Factory Ammo to Reload - Pick One

[MDof2]

If you were planning to buy a case of 6.5CM factory ammo to shoot in a match (PRS/NRL) and then shag brass to reload, what would you pick? (for the brass, all things being equal with the factory ammo quality, accuracy, consistency, etc.)

Norma, Prime, or Hornady?

I've got a fair amount of Hornady American Gunner ammo and brass now that I've been shooting, it works great, very happy with it, etc. No issues with the Hornady, but can get some very good deals on the Prime and or the Norma which I'm a fan of with their 308 brass that I'm on my 4th or 5th firing on.

Do I bring in a new batch of cases to cycle through my reloading / match workflow, or stick with the Honrady and keep headstamp sorting a thing of the past.

 

[Hondo 60]

As long as your not running out of reloaded ammo, I'd stick with the Hornady.

Just my 2¢ worth.
YMMV

 

[MDof2]

Not running out by any means....
I hear on the internet (which, obviously must be true.... ) that the Norma 6.5CM apparently has crimped primers. Need to verify if it is. If in the event it is, I've processed enough crimped brass to know that I'd never willingly pay for the opportunity to do so again.

 

[CMV]

I did some for my buddy's boys. Started with factory ammo to get the rifles sighted in & whatnot & used that brass. Was Federal & Hornady. No issue loading either brass but the Hornady factory ammo was more accurate out of both guns.

Also to note in case you didn't know, like .45ACP you can find 6.5 CM with both large & small primers, so check your factory ammo to make sure you get the primer size you want too.

 

[jmr40]

140 gr Hornady Match since you already have Hornady brass

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1016934715?pid=644515

 

[WestKentucky]

The few matches I have seen don’t really let you shag your own brass. You hang around and help clean up, and are rewarded with brass as payment for your assistance, but there is no real way to know it’s yours short of electro pen marking your case head or something ridiculous. Pick it all up, sort it, and use what works best for your competitions.

But for practice purposes, I typically dislike Hornady because they make their brass to odd dimensions sometimes, especially handgun rounds like leverevolution rounds that are like 1/8” shorter in 44 mag... That silliness puts a question in my mind and diminishes my trust in them. It may not be a warranted slant at them, but I personally would not ever consider Hornady brass as being a premium simply because I don’t trust it. Always seemed like a cheapskate way of skimping on materials.

 

[rskent]

OK, I gotta ask. Why do you want to shoot factory ammo in a match? Is it required or something? If you need brass, why not just buy brass?

 

[Walkalong]

I bought a 6 Creedmoor to shoot PRS, and bought factory ammo to get started. I am now loading 6 Creed and 6 Dasher. I bought new Hornady 6 Creed brass, but have only been using the factory once fired so far.

 

[Walkalong]

And actually, I bought Hornady and Federal factory ammo to start, but the gun preferred the Hornady 108 gr ELD Match.

 

[MDof2]

OK, I gotta ask. Why do you want to shoot factory ammo in a match? Is it required or something? If you need brass, why not just buy brass?

No, not required at all. Shoot what you bring kind of deal.
My plan was to buy match ammo, shoot it, then end up with brass to cycle into my 6.5cm collection.
I could easily buy brass, and start from there, but figured if I can get a deal on the other options I'd explore that.

 

[MDof2]

The few matches I have seen don’t really let you shag your own brass. You hang around and help clean up, and are rewarded with brass as payment for your assistance, but there is no real way to know it’s yours short of electro pen marking your case head or something ridiculous. Pick it all up, sort it, and use what works best for your competitions.

I can't speak for anything other than F-Class and PRS/NRL in which yes, I mark my brass, and bring home everything. Always. It's pretty rare that someone doesn't pick up their brass in either class of shooting.
I mark mine for a couple reasons: 1: Identifies it on the ground as mine and not mixed up with someone else shooting something similar ii) Keeps track of my brass / times fired in my log book versus my son who will shoot with us sometimes. This is more for something like Lapua brass, fire formed to specific rifles, etc. General range stuff I don't mark but do pickup. Always.

 

[Ruger 15151]

This is one of the hottest 6.5 CR bullets right now and Berger loads it in Lapua Brass. By the time you buy Lapua brass, bullets, and powder to form fire the brass, you have spent almost as much as it would cost to buy the Berger Factory loaded ammo.

https://bergerbullets.com/product/6-5-mm-creedmoor-140gr-hybrid-target/

When it comes in stock, it goes quickly... sometimes in hours. However, Bullet central has some in stock right now.

https://www.bulletcentral.com/product/berger-ammunition-6-5-creedmoor-140gr-hybrid-target-qty-20/

 

[Walkalong]

I mark mine for a couple reasons: 1: Identifies it on the ground as mine and not mixed up with someone else shooting something similar ii) Keeps track of my brass / times fired in my log book versus my son who will shoot with us sometimes. This is more for something like Lapua brass, fire formed to specific rifles, etc.

6 Dasher brass formed from Lapua 6 BR brass and shot in a PRS match.

 

[JWF III]

The few matches I have seen don’t really let you shag your own brass. You hang around and help clean up, and are rewarded with brass as payment for your assistance, but there is no real way to know it’s yours short of electro pen marking your case head or something ridiculous. Pick it all up, sort it, and use what works best for your competitions.

But for practice purposes, I typically dislike Hornady because they make their brass to odd dimensions sometimes, especially handgun rounds like leverevolution rounds that are like 1/8” shorter in 44 mag... That silliness puts a question in my mind and diminishes my trust in them. It may not be a warranted slant at them, but I personally would not ever consider Hornady brass as being a premium simply because I don’t trust it. Always seemed like a cheapskate way of skimping on materials.

The odd length Hornady Brass is because of the FTX bullets. The length of those pointy bullets require the cases to be trimmed shorter. If you look in a Hornady manual @ .45-70, it will state that the use of those bullets require a different trim length. (It probably says the same for other cartridges, but that’s the 1 I noticed it on.)

Though I do understand the aggravation in finding this when you’re not expecting it. But that is the reasoning behind it.

Wyman

 

[MDof2]

This is one of the hottest 6.5 CR bullets right now and Berger loads it in Lapua Brass. By the time you buy Lapua brass, bullets, and powder to form fire the brass, you have spent almost as much as it would cost to buy the Berger Factory loaded ammo.

https://bergerbullets.com/product/6-5-mm-creedmoor-140gr-hybrid-target/

When it comes in stock, it goes quickly... sometimes in hours. However, Bullet central has some in stock right now.

https://www.bulletcentral.com/product/berger-ammunition-6-5-creedmoor-140gr-hybrid-target-qty-20/

Yep. I've been on a pretty steady diet of Berger 140's as well the Hornady pills, so very familiar with them.

This was an option I hadn't considered although quite different from my original idea on bringing in new brass.

 

[MDof2]

6 Dasher brass formed from Lapua 6 BR brass and shot in a PRS match.
View attachment 924283

Yep.... Been there done that, got that T-Shirt... Until you come home mistakenly with Brian's brass.....

 

[MDof2]

140 gr Hornady Match since you already have Hornady brass

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1016934715?pid=644515

Yep, the more I went around in my head about this, trying to save a few bucks only to make my workflow more complex with another 65cm headstamp to sort and track didn't make sense. Cry once.
Picked up a couple cases at SGAmmo for 1.30 a round. Thanks all for the input.