Nosler brass

[timberfaller]

Anyone have experience with Nosler's custom brass?

I've read a bunch of "reviews" on various sites and they don't sound like they are worth the money.

Thanks

[JimmyHoffa]

Unless something changed, I thought their brass was actually made by Norma.  Norma is pretty good stuff, maybe best commercial brass.  I don't know the price you're looking at, but when I was looking around at brass once the Norma was about $10 cheaper than the Nosler (for same cal and number).

[b23]

I've asked the people at Nosler if Norma made their brass and was told their brass is not made by Norma and they wouldn't say who does but I've been told by others Nosler brass is made by Federal.  I don't know that to be 100% just what I've been told.

I don't have a lot of experience with Nosler brass so others will likely know better than me but what I noticed about it was it is pretty consistent from case to case but it's a little on the soft side and primer pockets tend to be the first thing to go and it's rather expensive so I'm not a big fan of their brass.  Nothing compares to Lapua brass for durability and consistency so all my rifles use a parent case based off of something Lapua makes. 

[magnumb]

Nosler very well may be made by Federal, maybe Norma, I don't know for sure.  I'd heard that Winchester made the Nosler brass years ago, so like most things, we likely will not get a definitive answer.  If reviews said that their Nosler brass was soft, from my experience, that certainly wouldn't rule out that Federal made their brass.

Federal 'Gold Match' brass was THE brass to use some 25 years or so ago.  It was annealed perfectly.....not too soft, not too hard and you got more than 2 loads with it.  Then Federal either changed their manufacturing process or just got rid of their quality control folks because Federal brass became THE brass NOT to get.  Then it was a crap shoot......Winchester, Remington or whatever.  If your loads weren't bare minimum velocity loads, getting 2 loads out of the more recent Federal brass was (and perhaps still is) fortunate.  I haven't used Federal brass in decades.

My 'go to' brass is now Norma.  If they make it for what I shoot, I load with it.  I've been hoping for decades now that they'd produce 25-06 brass, but no luck.  I get many reloads with this particular brass and these loads are pretty warm..... .  It is as uniform as you can get in all respects.  It is a pleasure to use......and use and use and use. 

The top 2 (IMHO) brass manufacturers are Norma and Lapua.....bar none.  As to which is better, flip a coin.  What ends up being the deciding factor between purchasing either is always who offers their brass in the cartridge you're loading for (if either do and often neither do).

If neither of these 2 manufacturers offers what I need, I generally default to Winchester brass.

Yep.......Norma and Lapua cost more initially, but when you can get multiple loads and such perfect annealing and F&F, it's a no-brainer.

[Jason]

From what I've read on the internet is that Winchester indeed makes Nosler brass 

[rudysts]

I use Nosler brass for 7 Rem Mag  and I have no complaints with them I push my brass pretty hard and it holds up really good I get about 10 firings out of them I also anneal my brass I just don't like how much it cost. I also tried Nosler 280 rem and noticed some of the primer pockets loosened up at around 5 firings so I ordered some Norma and they held up a lot longer closer to 15 firings on them before I noticed it was starting to get case head separation so I just culled that batch.

[magnumb]

Enlarged primer pockets had always been a sure sign of 'hot loads', at least prior to my most recent (albeit decades ago) and final experiences with loading Federal brass.  It then became apparent that it wasn't the 'hotness' of my loads as much as their annealing process had changed and substantially limited the number of reloads I could get from their cases.

Enlarged primer pockets, flattened primers, case separation (to include the tell tale shiney ring that precedes the actual separation) and the above average lengthening of cases upon firing, are still true indicators of both 'hot loads' and cases that have reached their retirement point.  But having most, if not all of these conditions show up after just 2 loads, was more telling of the quality of the brass rather than the handloading process, especially when this identical load showed none of these effects while using the years older, more vintage Federal brass.  That many savvy handloaders experienced the exact same results was reaffirming, but also very disheartening as we now had to find a new 'go to' manufacturer..... .

It's great to read some of the positive reviews about brass as I haven't needed to buy brass in quite awhile and if and when I do, I will remember these suggestions.  But the really fortunate aspect of now almost exclusively using Norma brass, I get so many reloads now that making such decisions and purchases has become a moot point........ .

Nosler is the one brass of which I have no personal experience, so I very much appreciate the reviews and/or feedback on this product....thanks! 

[rudysts]

I could get more firings on my 7 Rem Mag brass if I buy a Belted Magnum Collet Resizing Die a good friend has one and he swears by them I just keep procrastinating.

Belted Magnum Collet Resizing Die  available from

http://larrywillis.com/