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brass
- Thread starter wildturkey2
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My Peterson shot better than Alpha on its very 1st firing with zero prep on both... that said I've used alpha for 2 years (6000+ rounds) and it's been great. Just started using Peterson.
Having use both brands, I like both brands and find both brands being very good. However, if I'm forced to choose between these two, and though I'm new to Alpha brass, I'd go with Alpha . . . because my Alpha brass is more consistent than my Peterson brass I have (e.g. more consistent neck wall thickness, more consistent case volume).
I didn't, 6mmGT is what I have been running the Alpha brass in and I started playing with a 6.5x47L again. To make it easier to keep my brass separate from my Lapua 25x47L brass I went with Peterson. At the time Alpha was out of stock in the quantity I wanted.
Peterson has been as consistent as Alpha in the loads I've used. Here is the first 10 through the rifle on day 1 stage 1 of the SAC Sizzler this past weekend.
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Lapua, Alpha and Peterson are all good brass. But most shooters aren't good enough to take advantage (and that includes me) of whatever incremental accuracy they may provide you in most gun games. (there are exceptions like benchrest and F Class for example where the smallest group wins)
That's why I buy Starline brass and save money in calibers that they do offer. Yes, Starline requires a bit more work to prep than the big 3 above, but my time is free.
For example 6.5 Creedmoor SRP Brass:
Starline = $170. per 250 cases (0.68 each) and free shipping
Alpha Brass = $118.00 per 100 ($1.18 each) plus shipping
Peterson Brass = $59.99 per 50 ($1.20 each) plus shipping
Lapua Brass = $124.99 per 100 ($1.25 each) plus shipping
If your flush and you want to shrink your 100 yd groups by 0.20" at most, maybe, go right ahead and buy the more expensive brass.
If it makes you feel good, and confident in your loads cause your spending more, then I guess it's worth it......
That's why I buy Starline brass and save money in calibers that they do offer. Yes, Starline requires a bit more work to prep than the big 3 above, but my time is free.
For example 6.5 Creedmoor SRP Brass:
Starline = $170. per 250 cases (0.68 each) and free shipping
Alpha Brass = $118.00 per 100 ($1.18 each) plus shipping
Peterson Brass = $59.99 per 50 ($1.20 each) plus shipping
Lapua Brass = $124.99 per 100 ($1.25 each) plus shipping
If your flush and you want to shrink your 100 yd groups by 0.20" at most, maybe, go right ahead and buy the more expensive brass.
If it makes you feel good, and confident in your loads cause your spending more, then I guess it's worth it......
"Accuracy" is up to you and determined entirely by you, the shooter. You're referring to consistency, both in mean error radius on target if shooting via a testing fixture and muzzle velocity metrics.
Top tier brass gives you a leg up when it comes to consistency (i.e. lower standard deviations/extreme spreads) by maintaining a lower variance in chamber pressure characteristics when the rifle is fired, relative to lower quality brass. If your reloading process is very well managed/controlled in all other respects (charge weight consistency, seating force consistency, shoulder bump, neck diameter, etc) then you'll notice a difference between top shelf brass like Lapua, Alpha, etc and bottom of the barrel stuff.
So if you were to dial in your production processes such that the variance in those things I mentioned above is minimized to the fullest extent possible (assuming your process isn't already there), run statistically significant comparative tests with Lapua/Alpha and say, Peterson, Federal and/or Hornady brass, you'll likely notice a material difference over larger sample sizes between the Lapua stuff and say, the Hornady.
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Peterson comes in a 50 round box.
Alpha comes in a 100 round box.
Whichever box you prefer is the obvious choice.
Alpha comes in a 100 round box.
Whichever box you prefer is the obvious choice.
IMO.
There is Lapua
Then Alpha/ Peterson
Then Norma / ADG / Starline
Then all the other shit you wouldst waste time reloading unless its the only option.
Lapua 6GT was a welcome suprise, then they increased their prices $150/100 higher than Alpha $130/100 and it hasnt even hit the shores yet.
I use alot of alpha brass, but they have also had their issues in the past and I got some buddies who were burn bad by pre OCD stuff. Peterson makes good stuff and supports our sport but putting a ton of Brass on prize tables. If buying new today, I would give them a hard look. I don't think you can go wrong between the top 3. I also wouldn't hesitate to use Norma/ADG/ Starline if they are the only ones who make a caliber you shoot. They are a bit softer but you will get your moneys worth, especially with starline. If you anneal every cycle, you are looking at loose primer pockets and lost brass being your limiting factor. Run a tame load and you should expect 10-15 firings before primer pockets go out or you loose it at matches.
There is Lapua
Then Alpha/ Peterson
Then Norma / ADG / Starline
Then all the other shit you wouldst waste time reloading unless its the only option.
Lapua 6GT was a welcome suprise, then they increased their prices $150/100 higher than Alpha $130/100 and it hasnt even hit the shores yet.
I use alot of alpha brass, but they have also had their issues in the past and I got some buddies who were burn bad by pre OCD stuff. Peterson makes good stuff and supports our sport but putting a ton of Brass on prize tables. If buying new today, I would give them a hard look. I don't think you can go wrong between the top 3. I also wouldn't hesitate to use Norma/ADG/ Starline if they are the only ones who make a caliber you shoot. They are a bit softer but you will get your moneys worth, especially with starline. If you anneal every cycle, you are looking at loose primer pockets and lost brass being your limiting factor. Run a tame load and you should expect 10-15 firings before primer pockets go out or you loose it at matches.
It's not all about group size. With quality brass you will get more firings. Which will make it more economical.
Well that's great, so you've extensively tested it.
So how many more firings do you get with Lapua, Alpha or Peterson SRP brass as compared to Starline SRP??
1 , 5 , 10 or more??
Well I really don't buy into the idea you have to have a detailed spread sheet with testing results to offer an opinion. Who has the time or money for that? That's ridiculous. It would greatly depend on the load, caliber, the chamber etc.... I have run 6.5 CM SRP lapua brass well past 20 firerings. Hell the barrel went first. My point was that quality brass can make a difference other than cost per piece.
So it's your opinion that quality brass will get you more firings and make a difference, but your not really sure via any testing, on how many more firings you get. But that's your feeling.
And for the record I'm not saying your feelings are wrong. You might well be right.
Great Thanks.....
I've done testing on SDs between RWS. Lapua, ADG and Hornady in 300 PRC and between Lapua, Peterson and Hornady in 6 CM. In both cases, I started with Hornady because at the time that's all you could get. With 300 PRC, I found some threads about using 8x68S RWS brass and doing a bunch of work to transform it to 300 PRC - a bunch of work. I perfected that and used it for quite a bit. When ADG came out, I switched to that, then when Lapua came out, I switched to that. For 6 CM, I switched to Peterson when they started supporting the case, then to Lapua.
Notes:
- With both calibers, you could get Hornady to work decently well after neck turning, but the primer pockets would give up the ghost after 5-7 firings or so. Didn't like doing the extra work just to have them crap out.
- With the highly prepped RWS brass, I could get SDs in the 6.x range (300 PRC)
- ADG required neck turning to get to the same levels as RWS. With no prep, it was in the 7-8.x range. At least, in contrast to Hornady, the primer pockets held up.
- With Lapua, it would deliver 6.x SDs with no neck turning or other prep outside the ordinary steps.
- I had very similar results in 6 CM - Lapua > Peterson > Hornady. Similar SDs, etc.
Other than knowing how quickly Hornady brass shit the bed, I have no data that tells me how well Peterson and ADG hold up. I did not have the opportunity to take Peterson or ADG to failure by the time Lapua hit the market with each. I found RWS to be at least equal to Lapua.
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