Brief Introduction, then a question.

[D40acres]

I am a 75 YO semi casual shooter, and will not be here much, as I am not personally a Handloader/Reloader. I do not ever intend to become a Handloader/Reloader, as I do not believe that I am detail oriented enough to safely engage in this activity. A Former "friend" who will not be identified built me a rifle, after I shot one that he had built, and enjoyed it immensely. He also worked up a load that shot very well in my new purchase. Unfortunately, I had to take the gun back to him twice to finish/fix a couple of issues that should have been fixed before handing the gun over to me. Other issues that will not be mentioned ended our "friendship" permanently. Now the question.

The load that he worked up for me , when I did my part, gave me consistently excellent groups. Not bench-rest competition winners, but excellent as far as I was concerned. The Brass that he used was Lapua, and I was able to find 500 new Lapua brass, and all the other components. I found a friend that I trust completely who does his own reloading, and he is loading for me. My question is this: Since Lapua brass in my caliber is currently unavailable anywhere, is there any particular brand of brass that I can trust to be of the same or better quality than Lapua?

[NWPilgrim]

Peterson Brass makes match grade and is very popular for that use. Hornady is good and more widely available. If you search for match grade brass you will also soon find Winchester Match and IMI Match brass. Federal Premium brass is advertised as the same brass used in their Gold Medal Match ammo.

[jetinteriorguy]

Depending on a few variables you should easily get 5 cycles from Lapua brass, and usually more. You’ve stated that you are a semi casual shooter, not sure exactly what that means but I’d guess you shouldn’t have any trouble finding more brass before you’ve shot this rifle 2500 times. If you switch to another brand of brass you should rework the load due to possible differences in internal capacity.

[HiBC]

Lapua brass has the rep of being very durable ( more loads per piece. ) and not requiring much prep work to be match ready.

Any of the name brand brass will work. Winchester,Remington Federal,Hornady,etc.

You will get fewer loadings ,you will have to re-develop your loads when you change anything.( Case ,Powder, bullet,etc)

I don't know your "friend " or what happened, but as a general rule,right now I trust my own loads and my brothers. And I don't load for other people.
I WOULD coach a beginner through the process, but he/she would perform all the operations. And assume self responsibility. Then there is no playing the "Victim card"


You say your lack of attention to detail prevents you from loading your own,yet you "fire" the man who was helping you. And built you a good rifle. HMMM.

I suggest you shoot factory loads.

[GeauxTide]

500 cases x 7 shots per case = 3500 shots is a lot of shooting. I've been loading for more than 50 years and have used all brands of brass, except Lapua because of the price difference. I ditch rifle brass after 5-7 rounds because primer pockets loosen up. My preference is Hornady, Winchester, and Remington in that order.

[Jim Watson]

You haven't said what "your caliber" is.

500 cases x 7 shots per case = 3500 shots

Depending on the caliber, that might be enough to wear out the barrel.
My friend the LR shooter expects only 2500 from an FTR .308. He gets more out of an iron sight OTC rifle.

[D40acres]

I thank all of those who responded. I was not actually looking for brass that would last for multiple cycles, as as I am old enough that I will soon have about 700 rounds of new or once-fired loads, and may not be needing to reload for multiple cycles. I just wanted to make sure that I would be buying what people that do actually reload/handload consider to be premium brass.I PAID the guy to build my rifle, he did not do it for free. If he had not turned out to be such an ungrateful low-life, and using everyone around him, he would probably still be loading for me.

[Mike38]

There are custom ammunition reloading service companies that will load to your specifications, as long as it's within safe specs. I have never used such services as I load my own, and have no idea what they would charge, but would guess it's very high as compared to off the shelf factory ammo.

[D40acres]

Thank you all again for your help. I have a guy that is doing my loading for me, and I just needed to find some more brass, since Lapua is out of stock everywhere. I appreciate the fact that only one of you seemed condescending, That was unnecessary, and if I never hear from that guy again, it will be too soon.

[44 AMP]

Consider having the fellow doing your loading put up some rounds in other brands of brass and then shoot them to compare with what Lapua gives you.

Lapua brass, overall is well regarded for its consistency, (which is the major contributor to accuracy) and its service life. The only detraction usually mentioned is its cost, and availability.

However, this is overall, and not any specific guarantee that a particular lot in a specific caliber will be an exceptional performer.

Before you decide that only Lapua will do, run some tests using other brand brass and find out if Lapua is enough better to be worth it. Might be, might not be, but without some testing in your rifle, you can't know, you can only assume, and guess.

Good Luck!

[Rimfire5]

I have been using Lapua brass for 4 different calibers - .223, 22.-250, 6.5mm CM and .308 - for over 20 years.

As long as I don't push the powder charge up near Pmax, I get 20 to 24 reloads from my brass. High power loads wear out the primer pockets and reduce case life. High power loads also don't improve accuracy so I avoid it.

Lapua is expensive, but I haven't found any other brass that lasts as long.
My calculations tell me that Lapua is actually cheaper in the long run than brass that costs half as much.

If you have 500 new cases, you should be able to get at least 10,000 rounds reloaded before you need to hunt for more Lapua.

[Paul B.]

On more than one occasion I have taken people who were afraid to try reloading their ammo and taught them how easy it is to do,. I'd take them through the steps for several times, then have them do it on their own what I just watched. Today, these people load their own ammo n their own equipment and are happy seeing how well their loads shoot and how well they work n game.

I don't know where the OP lives but if he is anywhere near Tucson AZ, I'd be more than happy to show him how to do it and let him load a few.
Paul B.

[georgehwbush]

D40acres: norma makes good brass too. but like it has been said already; hornady federal winchester .... the list is long really.

[taylorce1]

@D40acres, use websites like ammoseek.com to search for Lapua brass. Unless, your brass is listed in this release.