lapua brass

[cleardatum]

i got some lapua brass, and it is obviously well anealed. i ran it (or tried to) through my neck sizer, and by the third case, they were getting hung up on the expander ball- almost stuck. i looked at the ball, and it had brass on it. all three cases had scratches on the outsides of their necks, the third being the worst. there was brass in the die as well. i cleaned everything, and tried again, with rcbs case lube this time. i got a little further, but same thing after ~10 cases. i've never had this problem (i am still a noob, though) with hornady or pmc brass. the lapua brass measures fine, so i'll try loading without sizing (the necks are good), but i doubt there would be any significant change after firing, or would there? thoughts?

 

[Chuck 100 yd]

Did you chamfer / deburr the case mouths before doing this? Many times cases will have a tiny burr at the very edge of the case mouth that can brake off and cause the problem you are having. I shoot Lapua brass in 6mm BR and .308 and find it the very best brass I have ever used.
I also use Imperial sizing die wax to lube my cases before running them through any
die.

 

[Twoboxer]

Lapua brass is said to have thicker neck walls than most other brass. Folks with custom precision (ie tight) chambers often turn the necks to get the right neck tension.

In my experience with 308 Lapua brass, case volume expanded 8% after the first firing. This of course would not affect the neck situation mentioned above.

 

[Chief 101]

you do need to lube the inside of the case necks...before the are fired when resized...no way to get away from that. you can use a .30 cal brush and what ever lube you are using. The only time I don't lube the inside if case is when using Lee collet neck sizer...btw, never have I seen brass left on the die or stem. If there are scratches on the brass after sizing you have contaminated your sizing die and must get it clean and polished...

 

[cleardatum]

they looked chamfered under a magnifier- time to break out the microscope (yes, i have a really nice binocular microscope) and look for clues. the scratches on the outside took me by surprise. the lapua brass acts like it's really soft (i was a radiator man for 20 years, so i'm familiar with the stuff). thanks for the input, as usual. you guys are gonna make me an expert yet...

 

[cleardatum]

i learned something last night- i inspected the cases, and they did have a microscopic burr at the case mouth chamfer, which would catch the die and the expander ball, scratching the case neck, and transferring brass to the ball and die. it seems to me the softer the brass, the more "perfect" the chamfer has to be, and the more important it is to lubricate the case, and these cases definitely have soft mouths. thanks for the direction, you guys.

 

[Rick Courtright]

Hi,

Agree with those who've said to lube both inside and outside the case: some lube inside the neck (Q-tips do as well as the fancy tools), none outside the neck or on the shoulder is my drill (except when using the Lee Collet neck sizer where NO lube is used.) Plus lube on the case body. Glad you found the problem, too. Lapua brass is normally one of those products where complaints nearly always scream "Operator error!" I doubt many would argue there's any better brass on the market...

I've used the Lee Case Lube for years and it's served me well. But enough folks have praised Imperial Die Wax over those same years I'll probably add a tub to one of my next orders.

Rick C