I tried some Norma brass in my .338 win mag, and for the first time after reloading over a dozen belted mag cartridges, experienced the bloating above the belt leading to the sizing die to shave material off.

Aside from that, the primer pockets were loose after two firings, so on the third I binned them.

So I'm after some other brass, I don't mind culling but would prefer good quality to begin with.

So who makes the best? Nosler? Hornady? Living in Europe I usually use Lapua, which is great, it doesn't need culling or sorting but they don't make any belter mag cases any more. Consequently I'm a little bit out of touch with the other brands.

I'm probably the odd man out here but I use WW (Winchester) and FC (Federal) brass in my .338 Win Mag.
I'm on 4-5 loadings each with mine and I have no issues.
All my brass after once fired I trimmed it and deburred flasholes.
Works great for me.
Something else may be wrong if you are getting a bulge ahead of the belt...

I use either Winchester or Remington brass myself, Winchester brass is getting very hard to get and Remington is starting to be harder to get here in Oz.
I have tried Federal in the past, it was too soft for reloading.
I think you might have to do what I did, buy the cheapest Remington ammo, shoot it and use the brass, you can do the same with Winchester, but it's generally dearer.
I really have no preference, Remington brass gets many firings if you resize the minimum amount needed. Winchester brass appears harder/thicker in the head, but thinner walled, and Remington has a thinner web and thicker walls.
I have 458 Lott Hornady cases, they appear to be quite good, but have only loaded them twice so far, it's not a cartridge I shoot a lot.

Cheers.

I too prefer Winchester brass in 338. Haven't tried anything else.

Norma continues to produce brass with heads that are softer than the industry norm. Many years ago Norma claimed that this was a "built in" safety factor and that their brass heads would not expand until pressures reached "excessive" levels. That claim is silly since it is the brass which is always the weakest link in the entire pressure vessel, so weaker (softer) brass lowers the level at which pressure becomes excessive. However, Norma makes it fairly easy to avoid using their brass by pricing it much higher (at least in the U.S.) than domestic brands.

I've found both Remington and Winchester brass to be equally dependable in .338. I've never used Federal brass in a .338, but in the calibers I have use it the Federal brass has been just fine. I have never used any Nosler brass (and am not likely to due to the significant price differential), but I've heard no complaints on it.

I used WW brass that I've had for almost 25yrs. Didn't use it all at once as I was out of the shooting business for about 10yrs. Started a couple of months ago as I purchased a Win M70 Alaskan in .338WM. Also has some Win Super X brass. Had a couple of cases split but overall still reloads well.

I also like Winchester brass.

Here's another vote for Winchester but it sounds like that company is throwing us under the bus with availability. They cannot keep up with loaded ammo demands so the reloader will suck hind tit.
Sad to hear that news.
Zeke

W-W for sure then Nosler.

In past years I have primarily used WW brass in my .338s...I also like Remington, Lapua, Federal. I used a good deal of Norma at one time when .338 brass became hard to come by and had no problems with it at the time,and it looks like we may be using more Norma as time goes by with the shortages and attitude or WW and Rem..

A brass that I have become really fond of is PPU and IMI in available calibers. Graff and Sons handle PPU and my IMI was pickup .223 brass at the local Federal firearms range..Its cheap, annealed, and cases last forever. I use the PPU in my 30-06, 7x57,9.3x62. and 300 Win. mag. I use the IMI in .223, .308. and 6x45. I still have a lot or WW, Rem, and Lapua brass in my .338.

I have always found Norma Brass to be excessively soft compared to others..

While on the other hand Winchester seems harder, but that isn't a good thing either because "harder" in this case means "brittle" as-in prone to cracking...

So my preference in brass tends towards Remington or Federal...

The Norma brass I have the most experience with is 6.5x55
and this ALWAYS seems to stretch more when resizing than the others brands...

But when I have a neck split while resizing I don't have to look at the head-stamp to know it is a piece of Winchester brass.

In my 223 varmint gun I've actually come to prefer federal brass..

My preference is definitely for the Winchester. At least in the old-er blue bags with the W-W Super stamp.

But I sold all of mine to Rick.

quote:

Originally posted by Stonecreek:

Many years ago Norma claimed that this was a "built in" safety factor and that their brass heads would not expand
until pressures reached "excessive" levels. That claim is silly since it is the brass which is always the weakest
link in the entire pressure vessel, so weaker (softer) brass lowers the level at which pressure becomes excessive.

Let me tell why i don't find nOrma brass 'softness' so silly.....

When I was young and crazy, I loaded my .300WBY well beyond book max,.. I got lose prime pockets.
I didnt need harder brass than those Norma to stop loose primer pockets happening, I just needed to reduce
my power charge to a sensible book max. level......and IF i didn't get loose primer pockets I likely
would have foolishly continued with such extreme loads.

Some people complain about 9,3x74r Norma being soft,...RWS is definitely harder, tradeoff is RWS offers less case capacity.

Norman brass is plenty strong enough for any sensible modern pressure maximums in reloading.
Harder brass just means Im going to then try pushing the rifle even harder[even higher pressures] till I again reach telltale pressure signs.

Actually I don't run loads that are over pressure, my issue is that after just two firings, this batch of Norma brass shows the same wear as other brands do after ten or more firings in some cases.

NOrma is soft, but it seems to last a long time..

What you describe, if I understand your post, is that you have an oversize chamber in your rifle, all a die does is return a case to specs and if your rifle is showing a bulge which it must be on the fired cases then the die will not remove that in some cases, but even if it does you will be overworking your brass and it won't last long.. You need to get a chamber cast.