Brass selection
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lancetkenyon
Well-Known Member
Lapua
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Any particular reason? I don't have enough experience with Lapua to make a judgment, but I've had excellent results with ADG. Is this unique to 338LM or just in general?
X3
I tried working with the ADG guys 9 or 10 years back as a cheaper option to .338 LM. They were having none of it. Rotten (and lasting) first impression.
Am sitting on a couple hundred virgin Lapua cases right now. I figure those'll last me 'til my time on Earth is over. If you think of things in those terms (and you deserve the best): Lapua. Don't scrimp.
Invest in an annealer. Learn to anneal on cheap brass. You'll get 10 and 15 firings out of each case.
SSgt G Cody
Well-Known Member
I've reloaded privately and professionally for almost 40 years. For me, that 3% more accurate case dimension is certainly Not worth 3 times the price! The older Win brass was excellent, but the 2010-2020 version, not so much. My best advice is to buy bulk new cases (250, 500, 1000) of one reputable brand; FL size and trim; reload to specs and use first 100 cases for practice, break-in, etc. Then start on the second 100 cases, probably with refined load by now, until they've all been fired. Then proceed to the third 100 cases, etc., ... until you have fired all cases the first firing. THEN Clean, inspect, re-process All cases to your new "refined" specs. By now your load should be very near perfect for your gun.
MagnumManiac
Well-Known Member
For all of my comp rifles, Lapua is preferred, Norma is also used where Lapua don't make brass.
Have never used ADG, tried to order and was shot down in flames.
Cheers.
Have never used ADG, tried to order and was shot down in flames.
Cheers.
Svashtar
Well-Known Member
I'm not the expert most of you guys are, but have had good luck with Lapua and Starline, (not in .338) with Lapua being the most consistent, and small primer pocket Starline being very close to it in quality.
I also tried some Hornady which was good after some work, but it came in a bag which was a negative, and had way more dented and even crushed / nicked case mouths to start because of that, so I just kept it to my Garands in .30-06 and .308. I had 20 or so loads in Peterson brass I traded for which was excellent quality, and at one time I also had a lot of Winchester bought a few years ago when I didn't know any better. It seemed pretty soft, and I dont have much of that left. My next brass buy will probably be more Peterson, as I'm set with Lapua in a couple of calibers and am not yet familiar with ADG.
Agree on the annealing; after doing a lot of research I got an Ugly Annealer last year and it's perfect for annealing lots of 50 or 100 pieces of brass at a time. Very simple, well made and effective, does a better job than most other flame annealers IMO, for just over $300 with a torch head. Let me know if you want any more details on the unit.
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Svashtar
Well-Known Member
Great advice, I wish I had read it 10 years ago! I have a hodgepodge of a few different brass types and haven't processed them as methodically as you outline here, so need to work on that.
of your choices go with Lapua. ADG brass runs are so far apart usually a year or more that if you only buy small amounts at a time because of finances chances are there won't be any in stock anywhere when you need it. the other option is to spend $6-$700 on brass upfront to make sure you have enough to last the life of the barrel.
Another for Lapua
yankee outlaw
Well-Known Member
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- Apr 7, 2017
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- 358
does anyone out there know whear i could find some new lapua brass in 6 mm br ?
Sometimes, you have to scratch the itch and try it for yourself. If you can spare the funds to try, go for it. As you can see, we all have varying preferences and experiences. The price difference between ADG, Peterson, and Norma brass is around $10 +/- $X. Good luck!
