Does brass quality matter?

[hoythitman]

I have been loading my own ammo since I was a kid. Luckily I was taught the importance of proper reloading. It has saved me lots of money over the years, also one of my stress outlets. When I've had a crappy day I can go to my man cave and reload some ammo, always does the trick. Taking time, making all brass uniform, equal charge, etc...

I have, in the past always had just one lot of brass for any particular rifle. I'm really just talking about rifle here. However, my new 308 I have some old Winchester bagged reloading brass and 100 rounds of Lapua brass. I was given 100 pieces of cleaned military surplus brass, 2 different stamps. All are loaded with the same primer, same charge, same bullet at the same oal. I did 20 of each. I kept the brass separated by brand and I didn't notice any variation in grouping size. So the last time I loaded a batch I mixed the brass and same thing. With the exception of a few flyers due to me rushing a bad shot, all of the groups were between .459 and .721, which is my normal range with this rifle. So is this normal or do I have a forgiving rifle? I've heard many people harp on uniformity of brass and how big of a difference it makes.

[Team Roper]

Depends on what you are doing. At 100 yds maybe not so much of a difference. At 600 yds or more it will make a lot of difference. Velocity spread will vary greatly which does not show up as much as it does at longer ranges.

[dclifton]

^^^ I agree with above get on out past 100 yds. At 300 and on you will notice a differnce.

Besides lapua, being the best obviously. Ive had very good luck with federal brass being about as consistent as you can get in 308 for average brass. Winchester is also a good brass as well.

now 223 and pistol i just throw it all together.

[dustoffer]

Accuracy is relative. Hunting accuracy? Depends on whether you are hunting a moose or a prairie dog, or something that will eat you.

Your rifle is accurate--more than accurate for a hunting rifle. On the other hand, a benchrest shooter would turn his nose up at your groups because they don't fit a benchrester's definition of accuracy.

But, you asked if mixed lots of brass matter--and IMO it does if you are trying to wring out the last few hundredths of an inch of group size or are shooting at mega-distances.

Arguments for/against the worth of a .441 grouping hunting rifle versus a .500 grouping one all fall into the same category of "I can get 3 fps more out of my bow using brand X fletching"--immaterial.

[Cajun Blake]

I primarily use Lapua brass due to the consistency (weight, primer pocket uniformity, flash holes, neck wall thickness, etc... ) and longevity of brass life

I can push Lapua brass to the extremes and primer pockets are still tight after 35-40 firings

When pushing certain brass to the limits, primer pockets expand rendering the brass useless after 5-8 firings

I'm shooting custom rifles and want the best of everything for optimum precision. If I was shooting a 30-30 for short range deer hunting brass choice would not matter

just my opinion from shooting benchrest and handloading wildcats for 25+ yrs

[hoythitman]

I guess I should have put down the 300 groups. I shot at 200 and 300 with mixed brass. I have a Remington 700 sps tac. 1/10" twist that is cut to 18" re-crowned and re-threaded. Trigger is factory but has been adjusted and breaks crisp. Nikon 4-12 x 40 MOA/MIL scope. I'm not going bench rest accuracy, more of ringing 8" or 10" plates out to 600-800 yards. I've taken this rifle to 600 once and it shoots good for what I want. Best load with 175 gr SMK's was 1.31" @300; 2.63" @ 500; and 2.74" @ 600 so its stays 1/2 moa +-. I have no intentions of dumping a couple of grand in cutting that down to 1/4 MOA. Frankly speaking, I'm just not that good of a shooter. I've handled several 1/4 MOA guns and I still preform at around 1/2 MOA and that's fine for me. I hunt with the rifle, smack yotes at long range and shoot steel with my buddies out to 600-800 ish ranges.

Now the 400-600 groups were all in the Winchester bagged reloading brass, on about the 4th firing. I have not tested the mixed batches at that range yet because I only go out there once a year, or so. I guess that will be the true test. Out to 300 yards I did shoot the mixed batches and they were all roughly the same size. best groups being 1/2 moa and average maybe 5/8 or so. It was a little windy so I had a couple of groups that were stringing but more horizontal than vertical. I need to find a closer place to go longer range at so I can test it out. And shooting long is way fun!

So to be more clear with my question. Maybe questioning the brass isnt what I'm curious about. Can a rifle be more tolerable to variances and take a bullet with an equal powder charge, fired from different brass and shoot it with the same accuracy. I know different case volumes can create different pressure and slight velocity differences but can a rifle through some good or bad quality somehow void those slight variances and make the groupings tighter than another rifle would shoot? I think I know my answer is no but this has me questioning.

[cerralvo78]

Yes it does.......consistency is much better on Lapua brass,

308 brass capacities(h2o)

Lapua once fire 2.005" trim
Lapua 54.45 g of h2o

FC once fire 2.005" trim
Federal 54.9 g of h20

Winchester once fire 2.005 trim
Winchester match 57.0 g of h20

I measure about 10 rounds of each brand....they all did good ....but Lapua did a bit better