lapua brass Vs one fired mixed brass and why?

Paul at Fechan

Well-Known Member
So it's like this. I use any old .308 brass that's been given or I've bought cheap in the likes of Norma, FC, RG and Winchester and there's a big difference in the clean case weight and volume because of brass thickness between the manufacturers. For instance, Norma cases weigh 154gr while CBC weigh 186gr. Having said that and when I reload and test with well loaded cared for rounds I group sub inch no worries with any mix of cases.

Now I see some people being very fussy and in some cases almost superstitious about the name on the headstamp while others don't give it a second thought. What I want to know is factually speaking and short of competition shooting, why do some people swear by likes of lapua when in the real world the actual difference in performance from cases manufactured by lesser names is so small it can't be measured.? :-|
 
tried four different kinds of brass through my tikka t3 hunter and the most consistant groups and case weights came from lapua, so i have stuck with it, but my tikka t3 varmint shoots same hole groups with hornady brass, think its just what your rifle likes, work a load and stick with it, primer, powder, brass and bullets, be interesting to read other peoples comments on this should be a good thread:thumb:
 
Paul

I have a .308, but I don't reload for it, so I can't comment on .308 reload performance.

For the rifles I do reload for, I carefully segregate my brass by brand, weight and number of firings/annealings. One recent 243 load was fine in Sako brass, but when repeated with Lapua brass was hot and left extractor marks (5 cases were subsequently binned).

I shot the following test with Remington brass in my 260 Rem recently. I've lots of Remington brass for the 260 Rem and don't plan to shoot any other brand at present. Some of the brass is on its eighth firing. In the early days I had some Federal brass, but I binned it as it didn't perform the same as the Remington brass.

Regards JCS
 
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Paul,

My understanding is that different brands have slightly different internal volumes. This means that, all other things being equal (powder charge, primer, seating depth etc.), different cases can give different pressures. If the weight / volume of powder used is towards the higher end of the safe range for a given powder, using a different case could produce a potentially dangerous increase in pressure.

I was taught to work up a new load if changing brand of brass.

I've used PPU (Privi) brass and Norma for my 6.5 x 55. Both produced good results, but with slightly different loads. I use Norma because I bought a shed load of once fired cheap of a bloke on the forum.

Cheers,

Bob
 
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Paul

I have a .308, but I don't reload for it, so I can't comment on .308 reload performance.

For the rifles I do reload for, I carefully segregate my brass by brand, weight and number of firings/annealings. One recent 243 load was fine in Sako brass, but when repeated with Lapua brass was hot and left extractor marks (5 cases were subsequently binned).

I shot the following test with Remington brass in my 260 Rem recently. I've lots of Remington brass for the 260 Rem and don't plan to shoot any other brand at present. Some of the brass is on its eighth firing. In the early days I had some Federal brass, but I binned it as it didn't perform the same as the Remington brass.

Regards JCS

how do you chose which one of those groups is best!? very nice
 
For hunting (6.5x55) I use whatever I can scavenge out of the bins at the range, tends to mostly be once fired Federal. Cleans up and processes very nicely and I get sub MOA at 100 yards out of my Tikka T3 and now out of my Blaser so more than happy with it.

With my .308 TRG, which is 99% a target/competition rifle I use Lapua only and reload in batches that have been fired the same number of times.. Scoring well at 600-1,000 yards is slightly more challenging than whacking a deer at sub 200yards. In reality, scavenged brass would probably (possibly) do as good a job BUT... mind set and confidence is all at extended ranges, especially when the pressure is on, so it just removes one more doubt on the firing line! Consistency is also paramount, Lapua tends to be very consistent weight wise so MV spread will be much tighter than say PPI which van vary as much as 15 grains case to case!!! (Lapua tends to be within a grain) :D
 
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how do you chose which one of those groups is best!? very nice

Ed. Thanks, this was an unusually successful test. Good conditions, peace and quiet. To answer your question, I just plan to pick a powder weight in the middle of the range and try it at Castlelaw at 400m. It was an earlier iteration of this load not performing at 400m that got me into tweaking the 142 SMK load. If I get a chance, I'll try it at Blair Atholl too at longer ranges.

Regards JCS
 
so is it a confidence thing then?, because my thing with ammunition is the bullet must not be tarnished if shooting deer, my superstition I guess.
 
As far as i am concerned Lapua is the best, most consistant there is. I know what you are saying and to a point i fully agree with you but when loading fairly hot loads the Lapua will stick it far more than the cheap brass and at the end of the day if you use the best you cant be wrong, it takes one less factor out of the equasion. I just wish Lapua made 7mm Rem Mag cases!
 
It's a safety thing if you're running loads near to top book.

That's a thing that always worries me is loads near the max, I like moderate loads for my all round biffing. If I wanted extra speed I'd be looking at another calibre since .308 is hardly a pace setter like 25-06 etc.
 
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