Lapua Brass is the best brass on the market for the money and longevity. You can get good results with Hornady brass, with Annealing after every shot, but the fall back on it is, after 6 or 7 firings the primer starts to back out. By using RL-26 powder you can achieve great accuracy with the Hornady brass in the 6.5 CM "3035fps Sierra 142gn HPBT". The Hornady Brass has more case volume so it can hold more powder but high pressure signs showed at 48.1gn at 3049fps.
This Hornady case was retired after the 5th shot due to the primer backing out.
My Lapua brass has less case volume, with out going into the numbers, I'm just going to say that I am able to achieve
the same Velocities as the Hornady brass and accuracy. I also anneal after every firing and I'm OCD about my case prep. Some of my Lapua cases have over 30 firings on them and and produce great results in the Ammo testing I do for my
6.5CM.
Now for a man that likes to read the forums and keep his mouth shut, I will say this. If you can get Lapua brass, Buy it,,
You want be sorry,, Money save in the future. If that's not an option, The Hornady Brass will cost you a lot more in the future. I use a lot of Lake City Brass in my .223 AR and it works great, but in the 6.5CM it did not produce the results I was trying to achieve. I will end on this note, If my choices were Hornady or Lake City Brass, I would buy the Lake city Brass. With proper ammo testing you could develop a load for that rifle that is acceptable for your needs. I say this because you will be replacing the Hornady Brass after every 5th or 6th shot. The primmer pocket will loosen up and the primer will back out. So, between Hornady and Lake City,, I would go with lake City for longevity and durability.
I must be getting OLD, I just went back and read the original POST. It was about Hornady and STAR LINE BRASS.
MY BIG BAD ERROR.,,,,,
FLIP A QUARTER, their both tit for tat.
Hornady- Better accuracy less longevity
Star Line- Less accuracy,, better longevity.
I'm sorry for my rambling.. My ideas and thoughts are based on my finding as a student of reloading and is based off of the firings out of My 6.5CM. only.
" Be sure to Anneal."