I had asked the question in another thread about what brass to choose,a couple of people responded about using one of these three. Curious about what the advantages would be, the one guy said there is little case prep. Will these brass last longer? Do you not have to resize? I currently use winchester and remington, wondering if the performance and life span of the Lapua,Norma,and Nossler are worth the extra expense? Thanks!
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Lapua,Norma,Nossler?
- Thread starter furtaker
- Start date
rwilson452
New member
It has been my observation that Lapua brass is more uniform. Brass that is more uniform will result in better accuracy. To get the same uniformity out of Winchester or Remington brass you would need to set aside about half of the brass.
I can't speak to Norma or Nossler.
I can't speak to Norma or Nossler.
Lapua,Norma,Nossler?
I had asked the question in another thread about what brass to choose,a couple of people responded about using one of these three. Curious about what the advantages would be, the one guy said there is little case prep. Will these brass last longer? Do you not have to resize? I currently use winchester and remington, wondering if the performance and life span of the Lapua,Norma,and Nossler are worth the extra expense? Thanks!
Smokey Joe
New member
Hi-quality brass...
Furtaker--The 3 you mention are the "top of the line" in rifle brass. They come all the same length, with the case mouths chamfered in & out, and the flash holes are drilled, not punched, so there is nothing to clean up (punching the flash hole leaves a "chadd" of brass on the inside of the case; some feel that this interferes with the flame of the primer getting to & igniting the powder evenly--OTOH drilling the flash hole leaves just a nice round hole, inside the case and outside.)
The brass is high grade, of uniform hardness, capable of being resized many times before fatigueing--You get the picture. It costs more but it lasts longer, and you don't have to do anything to the cases before loading them. Probably the necks are straighter, too, but have no data on that.
For a "knocking-around" rifle the added cost probably doesn't add any benefit. For a "serious" rifle, starting with high-grade brass is the start to obtaining the best accuracy you can wring out of that rifle.
I use Norma or Lapua in my "target-grade" rifles. (No experience yet with the Nosler brass.) Mostly Winchester or Remington or Federal brass in my less-than-target-grade rifles. Whatever I can get my hands on in my SKS.
Furtaker--The 3 you mention are the "top of the line" in rifle brass. They come all the same length, with the case mouths chamfered in & out, and the flash holes are drilled, not punched, so there is nothing to clean up (punching the flash hole leaves a "chadd" of brass on the inside of the case; some feel that this interferes with the flame of the primer getting to & igniting the powder evenly--OTOH drilling the flash hole leaves just a nice round hole, inside the case and outside.)
The brass is high grade, of uniform hardness, capable of being resized many times before fatigueing--You get the picture. It costs more but it lasts longer, and you don't have to do anything to the cases before loading them. Probably the necks are straighter, too, but have no data on that.
For a "knocking-around" rifle the added cost probably doesn't add any benefit. For a "serious" rifle, starting with high-grade brass is the start to obtaining the best accuracy you can wring out of that rifle.
I use Norma or Lapua in my "target-grade" rifles. (No experience yet with the Nosler brass.) Mostly Winchester or Remington or Federal brass in my less-than-target-grade rifles. Whatever I can get my hands on in my SKS.
I always wondered if the "premium brass" was worth the extra money too.
Then I bought a couple hundred Lapua .223 Remington Match cases for a single-shot T/C Contender Rifle. These Lapua cases were almost identical in weight and case length, the flash hole looked drilled not punched, and the case mouths were deburred and camfered. So no initial case prep at all, resulted in 1/2 inch groups at 100 yards with the first bullet/powder combo I tried (Speer 50gr HP TNT and Ramshot X-Terminator).
Needless to say, I've got a couple hundred more of these cases on order...
As far as case prep after their first firing, I'll remove the primers, clean them in the vibrating tumbler, uniform the primer pockets once with the pockets then being cleaned after every use, neck size them, and check the trim length. Only when they won't chamber anymore will they finally be full-length resized. I expect them to last at least ten shots each, and hopefully more at the "less than fire-breathing" velocities to which I load. There are some advantages to single-shot rifles...
Then I bought a couple hundred Lapua .223 Remington Match cases for a single-shot T/C Contender Rifle. These Lapua cases were almost identical in weight and case length, the flash hole looked drilled not punched, and the case mouths were deburred and camfered. So no initial case prep at all, resulted in 1/2 inch groups at 100 yards with the first bullet/powder combo I tried (Speer 50gr HP TNT and Ramshot X-Terminator).
Needless to say, I've got a couple hundred more of these cases on order...
As far as case prep after their first firing, I'll remove the primers, clean them in the vibrating tumbler, uniform the primer pockets once with the pockets then being cleaned after every use, neck size them, and check the trim length. Only when they won't chamber anymore will they finally be full-length resized. I expect them to last at least ten shots each, and hopefully more at the "less than fire-breathing" velocities to which I load. There are some advantages to single-shot rifles...
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You’re probably not going to notice much difference if any between them in accuracy.
I think brass prep and the way its is treated makes a fair bit of difference, And will shoot just as well as your more expensive brands,
If you’re looking for better accuracy use a neck size-bushing die like Redding comp or s type die, they are excellent.
Bushing dies don’t pull the necks out of alignment like the expander button can do on conventional die’s, making the cartridge neck misaligned to the bore.
Neck sizing will give you better chamber fit intern better chamber to bore alignment,
Along with weighing cases uniforming primer pockets flash holes chamfering case mouths, all of will help accuraccy plus finding the right powder bullet combo.
Your lapua cases are going to be more consistent in the weight area were as Winchester and Remington aren’t,
Iv found that I can go through 100 win /rem cases just to get the 30 i need that weigh within the .1 to .2 grains of each other.
I think brass prep and the way its is treated makes a fair bit of difference, And will shoot just as well as your more expensive brands,
If you’re looking for better accuracy use a neck size-bushing die like Redding comp or s type die, they are excellent.
Bushing dies don’t pull the necks out of alignment like the expander button can do on conventional die’s, making the cartridge neck misaligned to the bore.
Neck sizing will give you better chamber fit intern better chamber to bore alignment,
Along with weighing cases uniforming primer pockets flash holes chamfering case mouths, all of will help accuraccy plus finding the right powder bullet combo.
Your lapua cases are going to be more consistent in the weight area were as Winchester and Remington aren’t,
Iv found that I can go through 100 win /rem cases just to get the 30 i need that weigh within the .1 to .2 grains of each other.
I'm fairly new to reloading so I dont quite understand the difference in the dies your talking about? I have a basic pacific neck sizeing die and bullet seater. With that being said I have had once fired brass fired from the same gun that rechambers extremly tight, even after neck sizing, and triming, any ideas why?
Wildalaska
Moderator
lapua
WildnormaisoktooAlaska TM
WildnormaisoktooAlaska TM
rwilson452
New member
My first guess is your chamber is a bit sloppy and the shoulder is too long. the only way to be sure is to use a full length die and see if they chamber correctly.
I'm fairly new to reloading so I dont quite understand the difference in the dies your talking about? I have a basic pacific neck sizeing die and bullet seater. With that being said I have had once fired brass fired from the same gun that rechambers extremly tight, even after neck sizing, and triming, any ideas why?
I'm fairly new to reloading so I dont quite understand the difference in the dies your talking about? I have a basic pacific neck sizeing die and bullet seater. With that being said I have had once fired brass fired from the same gun that rechambers extremly tight, even after neck sizing, and triming, any ideas why?
James R. Burke
New member
Lapua
ForneyRider
New member
The brass prep on Nosler brass is top notch. The flash holes are deburred, weight-sorted, well packed etc.
Norma stuff has been great, but I typically use Remington/Winchester. Remington may take more prep, but it has been great.
Handloader Journal had article on 308 Winchester. Remington lasted longer that the others.
Norma stuff has been great, but I typically use Remington/Winchester. Remington may take more prep, but it has been great.
Handloader Journal had article on 308 Winchester. Remington lasted longer that the others.