Thoughts on "premium" brass

[rp-]

I’d steer clear of Nosler brass. It’s not that good, especially for what they charge for it.

I’ve seen Remington brass that was better quality than Nosler.

I prefer Starline for quality & price.


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I had great results with Remington brass in my 7-08 as well.

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[Havok1]

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.

You’re 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.

If you start with lower quality brass, then by the time you identify, and toss all the “outliers” your cost per piece of brass is probably going to be the same as if you just bought better brass to begin with.

 

[MTA]

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.

This is my main concern. I am going to Africa to hunt this spring and there will be alot of shooting at +- 300 yards

 

[candcallen]

This is my main concern. I am going to Africa to hunt this spring and there will be alot of shooting at +- 300 yards

I'm jealous. Africa is a dream I will never see.

Enjoy for me.

 

[msharley]

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? You can locate some Lake City?

Preferably once fired? (will still have Military Crimp in primer pocket)

Trim to .008" short.

Chamfer case mouths.

Uniform primer pockets (whilst removing crimp) & flash holes.

You will be well served.

 

[msharley]

This is my main concern. I am going to Africa to hunt this spring and there will be alot of shooting at +- 300 yards

For that?

I would use CH4D SMALL BASE sizing die with either the CH4D or LEE COLLET CRIMP DIE!

You do not want to stroke the bolt (empty the rifle) and have a bullet stick in the leade....

Fills your action with powder....takes a bit to clean up....

Seating dies ? May haps the CH4D? Redding?

I would prime with the CH4D primer/swager tool...seats the primers to EXACTLY the desired depth...(in uniformed primer pockets)...

You definitely want to full length size....thus bringing the brass back to factory specs....

Hope you do really well!

 

[BigRed]

This is my main concern. I am going to Africa to hunt this spring and there will be alot of shooting at +- 300 yards

300 yards is not a long shot.

Practice your breathing, trigger control, and natural point of aim.

These things will matter a hell of a lot more than brass.

 

[dee]

I use lapua whenever possible for most of my rifle rounds just because it takes less initial prep work. That alone typically makes up for the cost difference to me. It also last much longer than any other brand I’ve used provided you have proper loading techniques. As far as accuracy difference you likely won’t see much difference at 100 in a hunting setup versus generic brass that is well prepped.

 

[leVieux]

My Son Andre is part of the enterprise which recently acquired this outfit in a merger. Son has spent time in the plant in Texas.

According to Andre, this ammo incorporates several other major technical advances, for which extensive patents are already held.

He thinks this will soon replace all brass-case military ammo, and will be used extensively in civilian centerfire ammo, also.

True Velocity's New Polymer-cased Ammunition - Guns and Ammo

The new True Velocity Polymer-cased ammunition is light, accurate, consistent and robust.

www.gunsandammo.com

 

[Txmark]

I started using some Lake City match.308 cases recently. I turned the necks to .1350 and started using a forester bushing die that bumps the shoulder. My groups on two different guns got a little tighter and more consistent. One barrel has a 14 twist and the other is a 10. The 14 does great with 130 grain and the 10 likes the 168’s


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[oldguy]

Some years ago when I was in to benchrest shooting I tried a number of brands of

brass, lapua was excellent however I seen more consistent results with new lake

City brass. Either one would be great for your use.

 

[RankAmateur]

Just thoughts for your consideration. For a point of reference, I compete in mid-range F-Class (500-600 yds) and short range benchrest (100-200 yds). Everything else being the same, just changing brand of brass will NOT markedly improve your precision (consistently hitting the same POI). I have loaded once-fired .308 Win Federal Gold Medal brass to one-hole consistency at 200 yds, but the precision came from optimal charge consistency, seating depth optimization for my particular rifle, and "sameness" in my brass prep. Sameness is the goal for brass (same internal volume and shape, same brass hardness, same neck length/tension). Once I had worked out charge and seating depth for my rifle with a specific bullet, changing from Federal to Peterson brass slightly improved my velocity ES and SD, and slightly shifted my POI, but the group size didn't significantly change at 100 or 200 yds. Conversely, changing the seating depth by 6 thousandths doubled the group size.

I use Lapua or Peterson brass for F-Class as I need to ensure that rounds have no more than 1 inch average vertical POI dispersion at 500 yds in order to be competitive (2.5" X-ring and 5" 10 ring with goal of hitting inside this 60 times in a row). Those brands are very consistent in volume/shape right out of the box, but competitive shooters still sort that new brass to vary no more that 1/2 a grain between cases. They also anneal necks so that the brass hardness/neck tension is the same for each round. We do this to be competitive, but we're nuts!

As others are suggesting, good brass and good brass preparation is important, but as long as the brass you're using is very similar (same brand, same number of firings, same prep), ensuring that your rifle is set up properly, and then optimizing your load (charge consistency, primer choice, bullet choice, seating depth) will likely get you MUCH farther along toward precision than just changing to a "better" brass.

Hope this helps. Good luck, and good hunting on your trip!!

 

[MTA]

Just thoughts for your consideration. For a point of reference, I compete in mid-range F-Class (500-600 yds) and short range benchrest (100-200 yds). Everything else being the same, just changing brand of brass will NOT markedly improve your precision (consistently hitting the same POI). I have loaded once-fired .308 Win Federal Gold Medal brass to one-hole consistency at 200 yds, but the precision came from optimal charge consistency, seating depth optimization for my particular rifle, and "sameness" in my brass prep. Sameness is the goal for brass (same internal volume and shape, same brass hardness, same neck length/tension). Once I had worked out charge and seating depth for my rifle with a specific bullet, changing from Federal to Peterson brass slightly improved my velocity ES and SD, and slightly shifted my POI, but the group size didn't significantly change at 100 or 200 yds. Conversely, changing the seating depth by 6 thousandths doubled the group size.

I use Lapua or Peterson brass for F-Class as I need to ensure that rounds have no more than 1 inch average vertical POI dispersion at 500 yds in order to be competitive (2.5" X-ring and 5" 10 ring with goal of hitting inside this 60 times in a row). Those brands are very consistent in volume/shape right out of the box, but competitive shooters still sort that new brass to vary no more that 1/2 a grain between cases. They also anneal necks so that the brass hardness/neck tension is the same for each round. We do this to be competitive, but we're nuts!

As others are suggesting, good brass and good brass preparation is important, but as long as the brass you're using is very similar (same brand, same number of firings, same prep), ensuring that your rifle is set up properly, and then optimizing your load (charge consistency, primer choice, bullet choice, seating depth) will likely get you MUCH farther along toward precision than just changing to a "better" brass.

Hope this helps. Good luck, and good hunting on your trip!!

This is the post I was after. Thank you!

 

[Dawico]

This is my main concern. I am going to Africa to hunt this spring and there will be alot of shooting at +- 300 yards

You're hunting Africa. Spend some money on brass.

I like Lapua but others are good too.

Most hunting weight rifles aren't going to see much improvement over .5moa but consistency is worth the investment.

 

[MTA]

You're hunting Africa. Spend some money on brass.

I like Lapua but others are good too.

Most hunting weight rifles aren't going to see much improvement over .5moa but consistency is worth the investment.

Yea I am already buying some right now. Ive been watching videos where folks have been shooting 400-500 yards. I just want to make sure all variables are accounted for

My brass prep is pretty uniform, but I admittedly have never bothered to weigh cases. I have some lake city once fired so I am going to try that out. I always just used that for my ar10

 

[hornetguy]

If I was going to do precision paper-punching, I would very likely buy premium stuff.
Other than that, nope.
I like to have a hunting rifle that shoots MOA, but, truthfully, 3 MOA is perfectly adequate for hunting...... unless you're trying to thread a bullet through a 1" opening in the brush to make your kill..... and, in my humble opinion, you should not be doing that in the first place....

 

[MTA]

If I was going to do precision paper-punching, I would very likely buy premium stuff.
Other than that, nope.
I like to have a hunting rifle that shoots MOA, but, truthfully, 3 MOA is perfectly adequate for hunting...... unless you're trying to thread a bullet through a 1" opening in the brush to make your kill..... and, in my humble opinion, you should not be doing that in the first place....

I know its adequate but I wouldnt be an overbearing overachiever if I settled for good enough. Thats the spirit of this entire thread. I know the load I have right now is good enough but if it can be better than I am willing to do it

 

[hornetguy]

I know its adequate but I wouldnt be an overbearing overachiever if I settled for good enough. Thats the spirit of this entire thread. I know the load I have right now is good enough but if it can be better than I am willing to do it

Oh, I agree... to the point of diminishing returns... Like I said, I WANT my hunting rifles to be MOA. I sort of expect them to be....
But, for me, if I'm worried about going from 1" to 3/4" at 100 yds, it's not worth it to me to spend at least double (probably more) for premium brass.
I have no problem with others that want to do that, but those are just my thoughts on the value added in premium brass for my use....

 

[BuzzinSATX]

This is my main concern. I am going to Africa to hunt this spring and there will be alot of shooting at +- 300 yards

MTA, I don’t know you but by all your posts, you seem like a great guy and skilled hunter, so please don’t take this the wrong way….

If I were spending the $$$ to go on an African hunting expedition, I would probably suck it up and buy a bunch of Buffalo Bore ammo. I just trust them that much…they are a company founded by a serious hunter and produce high quality hunting ammo.

It I were gonna not do that and load my own, I’d buy Starline and carefully measure at every step.

Best wishes and stay safe on your trip!

 

[MTA]

MTA, I don’t know you but by all your posts, you seem like a great guy and skilled hunter, so please don’t take this the wrong way….

If I were spending the $$$ to go on an African hunting expedition, I would probably suck it up and buy a bunch of Buffalo Bore ammo. I just trust them that much…they are a company founded by a serious hunter and produce high quality hunting ammo.

It I were gonna not do that and load my own, I’d buy Starline and carefully measure at every step.

Best wishes and stay safe on your trip!

Buzz, I appreciate it. I got 200 pieces of starline brass ordered as of an hour ago. Ill also try out weighing the brass as few others have suggested. I am about to buy some 300wm lapua brass bc I cant really find anything other than that

I do need some buffalo bore 10mm though.