Giraud & Lapua brass

[Ritten]

I received my Giraud trimmer w/ .308 case holder earlier this week and finally was able to set it up and do some trimming last night. The unit works great and I am well impressed with the build of it, however I quickly ran into one issue when trying to trim some of my match brass. I shoot Lapua .308win. brass in a G.A. Precision rifle of the same caliber. The brass has two firings on it and has been F/L resized with a Redding S-type bushing FL sizing die (using .335 bushings on the neck) before I tried trimming on it. What I'm finding is that the body of the case is too large to fit entirely into the shell holder and it is sticking before the shoulder reaches the taper of the holder where it should. The shoulder was bumped back to the same measurements as new Lapua brass, and I don't want to bump it back anymore, but the body is .004" bigger than the new factory stuff.

I can't get a consistent trim by indexing off of the enlarged body, nor can I size them any further as it would bump back the shoulder more. I've tried some extra lube on the cases thinking perhaps it would reduce the friction enough to allow the shoulder to index, and I can get them down all the way, but they're EXTREMELY tough to pull back out and I often have to use a shell holder on the case head for grip.

Has anyone seen this before with Lapua brass and is there anyway I can get around it without having a custom holder made? I contacted Doug about it to get his thoughts but with such a popular caliber/headstamp/die combonation there has GOT to be someone here who's run into it before.

 

[ChadTRG42]

Re: Giraud & Lapua brass

Yes. Basically, the case is too big, like you already know. The holders he uses are designed for a standard spec/sized case to fit in the holder. Your 2 options are a custom holder, or size the case a little further. I would size it a little further back. Just curious, why wouldn't you want to size it back?

 

[Ritten]

Re: Giraud & Lapua brass

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ChadTRG42</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Yes. Basically, the case is too big, like you already know. The holders he uses are designed for a standard spec/sized case to fit in the holder. Your 2 options are a custom holder, or size the case a little further. I would size it a little further back. Just curious, why wouldn't you want to size it back? </div></div>

Because the shoulder is already back as far as new brass. I'm bumping it back .008-.01" just to get it there right now and I really don't want to be working my brass too much.

 

[ChadTRG42]

Re: Giraud & Lapua brass

I see. If you're bumping it back .008-.010", that's a good amount of sizing already. Take 1 case and size it fully to fit in the Giraurd holder, and see how much it moves the shoulder back. If you were bumping it back only .002" or so, I'd get a custom holder made. To really benifit when partial full length sizing, you need to be bumping the shoulder back around .002". This will help reduce case wear.

 

[Ritten]

Re: Giraud & Lapua brass

Here's what I'm working with. I've been in contact with Doug already and he's analyzing the issue as well.

Well, I got home and the shoulder/body junction is measuring .452 which is still under the SAAMI spec. My die IS a f/l sizer, and the only place it's hitting is right at the end of the case holder.

Factory new on left.....sized and attempted trimmed on right

Thickness at the rub marks

 

[hill billy]

Re: Giraud & Lapua brass

I had this exact problem. The sticking point is not the shoulder but about halfway down the case, you can see the mark on your brass on the right.You can send it to Giraud with some of your brass and they will open it up a little bit.

 

[Ritten]

Re: Giraud & Lapua brass

Thanks Hill Billy. Doug asked me to do that exact thing. He's taken care of me and I'm confident that should resolve the issue.