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Thoughts on "premium" brass

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  • MTA

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    Let me start out, I am a hunter, not a long range paper murderer. But I really like my hunting rifles to be close or at half MOA at 100. As most of you know I am heavily invested in .308. I am starting to wonder if I should be spending some money on premium brass? Like Nosler, Lapua, Alpha, maybe Starline (I heard it is really consistent)?

    What I mean by premium is not hornady or whatever I can buy at walmart, shoot and then reload. I have a good amount of hornady, win, fed and rem brass but I have taken a few samples in the past and its definitely not consistent when it comes to weight. I am able to produce sub moa groups but not at the consistency that I desire.

    What do yall think? Is expensive brass a good investment? Thank you in advance
    Military Camp
     

    candcallen

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    Let me start out, I am a hunter, not a long range paper murderer. But I really like my hunting rifles to be close or at half MOA at 100. As most of you know I am heavily invested in .308. I am starting to wonder if I should be spending some money on premium brass? Like Nosler, Lapua, Alpha, maybe Starline (I heard it is really consistent)?

    What I mean by premium is not hornady or whatever I can buy at walmart, shoot and then reload. I have a good amount of hornady, win, fed and rem brass but I have taken a few samples in the past and its definitely not consistent when it comes to weight. I am able to produce sub moa groups but not at the consistency that I desire.

    What do yall think? Is expensive brass a good investment? Thank you in advance
    If it's worth the cost to you then yes.
     

    deemus

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    I have some Alpha brass for my 6.5cm, but have not loaded it yet. I am getting under 1/2" from mixed headstamp brass. But research shows that the more consistent the brass is, the better the accuracy. Not sure what @CodyK is doing in that realm, but he has great groups regularly.

    But I bought the Alpha brass to see if there was a difference in accuracy.

    I also have Starline in several calibers. Its quality brass and holds up well but I don't see any significant increase in accuracy. Hoping the Alpha brass increases my accuracy.
     
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    V-Tach

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    Your brass prep and attention to detail will make a bigger difference than just buying more expensive brass, imho.....

    I do have some Lapua .308 and I haven't noticed a significant decrease in group size over the fired Federal gold medal match brass I normally use....
     

    rp-

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    I've been neck turning some brass converted to 8.6blk. They're 308 and 6.5cm cases trimmed down a bit and resized. I just did a batch of nosler 6.5cm brass and I was surprised how uneven their brass was. Just my experience.

    For my 7-08 I bought some alpha brass. I've only worked up 2 loads so far and they're shooting great for me. It was pricey though.

    Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk
     
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    BigRed

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    For plinking, I use whatever I have in a bucket.

    For hunting loads, I try for more precision. I usually go with Starline. I have found I get a little more consistency in the crimp and accuracy on target.

    Some would say it's not enough to worry about. That may be true for paper on the range, but if I have been going through the time and effort to get on a decent deer I'll take the "bit more".

    Of course, maybe it's just all in my head.... but shooting does have a mental component... so I'll keep going with the Starline for hunting.
     

    Havok1

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    I use lapua brass for .308, and I think it’s worth it. It’s very consistent, and I think people usually get a little more use vs some other types of brass.
     

    Vaquero

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    Peterson makes good brass too.
    Alpha is what I got and it's perfect out of the box.
    But making Hornady or other big name brass consistent costs time.

    Either way, you're invested in it.
     

    Sam7sf

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    Have you measured your groups with cold bore shots and researched your rifle’s preferred action screw torque before deciding on next strategy?
     

    baboon

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    Out here by the lake!
    What did bench rest shooters do before "premium brass"? I seem to remember something about using water to measure volume. Then weight the brass for case weight. Then you need the fancy stuff to check the brass for concentric run out.

    Your still young enough to see, I don't doubt you are invest on quality optics. Just remember as you get old shit happens, our bodies eventually aint up for the task.
     

    MTA

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    What makes it different?
    More expensive thats for sure :laughing:

    I guess more consistent manufacturing so you end up with brass that is way more uniform in its construction. I will say I have seen Hornady factory brass that had primer pockets blown out after 2-3 rounds of firing mild loads.

    For plinking, I use whatever I have in a bucket.

    For hunting loads, I try for more precision. I usually go with Starline. I have found I get a little more consistency in the crimp and accuracy on target.

    Some would say it's not enough to worry about. That may be true for paper on the range, but if I have been going through the time and effort to get on a decent deer I'll take the "bit more".

    Of course, maybe it's just all in my head.... but shooting does have a mental component... so I'll keep going with the Starline for hunting.
    More or less my line of thinking. I am at the point where I am min/maxing but its what I enjoy doing and gives me piece of mind when I am hunting and have to make a longer distance shot
    Have you measured your groups with cold bore shots and researched your rifle’s preferred action screw torque before deciding on next strategy?
    Yes and yes althought I didnt find any info about the torque specs, I tried two or three settings out when I changed optics recently. Thats what got me thinking about brass. Its the only thing in the equation that isnt "premium"

    I know I can shoot well and try to keep everything I am doing consistent so I figured maybe some good brass would help with consistency.
     

    MTA

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    Peterson makes good brass too.
    Alpha is what I got and it's perfect out of the box.
    But making Hornady or other big name brass consistent costs time.

    Either way, you're invested in it.
    That alpha brass has got me looking for a part time job to afford it :laughing:
     

    Vaquero

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    That alpha brass has got me looking for a part time job to afford it :laughing:
    Another "plus" for Alpha.
    They offer small primer pockets on cases that are commonly large primer.
    Other do as well, but Alpha keeps the .080 flash hole on small primer pockets.
    You don't have to fiddle with altering decapping pins on your standard dies.

    Others offer small pockets but also use the small flash hole.

    I chose small pocket for the extra brass strength of the base.
    I agree. A couple of firings and some (Hornady) will spit the primer out of large pocket rounds.
     

    robertc1024

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    I've never shot for groups, or reloaded.
    How can the brass make such a difference?
    Neck tension and case volume make a big difference when you're chasing small standard deviations of bullet speed. At distance, it makes a big difference on consistent shots on target.
     
    Every Day Man
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