What brand do you prefer? Why?
Reloading - Preferred Brass
- Thread starter Frontiersman
- Start date
It can depend on what caliber and use.
I use Lapua for my 6.5 Creedmoor and .308 match rifles.
Military for .223 and non-match .308.
Range pickup for most handgun calibers.
I weight sort brass for match or any serious group shooting, but found I don’t have to bother doing it with Lapua because it’s pretty consistent. While I've used Starline handgun brass for years, I’ve only started trying out Starline in .243 this past year. It has also been pretty consistent.
I use Lapua for my 6.5 Creedmoor and .308 match rifles.
Military for .223 and non-match .308.
Range pickup for most handgun calibers.
I weight sort brass for match or any serious group shooting, but found I don’t have to bother doing it with Lapua because it’s pretty consistent. While I've used Starline handgun brass for years, I’ve only started trying out Starline in .243 this past year. It has also been pretty consistent.
I’ve used a lot of range brass over the years. So about anything. Other than that, it was whatever was available. New brass used to be hard to find in some parts of the country. Some cartridges have very minimal availability. I would start out with a few boxes of factory ammo and go from there.
Since Starline came along, I have gradually migrated to it as they have expanded their offerings, and you can bulk order direct. Not the cheapest, but I have some of their cases with more than 20 firings. It’s good stuff. I have more than one firearm that has never seen factory ammo.
Since Starline came along, I have gradually migrated to it as they have expanded their offerings, and you can bulk order direct. Not the cheapest, but I have some of their cases with more than 20 firings. It’s good stuff. I have more than one firearm that has never seen factory ammo.
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On the topic of brass, I just thought I would add:
Whenever I have a problem of some kind with a case, like I see a small crack after firing, or whatever the problem, I crush the case mouth with pliers.
Odds are this happens at the range, so I throw the failed case in the brass bucket. I don’t want someone to pick it out and load it without seeing the problem. I’m in the habit of doing it as soon as I spot a problem now, which probably keeps me from forgetting when I clean up and dumping it in with the other brass.
Whenever I have a problem of some kind with a case, like I see a small crack after firing, or whatever the problem, I crush the case mouth with pliers.
Odds are this happens at the range, so I throw the failed case in the brass bucket. I don’t want someone to pick it out and load it without seeing the problem. I’m in the habit of doing it as soon as I spot a problem now, which probably keeps me from forgetting when I clean up and dumping it in with the other brass.
4stringdude
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2025
- Messages
- 62
I prefer different brass according to caliber.
I use Starline for my 350 legend. I was able to order 250 pieces bulk, directly from Starline.
For my 30-30 I used any commercial brass; Winchester, Remington or Federal. I also bought some Starline and it works great as well.
For 35 Whelen, I prefer Hornady, but also use Winchester or Remington. I seem to have accuracy issues with other brands. Especially Lake City and HXP. FYI, Most of my 35 Whelen brass is 30-06 brass sized to .358".
For .357 Mag I mostly use Remington nickel plated. I bought about 1000 pieces at an auction, so I have a boatload of it.
I use Starline for my 350 legend. I was able to order 250 pieces bulk, directly from Starline.
For my 30-30 I used any commercial brass; Winchester, Remington or Federal. I also bought some Starline and it works great as well.
For 35 Whelen, I prefer Hornady, but also use Winchester or Remington. I seem to have accuracy issues with other brands. Especially Lake City and HXP. FYI, Most of my 35 Whelen brass is 30-06 brass sized to .358".
For .357 Mag I mostly use Remington nickel plated. I bought about 1000 pieces at an auction, so I have a boatload of it.
