Question about new rifle brass (Lapua)

[OlympicViking]

I just bought 100 pieces of 7mm-08 Lapua brass, and while I wait for it to ship I thought of a question to ask you all. I've been handloading 7mm-08 for a bolt action rifle using 3 dies: Lee collet neck sizer, Redding body die, and Forster Ultra micrometer seating die.

My question is this, do I have to run the new brass through a FL resizing die (which I no longer have), or should I be fine with the 3 dies I'm currently using? I've read that some people just buy the Lapua brass and load it without any prep, but if it's recommended to do some brass prep first I certainly don't mind.

This is for a Ruger M77 Hawkeye that I use to hunt inside of 300 yards with. Yes, I know I don't need Lapua brass for my needs, but I needed new brass anyway and I found a decent price on it.

 

[Havok7416]

I always FL size any brass that comes in the door, even new. The reason for this is to get everything in spec as dings and out of round conditions can be caused during shipping. Just the other day I figured I would try using a batch without sizing and got the very s
first piece stuck in my trimmer.

 

[Blue68f100]

I have found that the Lapua Brass comes fully processed ready to load. The only thing you may run into is a few dented case mouths. Those can be cleaned up many different ways.

 

[scythefwd]

I recommend FL sizing. The only way to know for sure what dimensions they are is either measure each and every one and make sure they're in spec at every position.. case head, body, shoulder, neck, proper length for headspacing.. etc. They may all be in spec, but are they all the same? Reloading, to me, is all about consistency.. I can measure 100 pieces of brass and see if they meet my tolerances, or I can run them through my fl sizer and be positive they are all the same (within tolerances for spring back, etc).. I know which is easier for me to do.. 1 ram stroke vs 4-5 measurements..

 

[Sunray]

All new brass requires checking for length, trimming chamfering and deburring as required(not likely anything but chamfering the case mouths though) and FL resizing. BNIB brass from any manufacturer is not ready to load out of the factory.

 

[goldpelican]

I would assume that the collect neck sizer would have utterly *no* impact on a newly full length sized piece of brass? I know it is intended for use on fireformed brass that will be reused in the same chamber.

 

[old heeler]

Last Lapua brass I got was packed pretty good. 243/30-06
http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com...hipping-boxes-do-double-duty-as-ammo-caddies/
Mine was ready to load.

 

[Orcon]

I think this topic should be a sticky. It literally shows up every other week at least. Most manufacturers recommend resizing before use, some don't. Some reloaders will say it's absolutely crucial, some reloaders say it's not. Just go with your gut, it's probably the right choice...maybe.

 

[Cheesemaker]

Check their length - likely to be fine
Check chambering in your rifle - likely to be fine

and go from there.
If the above work - no need to FL resize IMO. Lapua is good stuff.

IMO...ymmv...

 

[USSR]

The only thing I've found with new Lapua brass is, the case necks are tight, resulting in high neck tension. Since you're not using it in competition, I wouldn't worry about it. New brass comes from the factory smaller than you can resize it to with your dies.

Don

 

[Klint Beastwood]

always a safe bet to FL resize first, then you can do bump or neck size or whatever your fire formed brass.

 

[Newtosavage]

I bought 100 Lapua cases for my 7.62x39 and I just "fire formed" it right out of the box.

IOW, just load it, shoot it and enjoy how easy those 1st 100 rounds are to make.

 

[IMtheNRA]

All the Lapua brass that I've ever used was ready to go right out of the box and I never had a defective piece of Lapua.

 

[Demi-human]

I like Lapua, but it is not ready to load, for me. Many times the neck is too small.
If you are body and neck sizing, you are full length sizing, in two steps. Your dies will be just fine. Good luck and happy shooting!

 

[243winxb]

do I have to run the new brass through a FL resizing die

Testing is the only way to know.

1. Will 10% of the new brass chamber freely, in your rifle ? Check trim length of all brass at this time.

2. Will a BOATTAIL bullet sit/fit into the case mouth, as is? If no, expand it. Use an "M" die or owners of a FL die/with expander can just BUMP the case mouth . The RCBS type expander does NOT need to fully enter the necks. The jacketed bullet will act as an expander, on seating.

3. The neck mouth chamfer and deburring will be done on the next loading.

I use Rem & Win brass in 2 different 243 Win rifles. The Remington 40X will do 3/4" @ 100 yards with new brass using the above method.
After full benchrest prep of the fired brass, groups are better, using a bushing die, with neck turning.

I use a low cost Sierra 85 gr hpbt #1530 bullet for the first firing. Save the Berger Match for later. Save $10 on 100 rounds this way.

 

[FN in MT]

Apparently MANY of the posters have no experience with LAPUA brass. We are not talking the stuff they sell in the plastic sacks, that's out of round, dented, etc.
Lapua IS high quality brass. Why one pays the asking price.

One can load it directly from the box.

You CAN but a neck expander die from Sinclair International. A universal die with a spud that you run into the case neck...it returns the neck to the proper diameter. Or one can certainly FL or neck size too.

 

[Demi-human]

I buy Lapua for their superior metallurgy. I prefer my sizes and neck tension. I could load it right from the box, then it would not match the previous brass used. And it would be too short for my chamber. Obviously sizing would not change this, but fire forming does.

Different shoes for different feet I suppose.

 

[OlympicViking]

Just got the brass yesterday and checked 50 cases. I checked the lengths and they're all 2.023" to 2.029" long (trim to length is 2.025"), and they all headspace to -0.003" to -0.004" my precision mic. A couple of the case mouths are less than perfectly round, but other than that they all look good. Annealing is gorgeous by the way.

Would I be okay cleaning up the necks with my Lee collet die and loading them? And then after the first firing I'd bump the shoulder back 0.002" and neck size before trimming, chamfering & deburring. Is that a good plan? Do I even need to bother with the Lee die for the first firing?

This is not going to be match ammo fired in a blueprinted action or anything; I just found a good price on long lasting, quality brass and I want to make the most accurate hunting loads I can make, and I don't want to screw this brass up.

 

[Blue68f100]

Since you need to fire form it to your chamber, just load it and shoot. I would use a non-expensive bullet for for fire forming. Once fired just use your normal reloading practice.

 

[readyeddy]

I buy Lapua new brass and shoot it without re-sizing. Very high quality.

 

[Flatbush Harry]

Just finished loading 100 pieces of new Lapua .308 Win brass. I've used Lapua for .223 Rem, 6.5x55SE. .260 Rem and .308 Win. I use it straight from the box for loads, which have, to date, worked perfectly in all calibers. I have had similar experience with Nosler brass in .223 Rem, .260 Rem, .308 Win, .30-06 Sprg and .300 WSM. I FL resize and trim, chamfer, and ream primer pockets and flash holes on all other brass. My motto is to trust but verify with all but Lapua and Nosler.

I have particularly good results with Lapua, Nosler, and, after case prep, WW brass. I have found FC brass soft but useful, PPU useful, Hornady useful, and R-P usually useful. That said, the latter four brands get the full treatment when new. YMMV.

Harry

 

[Flatbush Harry]

BTW, I was working today on reloading...I found some variation (+/- 0.3grn on SMK .30 cal 175gr bullet weights but only +/- 0.1grn with 168 gun SMKs)...curiouser and curiouser.

Harry

 

[Reloadron]

I just bought 100 pieces of 7mm-08 Lapua brass, and while I wait for it to ship I thought of a question to ask you all. I've been handloading 7mm-08 for a bolt action rifle using 3 dies: Lee collet neck sizer, Redding body die, and Forster Ultra micrometer seating die.

My question is this, do I have to run the new brass through a FL resizing die (which I no longer have), or should I be fine with the 3 dies I'm currently using? I've read that some people just buy the Lapua brass and load it without any prep, but if it's recommended to do some brass prep first I certainly don't mind.

This is for a Ruger M77 Hawkeye that I use to hunt inside of 300 yards with. Yes, I know I don't need Lapua brass for my needs, but I needed new brass anyway and I found a decent price on it.

Well this is one of those questions which will draw mixed answers. Some will run all new brass, even Lapua through a sizing die and some will just take it out of the box and load it. I have some .308 Lapua sitting here new in box. I have some Standard and some Palma. Taking a sampling from each box (plastic container) they all measure 1.629" case head to shoulder datum and the case mouths are all uniform measuring 0.303" ID. The overall length is 2.008". Would I load these without sizing them? Absolutely but that is not to say I do that with all new brass. I size brass to make sure I have uniformity. When I can sample 10% of a lot and they are as uniform as this Lapua I see I have no reason to lube and size the stuff as it won't get any better than it is. I have found the same to be true with Lapua brass in the .223 Remington, it's always uniform and right on nominal specification.

This will always come back to your brass so your choice. As I mentioned, some do and some don't. Pretty much what we see here for responses.

Ron

 

[OlympicViking]

UPDATE

I chose to load & shoot 50 cases without any brass prep (I used a collet neck die to round out a few case mouths that had flat spots but that was only 4 cases). They all headspaced about .004 less than my chamber, and the cases varied roughly .007" in length. I noticed the effort required to seat the bullets (140 gr Pro Hunter) was inconsistent, which I suppose means inconsistent neck tension, but none were overly difficult.

Surprisingly the rounds shot quite well with a mid range powder charge. I've still got a lot of room for improvement, but the best 10 shot group was about 1.5" at 100 yards from a bag rest (no lead sled or anything). I'm not the most capable shot, so I would imagine they would have shot slightly better out of a rest. Still hunting accurate and I imagine I could tighten those groups up with some brass prep. I don't intend to use the Pro Hunters as my hunting load, but now I have something to fall back to if need be. My hunting load will be with Barnes TTSX bullets, so now I'll begin the expensive load development process.

 

[jhansman]

I would assume that the collect neck sizer would have utterly *no* impact on a newly full length sized piece of brass? I know it is intended for use on fireformed brass that will be reused in the same chamber.

Correct. You only want to neck size brass you have fired at least a few times in your rifle. All my Lapua is fireformed, but I check the length and shoulder on these cases every so often, just to be sure.