For those who purchase rifle brass for match loads...

[Jeff H]

Is there a preference in one brand vs. another? Is there any facts to substantiate this preference, or do you just like it better? I'm talking about normal Rem, Win, LC type brass that you would buy at Midway.

I'm thinking of buying a few hundred 223 cases to see if I can get better groups than the once fired LC brass (range pick up)that I am currently using for the 69gr smk.

 

[beatledog7]

Winchester if you're budget conscious. Hornady if you're not very much concerned about your budget. Lapua if price is not an issue. Others may disagree. I don't buy .223 brass anymore as I have plenty for now.

 

[Hangingrock]

Out to 300yds I didn’t see the need to be picky with my cartridge cases. I use to purchase processed military cases from River Valley Ordinance that was roll sized, trimmed to length, and primed. At 500yds and beyond I got a little pickier thus new commercial cases.

 

[Jdillon]

Nosler, Norma and Lapua make very good brass and worth the money if you are really trying to maximize the potential of your rifle. You can get similar results with WW and Remington brass with some work. You will need to sort the cases by weight, run through a body die, trim, chamfer, debur and possibly neck turn. By going through this process you will get uniform cases which is the key to reloading accuracy. The downside will be that you will cull 40% to 50% of the cases which increases the average cost.

The advantage of using first three mentioned above is they are manufactured to closer tolerances requiring less preparation.

 

[USSR]

Lapua is hands down the best brass in the cartridges I have loaded for, although I do not load for the .223.

Don

 

[Walkalong]

As USSR posted, Lapua, hands down. I have not used it in .223 either, but it is widely recognized by target shooters as, in general, the best brass out there.

 

[JDGray]

I was tired of sorting all my .223 brass by weight, and went with Lapua. Glad I did, as my .223 ammo is much more consistant....That or I'm just getting better behind the rifle

 

[Maj Dad]

Lapua is the Gold Standard

In my experience Hornady is on the soft side & you'll get fewer reloads - excellent brass, just not as durable (especially in autoloaders & loose chambers, e.g., Lee-Enfields/Krags). Winchester has worked well for reloads, and military LC from older lots (60's - 90's). I have some new unloaded LC (Federal, I believe) brass that is very consistent but haven't shot it enough to make any observations as to durability. (As an aside, some of the early 70's LC 30-06 sold by the CMP gave me split necks, some on initial firing & some after 1 reload. Annealing would probably fix that)

 

[wingman]

Laupa if your looking for accuracy none better IMO, I catch it on sale at times but still pricey, 223 bolt only. For my AR I use lake city new brass from brassman,brass.com or Natchez both about same price. For me those two brands work and give me best reloads for my guns.

 

[Damon555]

I don't really think that the average shooter will realize much of an accuracy gain by using match grade brass. But hey, if you want to try it go with Lapua, it's the gold standard.

 

[amlevin]

I shoot Lapua brass in my .308 and it performs great. I also get similar performance from Winchester brass that I sort by weight. For that matter Federal and Hornady Match brass does well too.

Only think is that a batch of Lapua brass has greater consistency of weight and volume out of the box and I have to sort the rest to get consistency.

I get a lot more Winchester, Hornady Match, and Federal Gold Medal Match, brass that has been left behind after matches than Lapua so the sorting doesn't really bother me.

Following a Police Group that has been using our Club facilities usually gives me another 100 pieces of either Federal or Hornady Match brass. I'm always volunteering to sweep up for them.

 

[dude_clutch]

If I'm buying new brass it's either Nosler or Lapua.