Opinions on best brass for general shooting and long range hunting

[BillLarson]

I'm just an average Joe. I don't do any of the long range stuff and follow these forums mainly for the reloading as these guys know what they are talking about.
That said I use R-P, WW, FC and Hornaday. Mostly R-P I would say and I also don't mix headstamps within each load.

So am I...... but this better brass lasts 3-10 times longer..... my buddy got
33+ reloads outa lapua 30-06 in a garand.....

 

[Elkmann]

So am I...... but this better brass lasts 3-10 times longer..... my buddy got
33+ reloads outa lapua 30-06 in a garand.....

That truly is impressive, but I doubt I will live long enough to load the same brass anymore than maybe 3-4 times. I normally do load development and then load up about 50 rounds and that pretty much covers it. Obviously I don't shoot as much as you guys. Maybe when I retire.

 

[Turpentine21]

I have had good luck with Winchester in my 308s. I prefer to weight sort it and inspect it though. The AR 10 likes RP, Winchester, and LC long range match. Particularly LC 67, 81, and 85 match. Each brand requires that I adjust charge weight to get back on the accuracy node. For example, with AR comp which is very accurate in my gun, I have to drop .4 grains for RP, and 1.4 grains in LC match to get the exact same velocity and get back on the accuracy node. Case capacity varies substantially between these three brands. A load that is fine in Winchester, which has the most capacity, can be dangerous in LC or other mil brass. The LC match requires the most prep of the three but is extremely durable. I do like to turn the necks on them but just enough to true them up without removing a lot of material. I also anneal them. The good thing about LC Match is the primers are not crimped liked standard LC brass and generally the Match version has not been fired in a machine gun. With LC brass. I sort by standard vs match, production year, and weight. You can see that I like to tinker and I took this on as sort of an educational project.

I am sorting through a large pile of 30-06 and 270 brass right now for use in my 6.5-06 And 30-06 03-a3 plus I do some reduced recoil 30/06 loads for a couple of my friends children. I use RP brass for those. I'm planning to use the 270 brass for the 6.5 because it's less of a step down for resizing. Though you do have to trim more initially. The brass pile contains Winchester, Hornady, Federal, Remington, and a few military cases. All this brass has been collected over the past 30 years. Some of it is over 50 years old. The difference in case weight in the same caliber and headstamp can be an eye opener. The Hornady cases in 30/06 have been all over the map weight wise. 270 hornady cases have been somewhat the same as far as variance. This isn't a knock on Hornady as their brass from the same lots is pretty consistent. The variance is probably due to different year production. It also emphasizes the need to initially weigh cases. I decided to use the 30/06 brass other than RP mentioned above for the Springfield 03-a3.
In 270, Winchester has been fairly consistent at around 186 grains. But I have seen a few heavier and lighter. The Federal in 270 seems to fall into 2 different groups. Many more recent cases at 200 grains, and some apparently older cases at 180 grains. Probably due to a change over the years. I plan to use the Winchester 270 as first choice, the Federal 270 at 200 grains as second choice in the 6.5 And hold off for now on hornady and Remington. The gun seems to like the same load for both though the velocities differ slightly. Accuracy is identical. ES and SD identical. But experience tells me the federal primer pockets loosen up pretty quick and Winchester pockets hold up pretty well.
As you can see, all of this can get very involved and confusing. I'm just trying to make good use of the brass I have on hand. Plus, as I said before I like to tinker and experiment.
If that were not the case, I would pick one head stamp and if the gun liked my choice I would stick with it. In the more affordable category, Winchester would be first choice. If price wasn't a concern I would buy Lapua. Plus I understand Lapua is very durable and consistent. If it holds up anything like my LC match brass, the number of firings and reduced prep would make it a bargain in the long run.

 

[Varmint Hunter]

Long before I started using premium brass, I took ordinary brass and just did the usual uniforming, ie: flash holes, pockets, oal length. Occasionally, I'd weight sort the cases too. If there were obvious issues with a few pieces they would be sorted out. Most of the time I was able to produce .5moa ammo when fired in custom barrels. Factory brass is better (IMO) than many handloaders would suggest. But ... if you're paying attention to every small detail in an effort to make the best ammo possible, just buy premium brass and cry once; it should last a long time with standard pressure loads.

 

[Turpentine21]

Long before I started using premium brass, I took ordinary brass and just did the usual uniforming, ie: flash holes, pockets, oal length. Occasionally, I'd weight sort the cases too. If there were obvious issues with a few pieces they would be sorted out. Most of the time I was able to produce .5moa ammo when fired in custom barrels. Factory brass is better (IMO) than many handloaders would suggest. But ... if you're paying attention to every small detail in an effort to make the best ammo possible, just buy premium brass and cry once; it should last a long time with standard pressure loads.

Agreed, I do think if using range fired brass or some factory brass, weighing will help identify any glaring inconsistencies and outliers. I have been able to produce some outstandingly accurate, consistent loads with with range brass. For me there are 3 big questions. How accurate do I want to be? My answer is always very accurate even if I don't necessarily need it. What are my specific uses for the particular ammo? Will some of those uses result in a high loss rate of brass? My uses, particularly for my ARs, result in the loss of quite a bit of brass. I can't see me paying premium prices in that circumstance. I don't even use my LC Match when doing depredation work. Those cases are my babies. More for sentimental reasons than price. I'm weird that way. Perhaps I'm a "Brass Whore". Ive never seen a piece I didn't like. But I want the accuracy and often need it. If I donate a Federal or Winchester case to the environment, I don't feel a great sense of loss. Leave a few pieces of the good stuff and I may come back with the metal detector. That's where the cheaper brass shines. I enjoy the prep part of it and get a great deal of satisfaction from it. If a person doesn't lose a lot of brass, puts a price on his time, and would rather just spend more time shooting than doing brass prep, he would likely find lthat premium brass is a bargain.

 

[comfisherman]

It's 2022, I use what can be found.

Yeah I love adg and lapua most, but I'd shoot winchester or even fc over nothing. Sadly nothing seems to be the biggest trend as of late.

Premium brass just means all that work lasts longer.

 

[terry 338rum]

most custom gun maker spend a lot of time on brass prep because they consider brass to be the key part of a good load. i use only atlas, lapua, peterson, and alpha because if you want the best you use the best.

 

[Turpentine21]

I'm with you brother, my 6.5 Grendel brass is getting long in the tooth and I paid way to much for the last of it I bought.. I recently bought some privy Grendel ammo, basically for the brass.
Funny thing about Federal brass in 270. I don't find it bad in the accuracy department but you won't get many firings before primer pockets are done.
A buddy of mine went into the Marines (did 4-5 deployments attached to a sniper team) used to come shoot clays with me at a sporting clays course I ran and taught at. I could handle him with a shotgun but he would absolutely wear my behind out with his Larue in 7.62. He always wanted every single Federal 308 case I could scrounge. Which I gladly saved and gave to him.

 

[Mike D Texas]

I personally have narrowed my brass choices down to the following and in the order shown:

1. ADG
2. Peterson
3. Alpha
4. Lapua

I personally won't even entertain brass outside of those because all of the above have proven to be the most consistent and toughest.

My last resort choices are as follows:

1. Norma
2. Starline
3. Hornady
4. Nosler
5. Everybody else.

 

[lancetkenyon]

I never mix headstamps. Ever. Not even in my AR15 .223 Wylde.

If the cartridge of choice comes in these, here is My choice of brass in order as follows:
1. Lapua
2. Alpha
3. ADG
4. Peterson
5. Rem R-P
Lake City for my AR is my go-to brass.