Quite a while back I stopped reloading when the manufacturers started offering higher quality loads. I'm now retired and would like to get back into it again. My first two calibers will be 300 WSM and 300 Win Mag. Should I buy Remington or Winchester brass? When I was silhouette shooting we used only Remington brass but that was many moons ago. Who makes the better brass of those two. I would really like to limit my choices to Remington or Winchester. It seems Norma, Lapua, RWS etc while excellent are sometimes tough to find. I appreciate any help!!

I use Winchester and haven't had any problems.

Rem/win are top choices while Nosler now supplies brass I don't know if they supply it for the calibers you mentioned and the stuff can't be cheep.

Winchester would be my choice of the two. I have found the Remington to be very serviceable but considerably softer than the Winchester.

My order of preference is Lapua, then Win, then RP.

Brass can be hard to find right now.
The price of brass has doubled in the last year, and still no .223, 308, or 300 win mag.

Obama is coming.

http://cliffsgunsmithing.com/Catalog_Win_Brass2.htm

http://cliffsgunsmithing.com/Catalog_Win_Brass1.htm

http://cliffsgunsmithing.com/Catalog_Rem_Brass2.htm

http://cliffsgunsmithing.com/Catalog_Rem_Brass1.htm

ahem..

i have always bought what was on sale.. but when its not on sale i buy remington, and have never had any problem with it. i just bought 100 pcs of remington .260 from mid-south.. i dont think you will go wrong with buying any new brass today for hunting loads. just keep all the head stamps the same..

There was a recent article in Handloader magazine in which various brands of 308 Win. brass was resized and shot to failure. Norma brass did the best with Remington brass a close second.

Since both of the calibers you mentioned are primarily bolt action calibers you might want to try Lapua brass. It is more expensive but it is the most consistant brass avaliable to the handloader. The flash holes are drilled, not punched, and the weight and thickness is held to very close tolerances. By going to high quality brass in your handloads you will have the best chance of achieving the best accuracy possible from your rifle. Bill T.

Win if you don't want to spring fro Nosler, my fav. It is available in both cals you list. It is worth the differnce to me, I just run the expander through it if the case is noticably out of round (rare IME with Nosler) and load em and go. Very little brasss prep, and very little weight difference in a box. If those variables don't matter to you, than I far prefer Win to Rem, based on examining quality from box to box for the last several years.

Welcome back to the obsession
er uh, hobby.

Fish:
Nosler was the direction I planned initially but I can't find anyone who has any inventory. Midway, Natchez etc are all "out of stock".

quote:

Originally posted by LJS:
Fish:
Nosler was the direction I planned initially but I can't find anyone who has any inventory. Midway, Natchez etc are all "out of stock".

Cabelas has both .300 WSM and .300 Winchester Magnum in stock. Bill T.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas...=cat20843&hasJS=true

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas...=cat20843&hasJS=true

Lapua then Winchester. Due to cost and availability of cartridges, most of my brass is Win. I due use Rem for .260 Rem (maybe .375 H&H if Win/Olin don't get their heads out of there fourth point of contact).

Between the two brands you mentioned (Win & Rem) most of the books and forums associated with the bench rest crowd indicate that Win is more "consistent" (weight and neck dimension) than Rem. In fact, most agree that Win is very close to Norma & Lapua brass. If you are into bench rest reloading then go that route with Win.

Personally, I prefer Rem. I weight cases and sort them and debur flash holes and standardize primer pockets -- but don't turn necks. I find it gives me all the accuracy I need given the chambers in my rifles. I get good case life from Rem and normally can buy them cheaper in bulk than Win -- which I find the brass to be a little too hard.

Just my 2 cents worth.

Barstooler

Bill T:
I tried Cabelas by phone and no stock on either. I visited Wheeling and nothing. I found some WSM at my local dealer and ordered Remington nickel plated from Midway (only thing they had). Thanks to all for the help.

I purchase NORMA brass for my .300 WSM. My Kimber Montana has laid in some killer groups (literally) out to 400 yards with this brass and 180 grain TSX bullets.

quote:

Should I buy Remington or Winchester brass?

yes!

For my use I don't see a lot difference in the major brands. I tend to buy very large lots of once fired brass cheap. After it is sorted the best cases are set aside in large batches for normal use. The crummy cases are used for working up to max loads, die setting experiments or are sold to someone that wants the left overs.

From dealing with all the once fired brass I have learned that even factory ammo blows a primer sometimes. If it was due to a soft case then the first firing served as a proof test of the brass.

LJS, bought both cal's from Powder Valley a month ago--good folks, give them a look.

Good Luck--Don

For my WSM's. I buy only Norma. RP is good, much better than WW. I just feel good with Norma. I know, twice the price...But, can't escape that Swedish quality.

I prefer Norma and Lapua but most major brands do well. Norma make brass for a lot of other manufacturers, even Nosler I think.