How do you rank the quality of brass that is out there?

Lapua
Nosler
Norma
Hornaday
Remington
Winchester
PPU
others

What do you think is the most consistent and best to work with???

I usually use what ever I can scrounge!

But a word of caution about PPU brass. I recently loaded a few rounds of PPU .30-06 brass with some left over CCI LP Mag. primers and got extremely light hits. Primers were seated too deep. Pulled the rounds apart and re reloaded them with CCI #200 LR primers. sill too deep primers barely hit.

MOS---Keep an eye on PPU brass.

Hip

I've found little practical difference between brands of brass. Some of the more expensive ones come closer to being ready to load, but I always size and chamfer the necks, anyway, so that's not particularly advantageous.

Norma has frequently turned out to be softer than most other brands; as least that was true a few years back as I have been avoiding it (not hard to do) for a long time. I experienced loosened primer pockets with Norma with the same loads that were sustainable with RP or WW brass.

Federal probably has to poorest reputation, but that's only because the Federal brand of ammunition was the "economy" brand for many, many years. The Federal brass is as good as any in my experience.

I like Star Line.

RWS, Lapua, and Peterson are some of the best I’ve used. I hear ADG is very good as well.

Consistency is the most desirable quality.

And Lapua is best at it.

agree.
name on the bottom doesn't matter, it's how consistent the thickness of the case is.

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
Consistency is the most desirable quality.

And Lapua is best at it.

Down under, here among handloaders Lapua probably ranks as the gold standard. But due to cost would be almost wholly used by only the most serious shooters. Norma is a bit cheaper, generally has better avilability, is well regarded and probably more widely used.
Personally I use Norma whenever I can and have also used Remington and Winchester satisfactorily, and would do so again. The only stuff I won't touch if at all possible is Federal and Hornady. It wears out far too quickly.
Nosler is manufactured by Norma so should be good.
A friend of mine in Australia likes the USA made ADG and Peterson brands. His experience gives me faith in what he says.

RWS brass has always been respected for consistency and longevity but often hard to come across, focus seemed to be on supplying the European market.

I think Lapua, Peterson, and RWS might be more consistent than the rest lot to lot and across calibers.

Norma might be next, then the rest are more or less equal:

PPU
Winchester
Remington
Hornady

I like softer, heavier brass like Remington for any sort of reforming.

Alpha is the top tier for the limited offering they make. After that Lapua and RWS. With few exceptions, if those three don’t manufacture it or I can’t form it from their brass I probably won’t shoot it.

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Michalski:
I like Star Line.

I agree. In my experience Lapua and Peterson are as good as it gets. (Never tried RPS). Most of the others are a crap shoot. Star line and Norma are somewhere in between. Milsurp match can be really good too.

I haven't used enough of those brands often enough to engage in the seedings game but will mention a few experiences that make me wonder.

Norma brass seems a little soft, but some say that makes it better for evaluating pressures.

I found RWS primer pockets so tight in 6.5x54 MS that getting Remington primers into them was a challenge.

Some cases in a batch of Winchester .45-70 virgin brass I've got, however, have such loose primer pockets that two Winchester primers dropped out before firing. I'm wondering now if it is safe just to stick the primers in to fire the cartridges.

Hornady .45-70 brass used in their Leverevolution ammo is at least 1mm shorter than standard. This did actually help with crimping Woodleigh 405-grain bullets for use in my 'Winoku's throat, until I had it lengthened.

Starline .45-70 rims seem to only be .065" thick instead of the expected .070". This may be a problem as my Miroku seems to have a slightly short firing pin or something because misfires are not unknown in it. I imagine that thin rims might also lead to headspace problems sooner if the action stretches.

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Michalski:
I like Star Line.

My first choice if it is a chambering they make. Some chamberings, you take what you can find. 35 Remington, 300 H + H and 458 WM currently come to mind.

What?

Nobody likes Bertram!?

I use what I have because there is no brass on the market now for many calibers. So, you use what you got since there is usually no other option. It's easy to rank them but meaningless if you can't get it or don't have it.
Yes I have some Bertram and it's fine.

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
I use what I have because there is no brass on the market now for many calibers. So, you use what you got since there is usually no other option. It's easy to rank them but meaningless if you can't get it or don't have it.
Yes I have some Bertram and it's fine.

And those are the ONLY conditions under which I would ever use Bertram brass, and then only after annealing the necks.

I have seen (and own) factory Kynoch ammo loaded using Bertram brass with split necks running the full length of the neck.

Bullets fall out of the cases right from the box.

I would hope Kynoch have learned their lesson, but I don't know.

As you say, if you can't get it otherwise, you dont have it.

Wide but thin experience with all these. I really like Starline for handgun/sixgun applications. I have used a lot of their .45-70 and .56-50 brass with complete satisfaction, as well as smaller amounts of 6.5 Grendel and .30 WCF. I am just about to put their .30-06 brass to the test.
Lapua has always been great stuff. Running their 7.62X53R through a Finned Mosin Model 39 is just a pleasure.
PPU/Graf's can be the only game in town. I have used it in 8mm Lebel, and .25, .30 and .32 Remington. Worked great.
I have seen complaints about Hornady primer pockets' durability.
Bertram is also one of the "only game in town" sources, especially for the British Victorian numbers, but it has been widely criticized for lack of uniformity by serious shooters of obscure black powder cartridge rifles.

A lot of the PRS guys are raving about the Alpha Munitions OCD Brass. Sounds like they are starting with a really hard cup to draw their brass. Guys are getting over 20 fires without loosing primer pockets. Many are running them way over book as well.

quote:

Originally posted by McKay:
A lot of the PRS guys are raving about the Alpha Munitions OCD Brass. Sounds like they are starting with a really hard cup to draw their brass. Guys are getting over 20 fires without loosing primer pockets. Many are running them way over book as well.

I am getting that from my fire formed Norma 494 brass I form to 375/404.

If you don’t shoot maximum loads your brass will last.

RWS is my favorite followed by WW and Rem. I like PMC and PPU. Norma is soft, Lapua and Starline is good.In fact I have no real gripe with any of it, LC match in 308 is really good. Many brass problems are reloader person related.

Shot nothing but Winchester and Remington for years then with Weatherby rifles started using Norma and Lapua, now Nosler with the new 6.5 stuff. No problems with anything over the years, don't get carried away trying to see how many times I use it. I keep it clean and it takes care of me. Bought a lot cheap and use a lot of blems and have enough my great grandsons will have no worries. Good Shooting.