How to handle new brass?

[SWThomas]

I've been reloading lately with fire-formed Black Hills and Nosler 308WIN brass. I recently ordered some Lapua 308 brass and would like to know how to handle it when I get it. Should I just load it up with some bullets without resizing it and shoot them to fire-form them? Or should I measure a fire-formed case and duplicate its measurements on the Lapua brass during sizing? I just want to make sure I don't shorten the life of this expensive brass by accident.

Thanks!

 

[gau17]

I run my new brass through an expander mandrel to make sure the necks are uniform.

 

[Neo]

How exactly do you plan on duplicating the size of your fire formed brass with new brass. When it comes to Lapua I load and shoot unless I find a dented case mouth. If I do then I just run an expander ball to make the case mouth round again.

 

[sinister]

Lapua is some of the best production manufactured brass you'll find on the market. Not sure if there's anything you really need to do to it, especially if it's for your GAP-10.

 

[smschulz]

I run my new brass through an expander mandrel to make sure the necks are uniform.

^^^ This ^^^

 

[SWThomas]

How exactly do you plan on duplicating the size of your fire formed brass with new brass. When it comes to Lapua I load and shoot unless I find a dented case mouth. If I do then I just run an expander ball to make the case mouth round again.

I was going to use a fire-formed case and size the new brass to mirror it. Is that not a good idea?

 

[gimpy]

I was going to use a fire-formed case and size the new brass to mirror it. Is that not a good idea?

Not sure how you're going to do that. The fired brass should be slightly larger than the new Lapua brass.

 

[SWThomas]

Not sure how you're going to do that. The fired brass should be slightly larger than the new Lapua brass.

I'm talking shoulder measurements.

 

[Pinecone]

New brass should be smaller than any fired brass. So hard to make it larger.

I load and shoot.

 

[mdmp5]

Lapua is some of the best production manufactured brass you'll find on the market. Not sure if there's anything you really need to do to it, especially if it's for your GAP-10.

Not entirely true. No need to do anything to primer pockets or flash holes, but the mouths are notoriously banged up, as evidenced by every batch of lapua brass I have gotten, especially 338. There is no reason why you shouldn't neck size new brass. If you can, run one pass with a large bushing and expander ball, then a final pass with smaller bushing and no expander. Leave the shoulder and body alone.

 

[mdmp5]

I just want to make sure I don't shorten the life of this expensive brass by accident.

Thanks!

You will not shorten the life of your brass in one sitting. You can only do this if you repeatedly bump your shoulders back something crazy like .007" with no annealing. Just round out your mouths, size them right, and load. After firing, try to bump them no more than 0.002" if you can.

 

[Down South]

Run it over a mandrel and shoot it.

 

[kansas]

I run mine through a Lee collet die to size the necks. The neck on the new Lapua brass will be a little tight and will have a little resistance going through a Lee die when new. Then I trim to a consistant length, chafer and de-burr. Prime them and load.

We had this thread a week ago or so and it was pointed out that before you start stuffing bullets in new brass you should make sure it will chamber in your rifle. Some chambers are too tight to run new brass without sizing it first. None of my rifles are but it would suck to load a bunch of ammo and find out it won't chamber.

 

[bruddah]

Good thread as I am in the same boat. New .308 brass. I too found it was very tight when running the case mouth through the Lee collet die and expander ball.

 

[SWThomas]

Thanks for the advice fellas. I don't have a mandrel, bushing dies, or collet dies. I guess I'll run it through the Dillon die I have and shoot it. It will resized the neck and the expander ball will make it round again.

 

[lrgrendel]

I shoot 6.5 Grendel with Lapua brass out of a gas gun. Straight from the box and it works great.
Same for my rem 700 308 WIN. Straight out of the box.

 

[[email protected]]

I run mine through a Lee collet die to size the necks. The neck on the new Lapua brass will be a little tight and will have a little resistance going through a Lee die when new. Then I trim to a consistant length, chafer and de-burr. Prime them and load.

We had this thread a week ago or so and it was pointed out that before you start stuffing bullets in new brass you should make sure it will chamber in your rifle. Some chambers are too tight to run new brass without sizing it first. None of my rifles are but it would suck to load a bunch of ammo and find out it won't chamber.

Exactly what I do. I've never had any problems not clambering. My new batch of norma is .018" under SAMMI headspace, seems a little excessive but oh well.

 

[[email protected]]

I also measured the same 250 pieces of brass and found up to .012" difference in OAL, so definitely trim. Primer pockets came in at .0015-.0025" so I'm not going to worry about that. Headspace was around .003" variance, might FL size.