I just received 200 pieces of Lapua 6.5 CM. This is the first time I've ever bought Lapua brass and was disappointed with the packaging. The brass was rattling around in plastic box and when I opened it there was no foam protecting it. Out of 100 pieces in the first box 16 had noticeably bent/dented case mouths. I haven't opened the second box as I was pretty bummed. I figured I'd need to size and trim before first loading, but some of the pieces are pretty bad. Is this a common thing or did my brass go through some rough handling? At this point, I was way more impressed with the Nosler 6.5 CM brass packaging and condition (i.e. ready to load).
Missing foam is uncommon. In 200+ boxes of Lapua brass, all have had a layer of foam under the lid with a loading spec tag. The variances I've experienced in their product has been actual quantities, (98 out of 100 pieces) and some case mouths dented; both equally unfortunate.
Mine usually come with a few small dings at the necks. As part of my normal prep they'd get run over a mandrel or FL sized if the mandrel wont produce the neck dia i want. So this dings aren't a loss for me. I only inside chamfer and load after that. Regarding the bad ones, use a round rod of some sort, stick it in the case and push out the larger dents so they dont hang up on your mandrel or expander ball. Not a big deal, you have arguably the best brass made for the cartridge, and when it goes twice as long as your nosler brass, it'll end up being cheaper. Wins all around.
What size neck bushing are you guys using to get around .003 neck tension?
I read recently that lapua was having issues with discoloration of their brass due to the foam. My lapua brass also didn't come with any foam in it, though it didn't really matter i necked it down to 6.
The loaded round neck diameters are above. Subtract .004 for your answer(.001 of that will spring back).
