Best Brass 6.5 Grendel

[vaguru]

What is the best brass for reloading. I have found Starline, Hornady, Lapua, Nosler and will soon have a couple hundred PPU once fired. If one was to buy new brass, what is the best? How many loading per case/brand with loads not pushing to the max?

Thanks

 

[bobke]

Most will say Lapua, and I’d tend to agree, but new Lapua has a short shoulder and you really need to fireform before arriving at brass suitable for load development. It can also develop a ‘belt’ of sorts in higher pressure loads in oversized chambers that becomes apparent when full length resizing.
In that case, Hornady-for me, does not generally suffer the belt, as it seems to be a bit stronger in that part of the case web. With correct annealing and sensible loads that don’t push the primer pocket too hard, not difficult to get 8-10 loads from a piece of brass. One thing I’ll definitely give to Lapua, is consistent neck thickness and case weight, seldom more than 2 grains variance. If you’re shooting multiple factory loads to accumulate brass, they likely come from different brass lots and case weights can vary. Best bet is to try to buy a couple hundred pieces of same lot and work with just that over life of cases. All said, I’m GTG with either Hornady or Lapua provided you work with their idiosyncrasies.
One more thing when you start loading, record your load, case data and results. You’ll be glad you did.

 

[Shiftyk5]

Or just buy some Starline brass, I’ve had really good experience with it so far in 6.5 Grendel, 6.5 Creedmoor, and 5.56 brass. It’s not Lapua or Alpha brass but it’s pretty damn good

 

[diggler1833]

I am a fan of the Starline stuff for general use. No, it Isn't Lapua...but it is pretty damn consistent.

I tested 10 Starline Grendel cases a while ago (H2O capacity, primer pocket depth, weight etc...). I don't have my computer in front of me, but I do remember that the H20 capacity had an extreme spread of .3gr, and that was it.

I'd avoid PPU like the plague if you're trying to get consistent velocities.

 

[FuhQ]

Lapua is best, obviously, but I use cheap Hornady brass from factory ammo I shot back when it was cheap ($16-20 a box). Works just fine for me. My custom built 20” 6.5G is putting down sub-1/2 MOA groups at 100, so I’m not complaining.

 

[Modoc]

I was not impressed with the 100 once fired PPU cases that I was given. I had about 5 not hold primers on the second loading.

Until I can get my timing right for a Starline order, I’m using the Hornady once fired brass from the ammunition that I bought.

 

[vaguru]

Thanks guys, exactly what I was looking for.

 

[Yondering]

Lapua is NOT the best for Grendel-based cases. It may (or may not be) the most consistent, but it has a very short web and will bulge at relatively low pressure compared to some other brass. If you shoot an AR that has a generous feed ramp cut into the barrel, then Lapua is probably not for you in anything Grendel based.

I also have had to anneal some of my brand new Lapua in 6.5 Grendel (not even necking it up or down) after 6 or 7 of the first 40 rounds had split necks. And all of the Grendel Lapua I've bought had shoulders pushed back .010-.012" compared to the minimum spec chamber in one of my rifles.

Starline, in comparison, is on par for consistency but stronger, and based on the Grendel Lapua cases I've bought in the last 4 years, has better quality control too. I haven't needed to anneal it right off the bat, and shoulders are where they should be. And it's better quality than Hornady, or PPU by far.

 

[CaptNemo]

Hornady has been what I've used on three Grendel Barrels.

 

[Cr1775]

Lapua is NOT the best for Grendel-based cases. It may (or may not be) the most consistent, but it has a very short web and will bulge at relatively low pressure compared to some other brass. If you shoot an AR that has a generous feed ramp cut into the barrel, then Lapua is probably not for you in anything Grendel based.

I also have had to anneal some of my brand new Lapua in 6.5 Grendel (not even necking it up or down) after 6 or 7 of the first 40 rounds had split necks. And all of the Grendel Lapua I've bought had shoulders pushed back .010-.012" compared to the minimum spec chamber in one of my rifles.

Starline, in comparison, is on par for consistency but stronger, and based on the Grendel Lapua cases I've bought in the last 4 years, has better quality control too. I haven't needed to anneal it right off the bat, and shoulders are where they should be. And it's better quality than Hornady, or PPU by far.

100 percent agree with you.

 

[bobke]

Not certain what Lapua’s spec is for shoulder, as I see the same .010+ short Yondering referred to above in all new Lapua Grendel brass. Requires fire form loads to get to a proper chamber dimension for load development. Basically burning 100 rounds to get 100 pieces of brass. And point on a generous feed cone and/or chamber applies as well. Not even a belt per se, but anything above .4425 at web won’t chamber readily in a couple tighter chambers of mine, and resizing with Redding FL die’s doesn’t always address that issue. So-a lot of case measurement required for proper feeding. If you’re good with those details, Lapua is GTG. Otherwise, Hornady doesn’t suffer from same, though case weight variance does exist. No experience as yet with Starline, as I have plenty of Lapua and Hornady from years of accumulation, but would sure like to know WTF is up with Lapua shoulder spec.