Reloading Brass

[NealS02]

So I am going to start off by saying that I know very little about reloading, but am going to read Lyman or Richard Lee (open to other suggestions) to get me started in reloading and not going to buy supplies until I get through it or at least feel more confident I will be making good equipment purchases. I do want to shoot sooner rather than later and need to pick up some ammo in the near future.

In general, if I buy cheaper target ammo would the brass still be okay if I want to eventually reload with higher end bullets like ELD-X? Also, does the lower grain ammo limit the grains that can be used when reloading a particular round?

For example, I can pick up cheap Hornady ammo at 129 grain for my 6.5 CM and would like to use that brass for higher end cartridge development with potentially 143 grain and ELD-X. This example applies more broadly as I do want to reload multiple different calibers and don’t want to limit the potential of what rounds I can create by going cheap on ammo now. Thanks in advance!

 

[Pickettpuncher]

You can do as you’re wanting, just don’t mix different brands of brass. I’d also stick with some of the better known brands of ammo. Federal, Hornady would be fine. There’s a bough 6.5 brass out there in the world you could probably buy a couple hundred for dirt cheap, and skip the whole loaded ammo if you wanted. You can put whatever bullet you choose in whichever brass you want. Won’t hurt a thing

 

[TaperPin]

I think of brass as being three different levels, el cheapo off name stuff, middle of the road like Hornady, Winchester, Federal, Remington, and premium like Lapua or Peterson.

El cheapo brass is better to stay away from for the best reloads, although for plinking ammo it’s fine. Starting out I’d suggest keeping it all the same brand. All the same lot would be ideal, but most middle of the road and premium brass is pretty close from lot to lot. It’s not a bad practice to simply toss out the brass from any fliers, in case it had anything to do with the flier.

My first good rifle had a Shilen barrel and shot 3/8 to 1/2 MOA with Federal brass of mixed lots. That was plenty good enough for any kind of hunting I’ll ever do. Today money isn’t as tight and I’ll buy some premium brass, but mostly I focus on middle of the road stuff for big game rifles.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

One thing to be aware of if buying ammo and intending to reload the brass is some manufacturers have soft brass and full pressure loads which can at times stretch out the primer pockets too far on the very first firing. Don't know if that is really an issue with 6.5CM stuff but my buddy had a pile of useless 300WSM once fired brass that couldn't hold a primer anymore.

 

[MT-nuffgun]

You can make reloading as simple or as complicated as you like. Your plan with reusing factory hornady brass is fine, but remember not to mix head stamps. You can also change accuracy/consistency in your particular rifle by changing one component in your system (aka brass). You might have a load that shoots horrible in hornady brass, but shoots lights out in Peterson or starline brass ( all other components and charge weights being equal).

 

[swavescatter]

In my experience, Federal, Winchester, Remington, etc are horrible. Flash holes off center, etc. I would avoid those.

Hornady and Norma are mid grade and ok.

Best is buying Berger ammo to reuse the Lapua cases.

 

[FoggyScope]

Yes definitely. As mentioned, using the same brass manufacturer is best for consistency in your load. Ive seen a 30% increase in group size on a 20 shot group going from 1 brand to mixed cases. As long as your staying away from mil surplus in my experience buying cheap or expensive brass wont make a difference in accuracy that other factors outweigh. When you get to the final 10% maybe it can. But brass life can be a noticable difference. Hornady cases seem to loosen primer pockets quickly and last 4 or 5 firings in my 6.5cm but the lapuas i have are still going strong at twice that.

And the bullets that came in it have nothing to do with what you want to put in it. Once fired the brass is just brass and you can do anything you want. Even weird non saami approved things. Thats the fun of reloading.

 

[Pharmseller]

All of my brass for .223, 7mm-08, .30-06, and 7mm Rem Mag has the same headstamp, Remington. Bought it years ago because it was plentiful. Works for us. We don’t shoot past 600 yards, though.

6.5 PRC is Nosler, because that’s what my brother gave me.

I’m not picky about brass as all.

One piece of advice, research Lee collet neck sizing dies. I very rarely full length resize and reloading is much more enjoyable as a result.




P

 

[Coueskiller43]

If you are just starting out, saving factory loaded descent brass and reloading it is fine. Once you have your system down and are producing good ammo, do yourself a favor and buy some premium brass. (Lapua or Alpha) you will see a difference with this brass.

 

[Mike D Texas]

You can certainly do that but Hornady brass isn’t they good and you are putting extra wear on your rifle with very little benefit since those won’t be the rounds you will sight in, develop loads and get proficient with.

My suggestion would be to start off with quality brass with the bullets you intend to use and do actual load development with them.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[NealS02]

Thanks so much to everyone for the input. It has been tremendously helpful and I am very excited to get started in the next few months!