Brass quality how important is it?

[Mtaylor]

Hey guys just getting ready to convert my 7Rem mag into a 6.5 PRC. I am going to be shooting 147 gr ELD-M’s. On shoot to hunt podcast they talk about how important brass is. Obviously softer Hornaday brass will show pressure signs sooner, than harder brass. I’m an average shooter probably going to try and shoot out to 700 yards but hunting I will be sub 500. So here’s the question. How important is the brass? Is Hornaday good enough or should I go all into the ADG or Lapua brass? As an average shooter am I going to see the inconsistencies of the cheaper brass?

 

[SippyCup]

You’ll get better SDs and more consistent neck tension with higher quality brass. Not to mention better brass life. With a 6.5 prc I’d pick up 200 pieces off good brass and they’ll last the life of your barrel.
If you’re gonna go cheap on brass I’d grab starline over Hornady.

 

[MacJenkins]

I generally won’t even get into a rifle if Excellent brass is not available. Alpha, ADG, Lapua etc.

 

[mtnbound]

Hey guys just getting ready to convert my 7Rem mag into a 6.5 PRC. I am going to be shooting 147 gr ELD-M’s. On shoot to hunt podcast they talk about how important brass is. Obviously softer Hornaday brass will show pressure signs sooner, than harder brass. I’m an average shooter probably going to try and shoot out to 700 yards but hunting I will be sub 500. So here’s the question. How important is the brass? Is Hornaday good enough or should I go all into the ADG or Lapua brass? As an average shooter am I going to see the inconsistencies of the cheaper brass?

In my experience, you will not see a big difference between using Honady and ADG brass. I mostly use Hornady and Starline and get 6-8 reloads easily out of my cheap 223 brass, and a little less with my 22CM and 6CM, which I think is good. Yes, there is better brass, and maybe if I used it, I would see a few more reloads, but is that 1 more or 3 more reloads? Is that worth the extra cost? Not for me, and I am more than happy with my load's accuracy.

 

[Blurry1]

I really doubt you will see a significant difference between any brass and accuracy especially if your a newer reloader. There are so many factors to reloading. Shooting through 100 pieces of Hornady, Remington or whatever you find is low on the list for me. Once you figure out your rifle if you want fancy brass it’s a small tweak really.

 

[Q_Sertorius]

Nearly all my brass is from once-fired factory ammo. That nearly always means it’s cheap. I’ve never observed a significant difference between the rifles for which I purchased “good” new brass and the once-fired reloaded stuff.

With that said, if I do purchase new brass, I try to get 200 of the best I can for the money. But that’s because I am purchasing for hard-to-find cartridges and I want it to last.

 

[1000yards]

As a new reloader it's not a bad idea to start out with some cheap brass because you're probably going to screw up alot and ruin some brass. Starline is great but it requires preparation (a good exercise if you're new). Lapua is normally good to load right out of the box. I'm accepting of anything that isn't hornady.

 

[Lawnboi]

It’s not hard to make a good load in any brass.

Keeping it that way through the life of the brass/barrel is a little more difficult.

 

[Blake C]

You’ll get better SDs and more consistent neck tension with higher quality brass. Not to mention better brass life. With a 6.5 prc I’d pick up 200 pieces off good brass and they’ll last the life of your barrel.
If you’re gonna go cheap on brass I’d grab starline over Hornady.

I agree with this due to my own experiences.
I'd also like to add something.
How important is accuracy to you? Are you chasing sub .5 moa or happy with moa? As well as speed. Almost all factory ammo I've tried has been very slow. But if your happy with 1moa and speeds in the 2700-2800s then I highly recommend factory ammo. Loading won't be worth the time or money invested. And 500yd and in you'll be good