What are your experiences with Norma vs Hornady brass in the 9.3 x 74? Has anyone noted differences in strength or case life?

I haven't tried any Hornandy 9.3 brass, but i can tell you Norma 9.3x74R brass is no where near as good of brass as RWS 9.3's!

I'm betting Hornandy brass will be better than Norma too.

DM

quote:

Originally posted by DM:
I haven't tried any Hornandy 9.3 brass, but i can tell you Norma 9.3x74R brass is no where near as good of brass as RWS 9.3's!

I'm betting Hornandy brass will be better than Norma too.

DM

It was my assumption that Hornady brass was made by Norma, NO?

That i do not know, but if it is, i hope it's up to some kind of Hornandy standard!

I bought some factory Nosler 9.3 ammo, i was very disapointed to see it come loaded with Norma brass!

I was hopeing someone would make some 9.3 brass, as least of RWS quality!

DM

quote:

Originally posted by DM:
That i do not know, but if it is, i hope it's up to some kind of Hornandy standard!

I bought some factory Nosler 9.3 ammo, i was very disapointed to see it come loaded with Norma brass!

I was hopeing someone would make some 9.3 brass, as least of RWS quality!

DM

Maybe I had the Hornady brass confused with the Nosler ammo in Norma brass!

I have a large supply of once fired Sellier & Bellot 9.3X74R factory ammo brass that I shot but have not reloaded any of it yet to see how it lasts. I have no idea who actually made the S&B brass, and it may have been made by Norma as well.
I will say thet I have a couple hundred pieces of Norma 8X57JR brass that has never given me any trouble at all! some of it has been re-loaded several times without problem. I also used Norma 243 Win brass for very hot handloads in a Mannlicher Shoenauer rifle also without problem. Of course that brass for both chamberings was made back in the late 1960s so may be different from the product of today! I haven't used any of the new Norma brass so I can't tell you personally anything about it's longivity.

quote:

Originally posted by DM:
That i do not know, but if it is, i hope it's up to some kind of Hornandy standard!

I bought some factory Nosler 9.3 ammo, i was very disapointed to see it come loaded with Norma brass!

I was hopeing someone would make some 9.3 brass, as least of RWS quality!

DM

Hi DM,
It seems to me like that you are very dissapointed with Norma brass.

What problems have you had with Norma brass compared to Hornady and RWS?

Cheers

Tried Norma, RWS, and Hornady in my Chapuis.
The only brand that suffered from case head separations was Norma.
RWS seems to be holding up fine after 3-4 reloads.

Only recently picked up some Hornady and so far (1-2 reloads) it seems to be holding up fine.

The Norma case head separations scared me. I now will only hunt with new brass.

Where did you guys find RWS brass?

Gunbrokers

Snowolfe

Are you able to neck resize only or do you have to FLRS each time you reload. ?

How many times had the Norma been reloaded ?

FYI, I know of RWS brass that has been reloaded 9 - 10 times (with neck resizing only).

.

quote:

Originally posted by 500N:
Snowolfe

Are you able to neck resize only or do you have to FLRS each time you reload. ?

How many times had the Norma been reloaded ?

FYI, I know of RWS brass that has been reloaded 9 - 10 times (with neck resizing only).

.

So far I have only had to neck size. I believe the Norma brass was loaded three times. But after seeing three case head seperations I tossed all the Norma brass.

3 times is not good, especially if you are neck resizing.


It might be wroth cutting open a NEW Norma brass case to see
just how thick (or thin) the web is in these cases.

It's really the only way to compare new brass as everyone has
different chambers, some of which cause CHS's.


Years ago when I first got a 9.3, I purchased whatever RWS brass
I could find. By itself it was expensive but when amortized over
the number of reloads, it worked out cheaper than cheaper brass.

.

I use RWS or Hornady. Norma seems prone to separating after a couple of reloads.

Have not used Hornady in 9.3x74r. Used Norma,RWS and Sellier&Belloit. Could not get 2 loadings from Norma. Only head seperation I have EVER had was Norma in my Chapuis. RWS was best but had no real complaints about S&B. I cut some Norma just to check the thickness and it had the thinest web I have ever seen.I loaded and shot a lot of it as it was readily available and reasonably cheap. Just loaded it once and pitched it. This was in 2 Valmets and a Chapuis and a No.1. That is the only caliber I have ever used Norma brass in. I also used it to form 8x60rs for my Geyger double. Equally poor performance so I only used RWS to form them from. Too much work to form trim and ream to just load once.

Norma 9,3x74 cases made prior to 2009 were made on the same machinary as the RWS cases...same production runs, just a change of headstamp. Current Norma and RWS 9,3x74 cases are again from the same production runs.

There was a 2 year period when the cases were made seperately and Norma cases were made to conform to CIP standard- mistake! Norma factory ammo delvered to the USA from this summer onwards is back to Normal (and any difference you can see between it and the RWS brass is in your mind alone)

Please note. The 9,3x74R is one of those 'odd' old european rounds where the chmber specification do not tie up with cartridge specifications. Quite obviously like many of the English rimmed cartridges it was never intended that the cases should be reloaded and the chamber size was made deliberatly much bigger than the case to cope with lower tollerances or ?? at the begining of the last century. Times have changed and the better gun makers chamber their rifles on the tight side of 'minimum chamber' and the ammo makers put an extra thick web on the cases because they know they will be fired in what ammounts to an oversized chamber.

I started my dislike for Norma brass waaay back when i was loading for Weatherby cartridges, the brass was soft and the primer pockets got loose very fast... Is Wby. brass still made by Norma???

When i got ahold of Norma 9.3 brass, seprations also started... So, i just try my best to stay away from Norma brass.

I've got several hundred rounds of RWS brass, and i've yet to have even one separation, or loose primer pocket..... SO, i conclude it's better brass than Norma.

This still does not answer, who makes Hornandy 9.3 brass? Hornandy?

DM

quote:

Originally posted by DM:
I started my dislike for Norma brass waaay back when i was loading for Weatherby cartridges, the brass was soft and the primer pockets got loose very fast... Is Wby. brass still made by Norma???

When i got ahold of Norma 9.3 brass, seprations also started... So, i just try my best to stay away from Norma brass.

I've got several hundred rounds of RWS brass, and i've yet to have even one separation, or loose primer pocket..... SO, i conclude it's better brass than Norma.

This still does not answer, who makes Hornandy 9.3 brass? Hornandy?

DM

After thinking about this some, I think the Hornady brass may be made by Jamison, headstamped for Hornady!

Someone from Hornady should pop in on this thread and give the facts!

...........................

I guess I've been lucky,I started with Norma factory loads and have reloaded them six times so far with no problems.Full length sized each time.

Until recently, my only experience with Norma brass has also been with Weatherby and that experience has been universally good.

8-10 reloads with 257 to 30-378 to 416 and 460 Weatherby. I've not reloaded as much for the .224 to find out how it fares in that caliber.

I've seen only one insipient case head separation and it wasn't a Weatherby or Norma brass. Loose primer pockets are the only signs it is time to toss the brass in those WBY calibers mentioned but I'm satisfied with that many reloads which are always at the upper end of the "warmth" spectrum.

I only FL re-size which works the brass more than neck-sizing and should result in othewise earlier issues.

I just bought 100 pieces of Norma brass in 375FL and will soon see if my good experience with Norma/Weatherby brass continues in non WBY calibers.

I bought a hundred Norma 9.3x74R cases less than two years ago (should have checked the dates last night when I checked to see the number of reloards).

One box has 8 reloads, another 7 reloads. I full length resize, trim before each loading and inspect cases carefully. These show no signs of problems and still group right with my once and twice fired cases. I'll still probably throw them out after 10 reloads in any case.

For what it's worth, I've had a good experience with Norma brass. I use it in small and medium bore calibers - 7mm, 308, 300 Win Mag, 300 WSM and 375H&H.

I neck size for the 7mm and the 300 WSM, but FL the rest. I've never had any separations, loose pockets or any other problems.

BuffNut.. the problem is 9,3x74R cases. As specified by CIP the cartridges are always way undersized for the chamber. Norma typically allows .01mm under max cartridge to be sure that the ammo will fit any chamber- on the 9,3x74 this is (was) unneceassary...there is already .02mm slop between minimum chamber and maximum cartridge.- and most chambers are not 'minimum'..they are somewhat larger. Add that to rather thin case walls and you have insipient case head separation after just a couple of reloads.

This has been corrected. Cases are now made as fat as possible and an extra .5mm of brass added to the case walls going up nearly half the length of the case.

Like many of the old brit doubles rifle rounds- this cartridge and chamber were designed for maximum reliability with factory ammo and it was never intended that anybody should reload the cases.

I have shot mostly Norma out of my Chapuis,no problems at all after several reloadings.