So much for Lapua brass

TacticalBoltKnob

TacticalBoltKnob

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Feb 23, 2014
175
0
Wisconsin
#1
Just bought some .308 Lapua brass and about half of them barely fit into my Lee hand priming tool. You have to really jimmy them in there. The rest all slide in like normal, confirming that some are bigger at the case head than others.

I thought Lapua was supposed to be so awesome and exacting... I am pretty disappointed.

Anyone else have this issue?
 
#2
Yes, I have had this problem before, especially with the Lapua 308 brass. I had issues in the past getting some cases in one of my Redding comp shell holders, but I filed some of the metal off the shell holder to make it work. More recently, I found the same problem with my Sinclair hand primer, which uses the same shell holders as Lee, except theirs are deburred.

Not all of my Lapua brass has this problem. I believe the brass that has been giving me this problem has been loaded too hot. I shot a bunch of brass with my usual load that I normally use for my FN SPR through my Tac Ops Xray 51 (recently sold). Mike's chambers are tighter than the FN, so I had to push the shoulder back more than normal to fit. In effect, I was loading the same charge in a case with decreased volume, leading to increased pressure. The loads were very hot, and I needed to back off the charge by 2 grains to normalize. What I think has happened, is that the increased pressure forced the cases hard aft into the bolt face, bunching up the case head rim and the web. Both the case head rim and the web have been getting stuck in my shell holder. Measurements show that this brass is about 2-3 thousandths thicker at these regions. I haven't tried to remedy the situation other than twisting the brass back and forth and squeezing it into the shell holder. I don't have the means to do this, but if you could somehow spin the brass and shave off a thousandth or 2 from the web and the rim, it would work well.
 
#3
I do think that you can find this issue with new unfired brass as well. I confirmed with Redding a while back that Lapua brass can be a little thicker in the rim and web regions, making it tough to squeeze into a shell holder.
 
#6
If new brass doesn't fit... It's probably the brass.... BUT if fired brass doesn't fit make sure you're not over pressured.. I used to use a redding shell holder to see if I was over pressured as a quick guage... I did a ladder test once when I was new and stupid: started low and ended where I had to almost pry the bolt open.... Rounds that were loaded within safe pressures fit my shell holders fine... Rounds that did not fit the shell holder or there was rubbing along the edge of the case rim correlated with the cases that showed signs high pressures....
 
#7
DocB said:
TBK,

You don't say what size holder you are using, but if a Lee #2 try the Lee #3 instead.

HTH,
DocB
Click to expand...

Thanks, DocB.

Yes, I was using the #2. If I am having troubles the next time I load, I will try the #3, because about half were very, very hard to get in and out, and the shell holder was narfing up my case heads a little bit.

I can't believe that Lapua is so perfect in every other regard but can't get the size of their case heads right. Makes no sense. Kinda defeats the purpose of buying $0.75-per-case brass.
 
Last edited:
#10
I had some 260 I got in the other week that wasnt perfectly round, and some case mouths were out of round... running them through the die set fixed it all, but I still wasnt happy with the quality that lapua is starting to drop to... I have been starting to hear of a lot of problems.
 
#12
Just get Winchester brass and be done with it.

I'm sure there's some sort of mathematical proof that you'll come out ahead, even with any 'saved' time prepping brass, with Winchester as most people who buy Lapua on the 'it saves me time' angle, lose that time by verifying the the brass is in fact in spec.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Aftermath
#14
Boogie said:
I'm in the market for a new batch of brass now and would love to switch to Winchester but I can't find any (.308 win) Does anyone know who has it in stock?
Click to expand...
Same here, no Winchester 308 brass to be found. So I bought some BHA Match once fired brass on another forum. It is very similar to the one bag of commercial Winchester brass that I do have. The crimped primer pockets are a pain, but at least that's a one time operation.
 
#16
TacticalBoltKnob said:
There is no Winchester brass anywhere that I have seen. No powder or primers at my local spot, either. I thought the ammo craze was over. WTF is going on?
Click to expand...

Virginia is full of both primers and powder. Its taken some searching to avoid the gougers, but I've successfully located and purchased 2000 fed 210 primers and about 20 pounds of powder off of the store shelves over the past month.
 
#17
Odd, I've used a ton of Lapua brass in several calibers and have never had a problem as you've described. Has anyone experienced this with Nosler brass? I hear very good things about it, including on this site? I'm using a K&M hand primer as well as a Lee primer for high volume loading.
 
#18
Well, more Lapua issues.

In addition to some not fitting in my hand priming tool shell holder, now some don't fit in my press shell holder. Also, after 3 firings, I have about 25% that will not hold a primer tightly enough, and that is with mid-level loads, nothing hot.

I am really unimpressed with Lapua. Sure, they may have tight tolerances and great consistency, but they are just too finicky. I will be going with a different brand for my next brass purchase.
 
#21
rangeryo said:
Virginia is full of both primers and powder. Its taken some searching to avoid the gougers, but I've successfully located and purchased 2000 fed 210 primers and about 20 pounds of powder off of the store shelves over the past month.
Click to expand...

No, not in this part of the state. Nosler and Hornady brass can be found, as well as primers....but bullets and powder are non-existent
 
#23
I have loaded thousands of rounds in 4 different calibers some way too hot and have never seen any inconsistencies like you mentioned. I have seen case head rim expansion but only with very hot rounds and even with those I got 10 firings before I got a loose primer p9cket.

Diego
 
#25
ATC said:
I'm in the Roanoke area. Varget and BLC2 are the main ones...I'm not sure what I want to run in my .308 yet. The only powder on the shelves here is 50BMG and H380...
Click to expand...

I see Varget around occasionally in the Richmond Area. I picked up 2 lbs of it a month or so back. I see lots of Reloader 17 and occasionally 15. Also found a pretty reliable source for Benchmark, 8208 and such. 4064 is in my opinion pretty much the same as Varget, and can be found abundantly. I keep 8-10lbs of it, as I've found no real difference in charge weights or accuracy in any of my loads. I'd be happy to pick up some Varget for you next time I see it.

P.S. sorry for the derail Tacticalboltknob... I've heard a few recent cases of bad Lapua brass, which is pretty disheartening since I've been thinking about ordering a large lot of it once I get my gun back from the smith. I think for now I'll stick with my Hornady match since I've got 5 50rd lots of it uniformed and ready to load already.
 
Last edited:
#26
rangeryo said:
P.S. sorry for the derail Tacticalboltknob... I've heard a few recent cases of bad Lapua brass, which is pretty disheartening since I've been thinking about ordering a large lot of it once I get my gun back from the smith. I think for now I'll stick with my Hornady match since I've got 5 50rd lots of it uniformed and ready to load already.
Click to expand...

No worries, the thread is basically over. I just wanted to provide an honest experience to all those considering purchasing this expensive brass. Not every product is awesome for everyone. Not trying to discourage anyone, just saying it wasn't the best for me.

To be bluntly honest, I also saw no accuracy improvement over the PMC brass I started reloading with, and that brass has low case capacity and the worst flash holes ever. But then again, I am not a bench-rest shooter shooting some hot-rodded bench rest rifle that shoots .18" groups.
 
#27
Ultra old thread but I’m having this EXACT same problem with virgin Lapua 308 brass and my Hornady shell holder. Out of 100 cases, 3 would not fit into shell holder whatsoever. Kinda pissed honestly. I’ve never had this problem with any other brass.

Has anyone contacted Lapua customer service before? I feel kinda screwed paying a premium for brass and multiple pieces barely fit and 3 didn’t fit at all.
 
#29
General RE LEE said:
Ultra old thread but I’m having this EXACT same problem with virgin Lapua 308 brass and my Hornady shell holder. Out of 100 cases, 3 would not fit into shell holder whatsoever. Kinda pissed honestly. I’ve never had this problem with any other brass.

Has anyone contacted Lapua customer service before? I feel kinda screwed paying a premium for brass and multiple pieces barely fit and 3 didn’t fit at all.
Click to expand...
Do you have any 308 shell holders from a different manufacturer to try?
 
#30
General RE LEE said:
Has anyone contacted Lapua customer service before? I feel kinda screwed paying a premium for brass and multiple pieces barely fit and 3 didn’t fit at all.
Click to expand...
Why havent you contacted Lapua? That would seem more productive than telling the Hide about it. There’s nothing we can do. It is between you and Lapua.
 
#31
1676509179651.png
 
  • Haha
Reactions: spife7980
#38
I’ve used a ton of Lapua brass. 308, 6.5-284, 284, 6.5 cm, 260 and 338LM

Haven’t had an issue. I’ll be loading 300 PRC soon as well
 
#39
General RE LEE said:
Ultra old thread but I’m having this EXACT same problem with virgin Lapua 308 brass and my Hornady shell holder. Out of 100 cases, 3 would not fit into shell holder whatsoever. Kinda pissed honestly. I’ve never had this problem with any other brass.

Has anyone contacted Lapua customer service before? I feel kinda screwed paying a premium for brass and multiple pieces barely fit and 3 didn’t fit at all.
Click to expand...
Sounds like a shell holder issue rather than a problem with the cases. :rolleyes: Shell holders should be able to accommodate all brass variations.

Brass thickness.png
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: General RE LEE
#40
TacticalBoltKnob said:
Well, more Lapua issues.

In addition to some not fitting in my hand priming tool shell holder, now some don't fit in my press shell holder. Also, after 3 firings, I have about 25% that will not hold a primer tightly enough, and that is with mid-level loads, nothing hot.

I am really unimpressed with Lapua. Sure, they may have tight tolerances and great consistency, but they are just too finicky. I will be going with a different brand for my next brass purchase.
Click to expand...
IT looks to me like 9 years ago this guy ruined his brass with pressure, then blamed the manufacturer. I remember my first batch of Lapau brass. I loaded it up with 46g of Varget under a 168 A-Max, like i did winchester, and then a bunch of it didn't want to fit into shell holders after the first firing. I learned a little lesson about case capacity. It cost me 200 pieces of brass. It was impressively tough considering what i was subjecting to.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Modoc
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

flyfisherman246
300 Win Mag Lapua brass neck thickness
Replies
5
Views
427
918v
918v
G
Lapua .223 Brass Broke in Half
Replies
115
Views
4K
Rocketvapor
Rocketvapor
B
308 win Winchester Brass
Replies
4
Views
470
Big Grizz
B
T
Precision 6.5 CM - What would you change about my process?
Replies
88
Views
2K
Oldloser
O
K
Why is my lapua 223 brass not chambering and sizing?
Replies
171
Views
3K
Haney
H
Top Bottom
Back
Home
Forums
Merch
Alerts