SmallCaliberCentral

For the last 8months all I could get for my 204 was Hornady brass so that's what Im using.I see not to many people like it. My question is,would Rem. or Win. brass give me better accuracy and tighter groups or is it just that it will last longer reloading? Also does anyone have a idea when Rem or Win. start another run of brass and get some on the market? Thanks for any info you could give.

One of the problems with Hornaday brass is the lack of consistency. One of the requirements for achieving accuracy is consistency..........in each component, including brass. If it is all you can get your hands on, put it through a full prep. Anneal it, uniform flash holes & primer pockets, trim to length and chamfer necks inside and out. Lastly, weigh each case and pitch any that are way out of line. It won't magically turn it in to Norma brass but, it will make it as good as it can be.

Most of us are in the same boat Alp, stuck with Hornady. My biggest problem with it is that Hornady brass seems to work harden much faster than Rem or Win. Before I started annealing my brass I got a lot of split Hornady necks after only 3 reloads, now it seems I have solved that problem.
Ramos is right about consistency. Hornandy is poor in that department. I just ordered 100 Nosler cases. I hope they are worth the sky high price.

Thanks for the replies guys.Norma and Nosler is a little to pricey for me.I need at least 500 cases for a dog shoot in May and almost a buck a piece for norma or nosler is just too much.I hope Rem or Win has a run soon.

I got my Nosler cases in last night. They look great and all the measurements are very consistent but are all on the small side. Case lengths were all around 1.831, well short of the 1.84 trim length and the primer pockets were about .002" shallower than Hornadys. I sure hope they shoot well.

anybody have a pro or con about nosler brass? might have to break down and buy some.Is it worth the price?

Generally accepted as "Superb", Alp! With proper care, the Nosler brass should last for many, many firings. Just keep in mind that the load you have been using with the Hornaday brass may not be what you end up using in the Nosler brass. Be safe and, work it up slowly.

I just broke down and bough some Norma brass.I hope its worth the price .Do I still need to prep it before loading or is it consistant enough to just load? I just got done weighing the Hornady brass I have and its not very uniform as far as weight goes. My goal is to get more accuracy,not to extend brass life.I hope the Norma brass tightings up my groups.

As they say, buy once/cry once. Truly believe you will be very happy with your' new brass. PM sent.

ALP wrote:I just broke down and bough some Norma brass.I hope its worth the price .Do I still need to prep it before loading or is it consistant enough to just load? I just got done weighing the Hornady brass I have and its not very uniform as far as weight goes. My goal is to get more accuracy,not to extend brass life.I hope the Norma brass tightings up my groups.

Norma brass is top of the line stuff. It needs to be prepped.
Nosler brass is made by Norma and is usually cheaper in price. It comes fully prepped for first firing. After that you can fine tune the prep or just run it as is, dependent on your personal requirements.

Why Nosler can sell prepped Norma brass cheaper than Norma can sell un prepped brass I'll never know.

To those who have found Hornady brass significantly inconsistent:
Are you referring to brass you've saved from factory ammo, or the boxed component brass?

I ask mainly because I have found that, in the 6.5 Creedmoor, the two seem to me to not be the same. So, basically, I'm curious as to whether that difference holds here as well, or not.

I have worked with Hornaday brass purchased as loaded ammo for a couple different cartridges. Never liked it enough to gamble on component brass since I had (at that time) other options. It may be different but, I can't answer to that.

Tokimini wrote: My biggest problem with it is that Hornady brass seems to work harden much faster than Rem or Win. Before I started annealing my brass I got a lot of split Hornady necks after only 3 reloads

Tokimini, That is fast. How are you resizing?

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Trpshtr wrote:

Tokimini wrote: My biggest problem with it is that Hornady brass seems to work harden much faster than Rem or Win. Before I started annealing my brass I got a lot of split Hornady necks after only 3 reloads

Tokimini, That is fast. How are you resizing?

e

I used to mostly neck size but since getting a new barrel last February I have had to go back to full length resizing. I've had a lot of trouble getting neck sized cases to chamber properly in the new barrel and since I've started annealing I'm not worried about overworking the brass, so full length sizing every time is not a big deal.

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I used to mostly neck size but since getting a new barrel last February I have had to go back to full length resizing. I've had a lot of trouble getting neck sized cases to chamber properly in the new barrel and since I've started annealing I'm not worried about overworking the brass, so full length sizing every time is not a big deal.[/quote]

Got it. I FL size for my semi-auto, but with a bushing die (Redding Type S). Doesn't "squeeze" the neck nearly as much as my Forster Fl die. I can pick a bushing that takes the neck down only enough to get the tension I want. New to FL sizing in the .204, tho, and using Hornady right now, and was alittle surprised at your original post. As for mine, well, we'll see. I'm just loading the first batch now. Stay tuned, but it's gonna be awhile 'til i get to the third.