Best specs on range ammo? American Eagle, Lawman? Ruag? Other?

Jet, interesting that you had poor experiences with Remington Brass. I have not noticed that in my reloading adventures, it seems to have a similar lifetime compared to most other manufacturers. Some of my 38 special brass is well over 30 loads by now and its rare to see a split case or neck.
 
III Otto III: said:
It's better to ask which brands to avoid....I could list many.
Winchester is one of them
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During this ammo shortage, I’m not sure if you you can be so choosy. Shooting ammo you would otherwise avoid if you had other choices, is better than not having ammo to shoot.
 
While an interesting discussion. It is a daunting task to complete a complete comparison. Certain aspects, brass thicknes, can be quantified, to point. But, does it make a meaningful difference?

Every aspect of the ammo being fired, adds another variable


One unknown, with Vista being a major supplier, is specs. Vista manufacturers Remington, Federal, CCI. That doesn't mean the specification is the same. Within each brand there are different levels of ammo, with different specs, but could have the same headstamp. A particular barrel/gun will love one and hate another. Another gun, of same make and model even, may be the opposite, because it is different.

For example, one machine is plating bullets. Final testing, the jacket thickness is tested.

Load X will have the a spec of .020, + or - .002 (for example)
Load Y spec is .018, + or minus .003
Load Z spec .016 + or minus .004

As can be seen, there is overlap,but 2 other factors come into the equation.
Load Z requires 5 million units, being the least expensive, bulk ammo
Load Y needs 2 million units, more expensive
Load X gets 1 million, Match, LE, SD. Most expensive. Premium ammo.

The same thing holds true for brass. Which coming off the same machine, will have the same headstamp.

Then, a reloaded picks up a 5 gal bucket of brass, sorts by headstamp, measures that brass, by weight, wall thickness and finds a variation of .010 and BELIEVES the quality is very inconsistent.

Same thing happens with powder. Large batch is made. That batch just happens to fit into a very narrow spec, it becomes XXX and is sold to reloaded. It just misses spec and becomes the bulk powder used for factory loading. Lot# becomes VERY IMPORTANT.

I have 46 years working in different industries, dealing with specs.
 
Forgive me if this has already been stated, but "best" implies accuracy - for me - and the only way to know is to find what suits your weapon.

There is no "best" ammo that will suit every firearm. There is certainly "bad" ammo that generally won't shoot well at all, and "match"-classified ammo will probably be more consistent than others, but you can't expect what works well for one will work well for you. Even in the same model/barrel/whatever. You then need to find the lot number of that particular type that works for you.
 
mikejonestkd said:
Jet, interesting that you had poor experiences with Remington Brass. I have not noticed that in my reloading adventures, it seems to have a similar lifetime compared to most other manufacturers. Some of my 38 special brass is well over 30 loads by now and its rare to see a split case or neck.
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I may have given the impression that I feel Remington brass is bad, that wasn’t my intention. They’ve just been the only ones I’ve had split on me, but the number that has done so is very very small, maybe two or three in each caliber over the years. I still use and shoot Remmy brass with no concerns, but it’s not my favorite.
 
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