohave-Tec]

Every now and then I pick up 100 Lapua. Other than that, I pick up and use range brass by the tens of thousands. I have excellent luck with it and I don't have a penny a piece invested. And other than some Lapua from time to time, I have all the brass I will ever shoot.

[TX Hunter]

I have never had to buy brass, I pick it up, save it from factory ammo and have had people that dont reload give me theirs. The hard part is getting Powder, Primers, and Bullets.

[thump_rrr]

Norma and Lapua make the best brass for rifle cartridges. I really can't understand the objection to the cost. They cost about $1 per case and you get 10+ reloads per case most of the time if you know how to handle brass. There's no reason to think it costs more than 7 cents per shot or so. That's cheaper than all but the smallest rifle powder charges with the cheapest powders.

I can understand people not wanting to pay for quality brass.
Some people such as myself pick up once fired brass regardless if they have a firearm in that caliber or not.
If I ever buy a 303 Brit, 270, 30-06, .357, .44, .50AE, or several other calibers I'll be set for life.

The problem is when you are trying to extract every bit of precision out of a firearm pickup brass may not be your friend.

I found this out after spending many hours preparing some range pickup brass.
I trimmed, uniformed, and weight sorted it. I fire formed it, then developed a load for it.
I then purchased a box of Lapua. The minute I opened the box the difference in quality was immediately apparent.

Though it may not be required for minute of deer applications I believe it is a must for precision.

[Unclenick]

It can sure help to have good brass, but as you say, this is for squeezing out precision. Persons not bothering to load in a fashion that minimizes runout and keeps bullet pull consistent and primer seating consistent probably won't notice it, as those other factors will dominate.

[PoiDog]

Lapua brass works for me in several calibers, 6mmBR, 6.5 x 55, and from bolt guns .223 and .308.

Lake City for the AR is hard to beat. Starline for pistols is top notch. Revolvers usually, I hate to lose Starline brass at the range while shooting semiautos.