Did Lapua just discontinue 6.5 CM Small Primer Brass?

Nostradumbass · Feb 20, 2024

Hey boys,

Just had something weird happen today. I just bought my first 6.5CM, and I ordered 200 pieces of Lapua small primer brass from EuroOptics yesterday to start reloading, and I got an email from Euro today stating that this brass has been discontinued…..

My brass is on the way, but I called Euro and they don’t have any idea why Lapua discontinued it….

I hate that I spent 233 dollars on brass that’s obsolete….anyone here have any leads on what’s going on with Lapua?

Thanks!

DeadNoise · Feb 20, 2024

6mm cm is the same way. Try finding alpha. I love lapua brass but it’s looking like we will have to find another brand.

6.5SH · Feb 20, 2024

The article on their site hasn't been updated but likely caught up in the same situation.

Message regarding Lapua case availability

Due to the high product demand and the prevailing market conditions, the availability of some of our products is limited and delivery times extended.

www.lapua.com

whatsupdoc · Feb 20, 2024

I doubt Lapua has discontinued this.

Supersubes · Feb 20, 2024

Very unlikely, but if it has happened, its temporary.

Supersubes · Feb 20, 2024

6.5SH said:
The article on their site hasn't been updated but likely caught up in the same situation.

Message regarding Lapua case availability

Due to the high product demand and the prevailing market conditions, the availability of some of our products is limited and delivery times extended.

www.lapua.com

Not long after they put this up, some of these cases have been stocked, and restocked again at graf’s.

6.5SH · Feb 20, 2024

Supersubes said:
Not long after they put this up, some of these cases have been stocked, and restocked again at graf’s.

It did say temporarily suspended not discontinued.

Supersubes · Feb 20, 2024

6.5SH said:
It did say temporarily suspended not discontinued.

I wasn't correcting you, I was saying the temporary suspension for some of those appeared to be about 15 minutes.

ForgeValley · Feb 20, 2024

They have it listed with this SKU, out of stock but can be backordered.

Lapua 6.5 Creedmoor Brass Box of 100 4PH6011C

Lapua 6.5 Creedmoor Brass Box of 100 4PH6011C For Sale

www.eurooptic.com

Might have changed the sku when they went from the plastic packaging to the cardboard.

ForgeValley · Feb 20, 2024

Btw, started looking around for it and Scheels has it for 104.99 a box.

Nostradumbass · Feb 21, 2024

ForgeValley said:
Btw, started looking around for it and Scheels has it for 104.99 a box.

Thanks!!!

iceng · Feb 21, 2024

Its "temporary". That brass also is NOT obselete. Its good stuff. Hold onto it.

Slides · Feb 21, 2024

I have 5 boxes on backorder, no doubt north American orders will be filled before us.

GO@HORNS · Feb 21, 2024

How does brass become obsolete?

Supersubes · Feb 21, 2024

GO@HORNS said:
How does brass become obsolete?

If i found the very last box of lapua in existence, id greedily grab it and bask in my good fortune.

Billdoe708 · Feb 21, 2024

One can only hope

45-90 · Feb 21, 2024

They discontinued alot of brass that wasn't on the top of the popularity scale. SR primed cases were among those. Probably for a reason.
I have all I need, and will buy no more, even if available.

I did a test and got worse accuracy, less velocity, (so ya gotta add a bit more powder for the same velocity), plus larger velocity spreads with Lapua SR primed brass, in 308.

Although it has shot some good groups in both 6.5 CM and 308. LR primed is more consistent for me, as case capacity may be too large, or borderline, for SR primers to have very consistent ignition, depending on powder, temperature, etc.

iceng · Feb 21, 2024

I did a test years ago with LR and SR.. small was on average 12fps slower.

I have 6x47lapua LR brass now. Wildcatted down.

RedBreast21 · Feb 21, 2024

Slides said:
I have 5 boxes on backorder, no doubt north American orders will be filled before us.

Well, we did invent it after all . . .

Nostradumbass · Feb 21, 2024

I can tell y’all that if I had the opportunity to purchase 6.5CM Lapua Large Rifle Primer brass, I would have. It’s just sold out everywhere I looked in the US.

I shoot 6.5X47 Lapua with small primers, but have much more large match primers for reloading.

I did get the brass I ordered from Euro today. They came in cardboard boxes. I’m thinking that what likely happened is that the old part number with plastic boxes was likely discontinued….

Thump_rrr · Feb 22, 2024

ForgeValley said:
Btw, started looking around for it and Scheels has it for 104.99 a box.

It's $195 Canadian up here. ($145USD)

Thump_rrr · Feb 22, 2024

Nostradumbass said:
Hey boys,

Just had something weird happen today. I just bought my first 6.5CM, and I ordered 200 pieces of Lapua small primer brass from EuroOptics yesterday to start reloading, and I got an email from Euro today stating that this brass has been discontinued…..

My brass is on the way, but I called Euro and they don’t have any idea why Lapua discontinued it….

I hate that I spent 233 dollars on brass that’s obsolete….anyone here have any leads on what’s going on with Lapua?

Thanks!

View attachment 8353948 View attachment 8353951

It's not obsolete since it is superior to large primer brass.
Secondly if properly annealed 200 pieces will outlast the life of your barrel.

Floridapanhandle · Mar 7, 2024

I have been using Starline 6.5 CM small rifle primer with no issues.

Kocher · Mar 7, 2024

Sometimes the retailers discontinue so they don’t show the pricing increase. Midway has done that with primers, for example. That way they can repost it with 100% markup and “here you go.” Walla.!!

45-90 · Mar 7, 2024

Thump_rrr said:
It's not obsolete since it is superior to large primer brass.
Secondly if properly annealed 200 pieces will outlast the life of your barrel.

I actually did a small test in my 308 with Lapua Palma SR and Lapua LR brass. I also have both in 6.5 CM but did the test for 308.
I found actually found Lapua SR to be inferior to LR cases. The SR had higher S/D, worse accuracy, and a bit less velocity with the same powder charge...you'd have to add a few tenths grain to the powder charge for equal velocity.
Results would imply, one should test the brass with your rifle and it's barrel, to see which is better.
Some will say SR cases handle high pressure better, but .0175" increase in wall thickness of brass ain't gonna do much. Slightly thicker than most the case necks, will yield easily to the high pressures, so only a slight positive benefit may occur here, but ya need more powder under the SR primer to get the velocity, and pressure equal to LR to make a valid test. If using the same charge weight you'd be just running slightly less pressure in the SR cases, giving the illusion of a few extra firings per case life.
Gonna run high pressures, get hybrid cases.

Kocher · Mar 7, 2024

Small rifle primers are all that is available for the most part unless you got your own private stash. The war in Ukraine has completely screwed over most Americans. Being the USA can’t even keep their own artillery shells replenished all the American companies are doing what they can cash in on the big defense contract checks. The commoners get to get to pay for it with our taxes, and “we” because that’s the middle-class that’s paying all the taxes, pay for it by not having any sort of primers that we need.
And for all those to say well, you don’t need that stuff I beg to differ when all the hoodlums can’t even get it together to go to Six Flags for a day without ganging up, beat each other up, stabbing each other, and shooting each other up… and you wonder why people that are hard-working and are not hoodlums don’t want anything to do with these inner-city Black neighborhoods and that isn’t racism. That’s just fact.

Kocher · Mar 7, 2024

45-90 said:
I actually did a small test in my 308 with Lapua Palma SR and Lapua LR brass. I also have both in 6.5 CM but did the test for 308.
I found actually found Lapua SR to be inferior to LR cases. The SR had higher S/D, worse accuracy, and a bit less velocity with the same powder charge...you'd have to add a few tenths grain to the powder charge for equal velocity.
Results would imply, one should test the brass with your rifle and it's barrel, to see which is better.
Some will say SR cases handle high pressure better, but .0175" increase in wall thickness of brass ain't gonna do much. Slightly thicker than most the case necks, will yield easily to the high pressures, so only a slight positive benefit may occur here, but ya need more powder under the SR primer to get the velocity, and pressure equal to LR to make a valid test. If using the same charge weight you'd be just running slightly less pressure in the SR cases, giving the illusion of a few extra firings per case life.
Gonna run high pressures, get hybrid cases.

Shoot, I didn’t know that the small rifle primers were not as accurate but, most of my small rifle primers will be going in the AR 10 6.5 cm platform, and if I do training with rapidfire, i’ll go through all my large primers rather quickly…
And when no large primers are around…… I have plenty of large rifle cases and not many small rifle. I just ordered up 150.. so I don’t think I’ll be too much overdoing it, but that’ll make my total to 300 new small rifle cases total but they’re all Starline brass . Not 200$ for 100 cases. I’ll save the large primers for my 300 PRC and Lapua cases to which I paid only $100 for 100 which was a steel in my humble opinion.

Thump_rrr · Mar 7, 2024

45-90 said:
I actually did a small test in my 308 with Lapua Palma SR and Lapua LR brass. I also have both in 6.5 CM but did the test for 308.
I found actually found Lapua SR to be inferior to LR cases. The SR had higher S/D, worse accuracy, and a bit less velocity with the same powder charge...you'd have to add a few tenths grain to the powder charge for equal velocity.
Results would imply, one should test the brass with your rifle and it's barrel, to see which is better.
Some will say SR cases handle high pressure better, but .0175" increase in wall thickness of brass ain't gonna do much. Slightly thicker than most the case necks, will yield easily to the high pressures, so only a slight positive benefit may occur here, but ya need more powder under the SR primer to get the velocity, and pressure equal to LR to make a valid test. If using the same charge weight you'd be just running slightly less pressure in the SR cases, giving the illusion of a few extra firings per case life.
Gonna run high pressures, get hybrid cases.

Lapua brass with small primers has 1.5mm( 0.060") flash holes instead of the standard 2.0mm (0.080") flash holes.
That is what supposedly helps in keeping the primer pockets tighter.
This may or may not be true.

I typically run my low node which is 2668fps.
It's been good to me out to 1,000 which is the furthest I've shot to.

iceng · Mar 7, 2024

Its not to do with keeping the primer pocket tight, its to do with pressure of the cartridge.

as a side effect it covers the flow modulus of the primer cup, or more generally "to prevent the primer popping from deformation".

Its to help stop the primer flowing between the nose of the firing pin, and the hole itself. Ever seen "volcano" or donuts on your primer ? Thats the issue.

45-90 · Mar 8, 2024

I have lots of both Lapua SR and LR in 6.5 CM and 308 Win. Lapua LR brass takes pressure well in 308 Win where I've used a 5 gallon bucket of brass. When I was concerned about it, and kept good records the LR primers would take around heavy 40 reloads, without annealing once. I have some good groups with SR but after recent test comparison, I will be personally sticking to LR, even though I have quite a few new boxes of SR cases. So I won't miss them if they are not available...as I have a lifetime supply. The hybrid cases will take the pressure if ya like 3156 fps in a 24" barrel, with 140gr 6.5 CM bullets, but give a nice safety margin for normal loads pushing to the next acccuracy node.
And they beat out both SR & LR Lapua cases in a 230 gr SMK 308 Win accuracy test.

Thump_rrr · Mar 8, 2024

45-90 said:
I have lots of both Lapua SR and LR in 6.5 CM and 308 Win. Lapua LR brass takes pressure well in 308 Win where I've used a 5 gallon bucket of brass. When I was concerned about it, and kept good records the LR primers would take around heavy 40 reloads, without annealing once. I have some good groups with SR but after recent test comparison, I will be personally sticking to LR, even though I have quite a few new boxes of SR cases. So I won't miss them if they are not available...as I have a lifetime supply. The hybrid cases will take the pressure if ya like 3156 fps in a 24" barrel, with 140gr 6.5 CM bullets, but give a nice safety margin for normal loads pushing to the next acccuracy node.
And they beat out both SR & LR Lapua cases in a 230 gr SMK 308 Win accuracy test.

What are these hybrid cases you speak of?

45-90 · Mar 8, 2024

Here is a picture of hybrid cases.
And a ladder test running 140 gr to 3152 with this test powder. They are 6.8 X 51 military cases that run at high pressure, and reformed to civilian cartridges like 358, 308, 6.5 CM, 8.6 blackout for more performance.
The best powder for the 6.5 CM hybrid case was RL 26 and 150 gr SMK at 3000 fps, accurate and fast.
Step down to the 140 for 3150 fps...but ya don't have to run them here...they give extra protection for the normal handloader pushing the limit, with normal brass cases hitting the next accuracy node.
It's just a newer military development, available to the public, for those interested.

iceng · Mar 8, 2024

They are not "new", but new to being civilian accessable.

Also, just be aware that yes the new case doea take much higher pressure, and does last longer in some ways, however excessive pressure will give case growth, so requires more trimming, which ends up making walls thinner (the growth material has to xome from somewhere), and remember that many actions are NOT rated to 80kpsi, so making stupid hotrod rounds has potential to cause damage to lugs.

Hawk12560 · Nov 4, 2024

I just acquired 142 pcs of 6.5 CM Lapua SR/.059 primer hole brass. 100 pcs are brand new in the box.
Due diligence lead me to this post.

Couple of questions, the primer hole is smaller than the std LR primer hole, my Lee Decapper die pin is too large and the sizer/decapper pin is to large also. Who makes a die or replacement pin for the smaller hole? It's been suggested to enlarge the hole, but something tells me this is no accident and there is a reason for the size of the hole. I won't be drilling it out.

I've been reading where most are talking about the loss of velocity with the SR primers, has anyone experimented with using magnum SR primers, as opposed to the std SR primer?

straightshooter1 · Nov 4, 2024

Hawk12560 said:
I just acquired 142 pcs of 6.5 CM Lapua SR/.059 primer hole brass. 100 pcs are brand new in the box.
Due diligence lead me to this post.

Couple of questions, the primer hole is smaller than the std LR primer hole, my Lee Decapper die pin is too large and the sizer/decapper pin is to large also. Who makes a die or replacement pin for the smaller hole? It's been suggested to enlarge the hole, but something tells me this is no accident and there is a reason for the size of the hole. I won't be drilling it out.

You can get a die with a smaller pin here:

UNDERSIZE FLASH HOLE UNIVERSAL DECAPPING DIE

Lee Decapping Die, no cleaning or lubing of cases necessary. Even removes crimped primers, one size fits most cases

leeprecision.com

Hawk12560 said:
I've been reading where most are talking about the loss of velocity with the SR primers, has anyone experimented with using magnum SR primers, as opposed to the std SR primer?

I've often used SR primers in my .308 and have collected a lot of data for both SR and LR primers. The data has not shown any difference that amounts to anything. Keep in mind that different brands of primers differ in how hot a flame they produce and that difference can make a little difference in velocity. Certainly, the magnum SR primers make a significant difference from the standard SR primers.

For example:
Federal 205m SR primer

vs.
Remington SR primer

Hawk12560 · Nov 4, 2024

That is an impressive example!! I have a brick of CCI 450 SR magnum primers I intend to use.
Thanks for the heads up on the Lee option, I'll be getting that tomorrow.

RedBreast21 · Nov 4, 2024

Hawk12560 said:
I just acquired 142 pcs of 6.5 CM Lapua SR/.059 primer hole brass. 100 pcs are brand new in the box.
Due diligence lead me to this post.

Couple of questions, the primer hole is smaller than the std LR primer hole, my Lee Decapper die pin is too large and the sizer/decapper pin is to large also. Who makes a die or replacement pin for the smaller hole? It's been suggested to enlarge the hole, but something tells me this is no accident and there is a reason for the size of the hole. I won't be drilling it out.

I've been reading where most are talking about the loss of velocity with the SR primers, has anyone experimented with using magnum SR primers, as opposed to the std SR primer?

A couple of notes: Just about every die maker sells some option of smaller decapping pin and they're switchable (often with a cotter pin). I have a Redding, an RCBS and a FW Arms (or two).

I have accidentally run 100 pieces through a larger primer pin which expanded the hole. You can feel it, so you should only screw up a couple of pieces if you ever forget to use the correct decapper die. I tested how badly the SDs got messed up with those loads, and the SDs went from 6-8 to 12-14. 12-14 is still better than match hornady ammo, so it's not ruined exactly. Will be a great brass for a Gas-operated 6.5.

Conaso · Nov 5, 2024

What difference is noted using CCI BR4 vs SRP-M in Lapua 6.5CM brass?

Hawk12560 · Nov 6, 2024

As an aside, I will reduce the loads with the SR magnum primers and the Lapua brass as a precaution to start with, then work back up keeping an eye on pressure signs. I did get the small decapper die and a smaller pin to change out. Now I will be able to do both fairly easily. Thanks for the help.

Rodney65 · Nov 8, 2024

RedBreast21 said:
A couple of notes: Just about every die maker sells some option of smaller decapping pin and they're switchable (often with a cotter pin). I have a Redding, an RCBS and a FW Arms (or two).

I have accidentally run 100 pieces through a larger primer pin which expanded the hole. You can feel it, so you should only screw up a couple of pieces if you ever forget to use the correct decapper die. I tested how badly the SDs got messed up with those loads, and the SDs went from 6-8 to 12-14. 12-14 is still better than match hornady ammo, so it's not ruined exactly. Will be a great brass for a Gas-operated 6.5.

What I have always wondered is why the smaller decapping pins aren't standard. I have deprimed thousands of cases, both large and small, first with a large pin I very crudely turned down to small on a bench grinder and then with a small pin. Have never broken one or felt the need to use a larger pin.

RedBreast21 · Nov 9, 2024

Rodney65 said:
What I have always wondered is why the smaller decapping pins aren't standard. I have deprimed thousands of cases, both large and small, first with a large pin I very crudely turned down to small on a bench grinder and then with a small pin. Have never broken one or felt the need to use a larger pin.

I've broken plenty of larger pins, lol. Always user error (If one is in a hurry, and one doesn't get the case fully centered, you can miss that primer and bend/break the pin). It's been awhile, but I do have a stock of extras just in case.

Rodney65 · Nov 9, 2024

RedBreast21 said:
I've broken plenty of larger pins, lol. Always user error (If one is in a hurry, and one doesn't get the case fully centered, you can miss that primer and bend/break the pin). It's been awhile, but I do have a stock of extras just in case.

Just to clarify I wasn't trying to sound like a great reloader because I have never broken a pin. I also have extras.

Probably shouldn't share this but once I left my index finger on a case mouth and pressed it into the sizing die. Smarted pretty good.

Having trouble using the site?

Did Lapua just discontinue 6.5 CM Small Primer Brass?

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