This may be a dumb question but i am loading for my savage 110 hs precision 338 lapua. I got some lapua brass and I'm not sure how many times it's been reloaded. My brass is sticking in the chamber and I'm only loading 90 grains of H1000 behind a 300 grain smk. ThHornady brass doesn't stick with same load which is opposite of everything I read. Is it possible the Lapua brass is worn out? Can this cause over expansion and sticking? Shouldn't be over pressured I wouldn't think. I'm way under max in the book. Sorry if this is a rookie question, I'm learning.
-
Having trouble using the site?
Contact support
Brass Stickin
- Thread starter Steve Holloway
- Start date
You "...got some Lapua brass...", was this brass fired from a different chamber originally?
What die set are you using? Neck sizing or FL sizing?
I know that for same chamber, I've not been able to use same die position in press for both Lapua and Hornady brass as brass behaves differently when you size it.
How much are you bumping shoulder?
How are you measuring bump on shoulder?
Have you measured body diameter of case (use a micrometer) at 0.200" above case head for fired and for sized brass? How much is it moving / changing from fired to sized?
How much case capacity difference are you seeing between the Lapua and Hornady fired brass you have? Doesn't change radically but different lot #s do have different case capacity so you need to find out case capacity difference of brass you have in hand.
What die set are you using? Neck sizing or FL sizing?
I know that for same chamber, I've not been able to use same die position in press for both Lapua and Hornady brass as brass behaves differently when you size it.
How much are you bumping shoulder?
How are you measuring bump on shoulder?
Have you measured body diameter of case (use a micrometer) at 0.200" above case head for fired and for sized brass? How much is it moving / changing from fired to sized?
How much case capacity difference are you seeing between the Lapua and Hornady fired brass you have? Doesn't change radically but different lot #s do have different case capacity so you need to find out case capacity difference of brass you have in hand.
+1 on this. Check for "Incipient Case Head Seperation;
http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com...se-head-separation-how-to-detect-the-problem/
Not saying that IS your problem, but it is one you want to very careful with. If you are having this problem, it is very possible that the weak area is growing in diameter, causing the sticking. If so, it is one of the first telltales of a potentially more serious problem. I had a .338 L/M and quit using Lapua brass because I was experiencing ICHS. That was 15 years ago though. IF there was a problem with the Lapua .338 brass, I would have to imagine it would have been solved since then. It was certainly counter-intuitive...... I have always had spectacular success with Lapua brass and continue to use it on all other calibers to this day. It may be that the simple solution is to go with Hornady brass.
Obviously I'm not doing anything right I guess. brass was fired in another rifle. It was a little hard to chamber in my new rifle so I full length sized it with rcbs gold medal full length bushing die with a .365 bushing. Haven't done all the measuring you mentioned. Other calibers ive loaded, when I full lenghth sized they worked fine. I'm not a competition shooter just hunt. Sounds like more than I want to mess with, way beyond my skill level for reloading. Had a savage 112 target rifle that I didn't have any issues with, that's why I thought maybe this brass was done.
It's really not that bad.......I got into reloading to learn the process. I have learned many things over the years, but there are things that I still don't know.
Don't give up on it, you'll figure it out.
For all my rifles, I neck size only and each rifle has it's own brass that goes with it. My calibers are .223, 6 x 47 Lapua and .308 Winchester. All three calibers lend themselves well to neck sizing only (without having to full length re-size). Conversely, the brass for big magnums must be FLR'd frequently. They do eat brass, which is one of the (of numerous) reasons that I got out of the .338 LM.
Grab a box of Hornady brass, I think they come in boxes of 25 and give them a try. Take a piece out of the box and chamber it. If the bolt closes easily, load up 25 rounds. If it doesn't close easily, FLR all 25 pieces, load, go shoot them and note how hard the extraction is. The brass will tell you if you need to FLR. Check frequently for ICHS, using the paperclip method.
I think you may have de-railed yourself a little by taking brass that was fired in another rifle and trying to use it in yours. However you did say that you FLR'd it first....
That's what has me confused, it chambers fine now that I sized it, it just sticks and won't extract. The hornady does extract and it's sized the same way, it's just newer. That's why I was wondering if maybe the lapua brass was worn out. I did have one with a split neck. Original question was meant to read, when brass gets used more times can it be over pressured with less than hot loads?
are you getting over pressure signs? I have several different loads when switching brass.. my Lapua is thicker, thus requiring less powder..
Used brass from someone else's gun, and split necks! Throw that brass in the garbage and buy some new stuff.
Life is too short and precious to do things half-assed!
Life is too short and precious to do things half-assed!
Also, I would encourage you to buy the Berger reloading manual as it goes in depth on how to measure your brass and optimally set-up your sizing dies (i.e. the things mentioned in this thread). This is important regardless of the intended use of the reloaded ammo. The stickies on this website also give detailed instruction with lots of color pictures 
Let's not also forget that Savages have known extraction issues with .338L...just another variable to toss in the mix.
Similar threads
