I am going to neck down some 221 fireball brass to .20 cal (20 vartarg)
Which brass would be better for this, Norma, Lapua, or Nosler?

Thanks

Lapua

Lapua is typically the most consistent in dimension and weight that I have found if available.
Doug

I bought a 1000 pieces of Lapua, haven't used it for Vartarg, but it is excellent brass.

Shot my best group of .155 with this brass in a 221 FB sporter with a 22" barrel

the reason I haven't used it for my VT, I would have to neck trim for the tight Cooper chambers

that may be an issue for your chamber as well

good luck and enjoy

whatever you can find - not a fussy round at all

The "premium" brands of brass typically require little preparation before loading, which is their main advantage. Since you're going to have to trim, chamfer, and likely ream or neck turn after sizing down to .204" it makes little sense to spend big bucks on brass which won't save you any work. The much less expensive Remington brass will yield Vartarg cases that work fully as well as the premium brands and cost much less.

thanks Stonecreek

1. Good luck finding Rem brass

2. I you're really a spendthrift, and since you have to go thru all that work anyway, why not just use range pick-up (or virgin) .223 brass?

Four years ago when I first bought a Cooper M 38 new. I also bought 500 each: 17 and 221 Rem's from Midway. Necked them to 20. So far they're both doing real well. never split a neck yet and never a problem with neck size either.

Gale, you must have gotten a tight one or whatever your problem was.

Just my exp.
George

Chamber neck diameters can vary a great deal among Vartargs since it is not a SAAMI spec cartridge (or at least wasn't the last I knew). My Vartarg is apparently rather tight-necked since it won't accept necked-down .221 without reaming or neck turning to reduce the thickness of the neck. Other Vartargs may or may not require neck thinning, but my impression is that the ones which do are more common than the ones that don't.

Using .223 brass is certainly doable, but it will require A LOT more work since the body area will now become the neck/shoulder of the Vartarg. It will almost certainly require annealing plus neck thinning. Unless you just enjoy the challenge, I'd only use .223 brass as a very last resort.

I have a decent supply of 221FB brass made by Rem as well as some already necked to .20. I had two 20 VTs and sold one, big mistake.
Having another made and was looking at options. Basis what you guys have said, believe I'll stick with the Rem 221 brass. I have not needed to neck turn.
Thanks for all the comments