Hello,

I have 3 options, price is of no concern. Norma, Nosler and Hornady. I'm leaning towards Norma as old timers seem to speak highly of it. Thanks in advance.

I like them all -
i strongly prefer norma for 45/70 and 45/120

Hornady is my default choice for most everything else

norma? they make good brass, i have limited exp with them, expect for 460 weatherby cases

Norma brass is made to close tolerances and is a quality product, but all I have ever used is softer in the head area than American-made brass.

Norma used to advertise this as a "safety" feature. Their theory was that when a handloader started to experience loose primer pockets they would back off and not exceed the pressure capacity of their rifle. This is largely a flawed concept in that it is the brass and not the rifle's action in virtually all circumstances which is the weak link and the brass will fail before the action. Making the brass softer in the head area simply means that it will fail at a lower pressure. So much for "safety".

Having had experience with soft-headed Norma brass I tend to avoid it when other options are available.

For certain calibers I like the Lapua brass, but that is not one of the options.

Thanks for the input. I actually bought the Norma brass. I got a 100 for 115.00 after my military discount at Sportsman's Warehouse. Excited to load these!!!! How many firings can I expect to get using mid load powder? I'll be loading E Tips and Barnes LRX 7mm Remington Magnum. Thanks again.

Hornady is best.

Well, it’s late...

I like the Nosler brass. It’s a bit on the expensive side, but has been very consistent and holds up under multiple firings of high intensity cartridges like the .300 RUM for me.

Norma has also been good, and they make brass for a lot of others (like Federal’s safari ammo, and weatherby)

Hornady is the one I have had issues with- rim thickness, neck thickness variability, etc. however, they are the best priced of the lot, and if you are willing to inspect it, they can be a surprisingly good value at times.

No guessing here

Star-Line

Starline is good brass for sure, but does not make Belted Brass as far as I know. So the OP cannot use it.

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
Hornady is best.

Why do you say this? Curious, as it seems to be at odds with other opinions of HORNADY brass.

I prefer Norma brass, but I am not loading up to the max and beyond.

RWS and IMO is the best brass, starline is great, and I have no problem with WW and mostly I use PPU, its cheap and last forever..Norma and HOrnady are soft and don't last, but you could anneal them after a few firings..

I ran my first batch of Hornady .375 R brass to 16 firings before a couple developed partial separation. Primer pockets remained plenty snug, no neck splits. Lucky thing as they're almost the only .375 R game in town.

Similar results with Hornady .308 Win. Certainly longer life vs LC/Fed or RP.

Starline is great brass but they do not make belted brass so saying it is good is a moot point for the OP.
Nosler is hard to get and expensive. Norma is as well. Those two and Hornady were the only three that the OP gave as options anyway.
So, Hornady works best for me, in several calibers.

Most brass is good enough for me, Norma seems soft but I load max mostly...RWS is by far and away the best brass ever, followed by Lapua, and IMI and PMC is available caliber is great.

But availability being what it is today I go with whats available and PMC seems the best, but WW, Rem, Starline, PPU and Hornady work, Use what you can get might be a better approach.

quote:

Originally posted by crbutler:
Well, it’s late...

I like the Nosler brass. It’s a bit on the expensive side, but has been very consistent and holds up under multiple firings of high intensity cartridges like the .300 RUM for me.

Norma has also been good, and they make brass for a lot of others (like Federal’s safari ammo, and weatherby)

Hornady is the one I have had issues with- rim thickness, neck thickness variability, etc. however, they are the best priced of the lot, and if you are willing to inspect it, they can be a surprisingly good value at times.

Ditto on Nosler; it is the most consistent brand out there. I prefer it even to Lapua.

How about this? Many of the reloading manuals say which brand of case was used in their tests.

After finding even some base loads a bit hot in a couple of my rifles with other components, I'm wondering if I've got to go back and start again with the exact brands mentioned.

All the Norma brass I've used over my lifetime was soft in the head such as dcpd mentioned.

If money is no object I'd go with Lapua.

Some of my friend as well as myself have found some pretty crappy Hornady bras.

posted 28 July 2020 15:11 Hide Post
All the Norma brass I've used over my lifetime was soft in the head such as dcpd mentioned.

I've used Norma brass almost exclusively for more than 30 years, in a variety of calibres and have never had issues with brass softness, in the head or elsewhere. At times other brass I tried developed problems associated with softness I believe. The majority of any brass loss for me is split necks and even fewer loose primer pockets but neither happens often. Norma brass is amongst the most consistent available I have found. And, here in NZ, supplies are generally good. Other brass brands I consider lesser have given me accuracy headaches, I believe related to inconsistency. Lapua brass has a great reputation here but I've never tried it. Have thought to a couple of times but the calibres of interest were unavailable at the critical time and I ended up just sticking with the usual and sound Norma.