Best Brass

[copterdoc]

Hi guy's. What in your humble opinions is the best reloading brass of the reasonably priced? I did use IMI for years with no issues at all for .308. Still have some left. But cannot get any more here locally. Have new IVI Canadian, and once fired LC.
So now I am looking for .223/5.56. Have been using mostly FC but have had some issues with primer pin hole leaks between the case and the primer. But never noticed any leaks till I saw the damage to my bolt. So I am on a quest for a brand that will hold up to at least 4X firing. Thank you.

[JMP]

IMI is good brass. However, as a general rule across all cases is that if Lapua makes the case, that's what you want to use for the best brass. Norma is second as it is extremely consistent, but not quite as strong.

[highpower790]

L.C. ,I wouldn't waste money on premium brass in a auto loader.

[AeroEngi]

Agreed, LC is pretty good stuff.

[2W2X1]

Range pick ups!

Someone had to say it…

[RR.44]

When I bought "New" brass I bought Winchester or Remington, I've never had a problem with either of them.

[ar15barrels]

What in your humble opinions is the best reloading brass of the reasonably priced?

Your question is an oxymoron.

The best brass is not reasonably priced.

[copterdoc]

What do you use Randall?

[milotrain]

Best brass is Lapua, Norma, Nosler, Sako (I'd speculate that it is in that order)
223 auto loader I'd use LC, WCC

[ar15barrels]

What do you use Randall?

For blasting ammo, I use whatever I pick up off the ground.
For a lost-brass precision rifle, I use winchester.
If I don't have to worry about losing brass, I like Lapua brass.

[Hinnerk]

BTW, Midway has some Norma brass on clearance including 7.65 Argentine, which I use:

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/1311114678/norma-reloading-brass-765mm-argentine-mauser

[Wrangler John]

Don't know much about which is best brass, but I did pick up some bags of this stuff a week ago:

http://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/product/productId/28474

From what I experienced this brass is very consistent, in fact it has the most consistent consistent primer pocket depth of any I have used. Relatively inexpensive too. Another sound brass for general use is this stuff:

http://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/product/productId/12628

I have used it for varmint hunting with great results.

Now, I nearly forgot, two weeks ago I picked up a thousand rounds of brand new sparkling Winchester .223 Remington bulk packaged brass at http://powdervalleyinc.com/ for $230.00. This is my favorite brass bar none, and it has been very scarce recently. I am pretty much set for .223 Remington / 5.56x45 NATO brass until I croak. So lay in a supply while you can before it disappears again.

[JMP]

For blasting ammo, I use whatever I pick up off the ground.
For a lost-brass precision rifle, I use winchester.
If I don't have to worry about losing brass, I like Lapua brass.

This is an accurate summary. A lot depends on what you are shooting. In things like ARs and autoloaders that fling brass everywhere and often damage it, it doesn't make sense to get top quality brass.

The long range bolt action folks will almost universally like Lapua as they recover it and track the number of firings. Lapua ends up being the cheapest in the long run because it lasts so long. In particular, I have become fond of the small primer Lapua brass in short action cases. Now that there is small primer 308 Lapua, this gives users the option to use Lapua brass with a small primer in just about every short action case that is based off of a 308 as it can generally be formed to any of the other cases. The small primer Lapua has a tremendous life because small primer pockets will stay tighter quite a bit longer. It's pretty common to be able to get 20+ firings in a Lapua small primer case.

Cases like FC are actually fairly consistent as that is what is used for FGMM, but it has a very soft alloy and you do not get much life at all.