Hi Guys,
in this days I'll start to reload my new rifle in cal. 300 Win Mag.
I reload from about 10 years, but I never made some serious tests about brass difference...
How many important is a brass to have an accuracy load????
Is there a big diference from an economic brass (Win or Rem) and hi-price like Lapua or Norma???
Thanks
Faina

First off, what is your intended use for the brass?
If the intended use is for hunting but you want to show out a little bit at the club, I think you can still get by with a domestic brass. You can cull an awful lot of say Remington brass before you come up to the price of some Lapua. Before I do much of anything to my brass, I fire form it to the rifle I'm gonna be firing. Then I uniform it to length, chamfer the mouth and such. I uniform the primer pocket. This may be where you decide to turn necks. If it's a factory rifle, some folks say neck turning doesn't help. I believe it does if for no other reason than a more uniform neck pull. If I were going hunting, I would not turn necks, if I were shooting a factory match, I would.
I don't weigh brass. If you don't know where the cause of the weight variance is, you don't know that it's gonna affect the outcome. I fire cull my brass. And get some needed practice while I'm doing it. This also is a time when you can try tweeking your load. Anytime I get an unexplained flyer, I mark the case. If it falters a second time, it goes in the scrap bucket. I will tighten the demands on the brass as I continue to reload and practice until I have my "match" group of brass.
If I were starting out to shoot matches rather than hunt, I think I'd start with the Lapua but then go thru the same ritual with it as I did with the domestic brass.

Assuming that your .300 Winchester is primarily a hunting rifle, then there is no advantage at all to using anything other than standard American-produced brass.

Sorry, Faina, I guess I kinda misunderstood your question. And I didn't notice you were in Italy.
So I don't know how prices run where you are. I think Lapua is the best of the best. That is to say the most uniform. while other folks swear by it, my experiences with Norma have not been that good.
If say Remington is quite a bit cheaper than Lapua over there, for general shooting, get the Remington. Except for precision shooting, you won't find a lot of difference.

The difference you will see is in brass life. I'm seeing posts stating that Remington brass in the magnum calibers is too soft. Primer pockets are getting loose after less than five reloadings. Winchester used to be prety good metalurgically, but it may be too thin these days: reports of splitting. Norma is too soft. If you want good brass, you're limited to Lapua. Its value is in the anticipated number of reloadings, plus fewer culls.

For belted magnums, you must take particular notice of head spacing. If the belt takes the thrust of firing, you will get head separation. I understand that custom chambers in magnum calibers often have the chamber relieved so that there is clearance to allow tolerance for the belt, permitting spacing on the case neck.

I don't shoot belted magnums, so I can't relate directly to the problem. But if you are unable to protect the brass, its life expectancy will be short. If you are able to successfully headspace on the case neck, Lapua may be the economic choice. I would expect that duty plus VAT will be influences, but Lapua's prices for belted magnum brass is very high.

Yes, in this case I don't need accuracy like a 1000 yards match gun, but also at hunting accuracy is important!!! This give me more confidence with the shot.
I know what to do with a new brass: fireforming, uniform lengh and firehole ecc.
My question is if there is a realy diference from as ex. Lapua to a "normal" Remington or Winchester.
The price diference is high also here in Europe: 1 Lapua = 2.5 Remington !!!!!
Faina

quote:

Originally posted by Faina:
Yes, in this case I don't need accuracy like a 1000 yards match gun, but also at hunting accuracy is important!!! This give me more confidence with the shot.
I know what to do with a new brass: fireforming, uniform lengh and firehole ecc.
My question is if there is a realy diference from as ex. Lapua to a "normal" Remington or Winchester.
The price diference is high also here in Europe: 1 Lapua = 2.5 Remington !!!!!
Faina

You won't gain any noticeable accuracy with more expensive brass! Sounds like you are allready takeing proper care of your less expensive brass.

quote:

Originally posted by Faina:
Hi Guys,
in this days I'll start to reload my new rifle in cal. 300 Win Mag.
I reload from about 10 years, but I never made some serious tests about brass difference...
How many important is a brass to have an accuracy load????
Is there a big diference from an economic brass (Win or Rem) and hi-price like Lapua or Norma???
Thanks
Faina

There is a difference, but it won't be realized with a run-of-the-mill factory rifle, and it can't be capitalized upon without expensive optics.
Having said that, most satisfactory results can be achieved by segregating brass by weight and some simple preparation work. Given equal volume cases, concentric necks, like powder charges and some primer pocket work, ordinary W-W or R-P brass works great if not too soft.

tsturm: the advantage to be a member of a great forum like this is to have many notice that can help to find the best solution in less time and without expend a lot of money.
This can help....
Than I'll reload my 300 with the components that I decide.
Faina

Thanks all for your infos.
Faina

To me it a matter of Work& time. I believe if you properly prep Rem & Win Brass you get as good of a product as any. That takes work & time… If you want high quality brass but can’t put in the work or time then Lapua is about as good is it gets. I enjoy the prep so I would be lost if I got Lapua Brass

The differences are two fold: (1) quality control and (2) the manner in which the case is drawn and the primer hold made. Lapua drills its holes as does Normal, I believe. US domestic makers "punch" a hole in the brass. This results in differences in priming which those seeking max accuracy want to avoid. The brass cases made by Lapua are very uniform in their weight which means they are very uniform in their thickness.

I can uniform the domestic brass, ie, chamfer the priming hole, dress the exterior priming pocket, size, trim and chamfer the cases after fire forming and then sort by weight. This all takes time. What is my time worth?

In the end, you pay about three to four times more for Lapu brass because you've decided that you will use your time to shoot rather than prepare cases. Kudude

quote:

Originally posted by Stonecreek:
Assuming that your .300 Winchester is primarily a hunting rifle, then there is no advantage at all to using anything other than standard American-produced brass.

Reload = fun
I enjoy wenn I need to work more time to prepare my loads... so don't hear my wife!!!
Faina