Is Hornady brass any good?

[okiecat]

I haven't bought anything Hornady in over 25yrs. Just wondering if they have improved their product sense then. Been running Lapua and just got some starline but haven't shot them yet.

[grayfox]

yes. is it Lapua good? no, and nothing else (non-lapua) probably is either... but it is still really good brass.
better than federal in the 65G.

[Bfglowkee]

Hornady is about middle of the road to me in terms of quality etc. The reasonable price point and decent reload life makes them a solid choice for most cartridges. If you have kept yourself in Lapua for brass you will notice a drop off. I like Starline as a step up from Hornady but one Peterson begins making Grendel brass I will definitely jump on that.

[Warlock]

I started my 6.5 reloading by using once fired brass from a box of Hornady American Gunner purchased at Sportsmans.

I found that a few primer pockets were a little loose on the first reload and on the second reload I was finding even more.

I purchased brass from a member here that was Starline brand and have had no more primer pocket problems.

I will continue to load mid range loads in the Hornady for my mountain/outside hunting plinking rounds because if I lose them I'm not too broken up about it.

If you decide to reload Hornady brass, keep an eye on the primer pockets and the overall length of the brass after you resize it.

[centerfire]

My Hornady 6.5G brass has been fine. It needed to be prep'd but it was $.35ea not $1.20ea.

[grayfox]

you know on second thought that hornady brass for you is not any good... better send it all to me!!!

LOL!!

[Popeye212]

Got tired of throwing them away for loose primer pockets...YMMV

[Javman]

I'm on my 4th and 5th reloads with Hornady brass in the 6.5G. So far no loose primer pockets and have only had to trim twice.

[okiecat]

thanks to all, about what I expected. I think I will stick with starline in ar and Lapua in Cz.

[Gusmeister]

I'm on my 4th and 5th reloads with Hornady brass in the 6.5G. So far no loose primer pockets and have only had to trim twice.

This pretty much matches my experience. Good brass. Good value.

[LR1955]

I'm on my 4th and 5th reloads with Hornady brass in the 6.5G. So far no loose primer pockets and have only had to trim twice.

You are having to trim brass every two shots?

Something is seriously wrong somewhere. Either your chamber, the brass, or your loads.

You ought to be able to shoot the Hornady brass on the original trimming for its life -- which is six or eight shots before the primer pockets open up too much.

I trim my Lapua brass about half way through its life. About fifteen shots.

LR55

[Javman]

They chamber without trimming its the Federal brass that I didn't mention that seem to be trimmed about every third firing. On the Hornady more often than not it's a hair that comes off. But it's a habit for me to check trim regardless.

[Gusmeister]

LR.... I will add that I trim my brass after every resizing. Not because it needs it but it is easier to make a pass with the Little Crow trimmer and not worry about the brass eventually growing too long. It typically removes little to nothing but it is still trimmed. So I guess you could say there is trimming .... and there is trimming.

[LR1955]

They chamber without trimming its the Federal brass that I didn't mention that seem to be trimmed about every third firing. On the Hornady more often than not it's a hair that comes off. But it's a habit for me to check trim regardless.

JM:

I avoid Federal rifle brass. Like some of the guys here, we found that Federal brass was one shot brass many years ago so we probably carry that to today. What surprises me is your Fed brass hasn't loosened up the primer pockets in three shots. Doesn't surprise me that you have to trim it all the time. Just bad experience with Fed brass of a few decades ago. Luckily these days we have a lot of choices.

LR55

[jbmarshtx]

I've got about 120 or so once fired hornady I'll probably start with.

It has the 'large' flash hole same as starline, right? Lapua has small. Does that make an appreciable difference at all?