All about the brass

[Full Clip]

Be careful with brass picked up at the range. You will get brass that reloaders left for dead. Meaning they figured it had been shot to the edge of safety.

Too true. I'm guilty of it.
Should at least sweep up and dump.

[longrange1]

QV...nosler is kinda hit and miss...personally ive never had an issue with nosler but i know a few guys that have.

i never finished with the peterson brass i had but it was loaded stupid hot 5-6 times so id say its good strong brass and i wouldnt be afraid to buy it.

the 6mm hornady brass i had was pretty good and held up well.

FYI...the weight of brass can effect loads if the internal capacities vary but the brass would need to be weighed with H2o to know if and how much the brass varied.
i bought 2 boxes(100 pcs)of nosler once with different lot #s i dont remember exact numbers but lot A's dry weight was much more than lot B's but the internal capacities where within .5g or so.

when i had my 300wm i was shooting once fired brass i bought on line...i switched brands and with the same load from brand A to brand B i blew a primer out of round 1 and blew the head off of round 2 so like everyone is saying be careful with mixed brass.

lapua has been the best shooting and most consistent brass ive used and is pretty much all i shoot now.
and your right brass life is all based on how you load but lapua and peterson can take a pretty good beating.

[kcstott]

My personal order for match ammo

Lapua (but will be replacing a lot with Peterson)
Nosler
Norma
---------------
If the above don't make the brass that I need then and only then will I go to the brands below
Hornady
Winchester


Remington

As for range pickup, that nothing but plinking crap, I'd never use it for a match. I'd only load that stuff for rifles that I'm willing to accept poor accuracy from.
I don't shoot hand gun matches so all my pistol brass is range pickup.

[bazineta]

If the brass was reloaded, I take it the primer would pop out much easier?

I noticed that IMI and LC brass needed a bit more force to pop out the primers.

Yes, in the case of NATO brass, the primers must be secured, either by crimping (a die strikes all around the primer, to create a lip) or staking (several stakes strike at a few locations around the primer). This is to keep the primers in place under automatic fire, since a primer blowing out into the action is typically a stoppage, and a stoppage can be the start of a bad day in situations where you need automatic fire.

They push out fairly hard, and you typically can't put a new primer in until you remove the crimp or staking. A Dillon 600 is one common approach, and the one that I use, but there are many tools to remove it.

I do like LC brass; it seems to be durable and cleans up well (my threshold of amusement is just absurdly low; brass prep is something I enjoy). The 7.62 is typically of lesser internal volume than commercial, so you need to consider that when working up loads, but the 5.56 volume is in my experience the same, so you can just use common 223 load data with those.

[divingin]

Not to derail the thread, but have any of you 308 guys tried Starline's 308 brass? I use their pistol brass - seems fine to me - but have no experience with their rifle offerings. Their 308 brass, direct (haven't compared resellers) seems to be about half the price of Lapua, so I'm a little curious about it.

[OpenSightsOnly]

After I've learned to work up handloads in .223 for a few rifles, I'd like to handload for .308 as well. I'm slowly accumulating brass and I got to thinking, should I just buy new/once fired brass with matching headstamps or continue on with my range pick ups from the friendly shooters next to me.

For 223 gas gun, for milspec brass once-fired LC or WCC is good enough for six or seven reloads. For LC brass, it could be MG-fired so its a hit and miss. It is what it is. Just buy a Giraud Trimmer and a Dillon 600 Swager

For commercial brass, I have used Winchester brass and its good for a 223 gas gun. I don't do range pick-ups not worth the hassle.

For a 223 gas gun, it aint about the quality of brass. What matters are the following - match grade bullet, consistent powder charge, and a match grade barrel chambered in either Wylde or CLE.

Go check out a highpower match and ask what chamber and short-line ammo the Service Rifle guys all use. For ammo, I'm sure it's going to be 77 SMK, 24.5 grains of Varget, and CLE chamber.

[divingin]

Stupid question; how would the weight of the brass itself affect the load if the load itself is identical between several pieces of brass IE same powder from the same lot, projectile, COAL, etc.

Several assumptions: Everything else (other than brass) is the same (sized to same exterior dimensions, same primer, same powder, same bullet, loaded to the same depth, etc.): If brass weighs differently, there are only two things that can be happening: brass density is different (i.e. a volume of brass A weighs different than brass B; unlikely in brass from a given lot, and unlikely to measurable in any case), or there's more brass in one than the other (meaning less volume in the heavier instance, meaning higher pressures.)

[J-cat]

"Stupid question; how would the weight of the brass itself affect the load if the load itself is identical between several pieces of brass IE same powder from the same lot, projectile, COAL, etc."


Not stupid, smart.

The weight of the brass is inversely proportionate to volume. The heavier the case the less volume it has. The lesser the volume the higher the pressure per grain of powder. A max load worked up in a light case will be excessive in a heavier case. For example, a 168gr / 46gr. Varget load is fine in 150gr weight range cases, but too hot for 160gr weight range cases, though it fits in them. That load is is xcessive in 170gr weight range cases and impossible to fit into 180gr weight range cases.

[Kwikvette]

Makes sense