What is the big deal about Lapua brass

[Ned Ludd]

I hate to bring this up Ben but 1954 was the SECOND half of the last century. I was born in the FIRST half. Hope you're not having problems with Alzheimers yet ..... Anyway I prefer Lapua also for its superior metallurgy/alloy.

Some people "age" at different rates. Apparently Ben was born in the first half of the last century solely based on his "apparent" age, a claim which is strongly supported by his recollection and use of numbers . It's all good...once you get past a certain point, it's all just big numbers in little books.


As far as why people use Lapua brass, I had never used anything but Lapua brass until recently. I purchased 1000 pcs of virgin Lake City .223 Rem brass for a new F-TR competition rifle in which I planned shoot 90 VLDs. Pushing the 90s at 2850+ fps is pretty hard on brass and the LC brass has a reputation of having pretty hard caseheads and slightly greater case volume than Lapua; factors that should both work in favor of improving brass life with a relatively high pressure load. Long story short, the 1000 pcs of LC brass are still sitting in a box, and I am using Lapua brass in the new rifle. Frankly, the LC brass was good for little more IMO than plinking ammunition. The flash hole uniformity was non-existent, which is certain fixable with effort. However, the LC cases also had large amount of brass flashing on the inside of the case surrounding the flash hole. This material was semi-welded to the bottom of the case and extremely difficult to remove, one case at a time. I can only speak for myself, but I'm not going to use brass that has brass flashing "gravel" littered all over the bottom of the case. I'm also not going to dig that material out case by case. The flash holes and area inside the case on Lapua brass for me has always been pristine. There is a good reason why other brass costs less...and you typically get exactly what you pay for.

 

[Gary in MD]

Yea, Lapua brass is good.
Wish they made it in the 220 Swift!!
Gary

 

[dickn52]

I hate to bring this up Ben but 1954 was the SECOND half of the last century. I was born in the FIRST half. Hope you're not having problems with Alzheimers yet ..... Anyway I prefer Lapua also for its superior metallurgy/alloy.

Yep, I think 50 would be the mid point, I'm 1948.

 

[nmkid]

I was born 3 months before WW ll ended. I'll leave it at that!

 

[MrBottleneck]

I will stick with Lapua.
Last bag of Winchester I bought (quite a while back) looked like it been tumbled in a concrete mixer with rocks. So, many dented/crushed in case mouths it was ridiculous.
If they would just box the darn things instead of bagging them that in itself would help a lot. I suppose they feel the money they save over a cheap hard cardboard box is more important then quality and customer satisfaction. Thats one big reason I am on the Lapua bandwagon other then I think Lapua is of a higher quality.

 

[PA Jeep]

I just like the name and they sent me a great Lapua drink cooler for my rum and coke. Most consistent / toughest drink cooler I own. Thanks Grafs!!

 

[dkhunt14]

I will stick with Lapua.
Last bag of Winchester I bought (quite a while back) looked like it been tumbled in a concrete mixer with rocks. So, many dented/crushed in case mouths it was ridiculous.
If they would just box the darn things instead of bagging them that in itself would help a lot. I suppose they feel the money they save over a cheap hard cardboard box is more important then quality and customer satisfaction. Thats one big reason I am on the Lapua bandwagon other then I think Lapua is of a higher quality.

I have also heard that from other people. Even worse like split necks, bad shoulders and loose pockets on new brass. Matt

 

[IdahoSharpshooter]

September of 1949 here. My first rig was a Tong Tool for my Krag 25 Krag Improved.

I wanted a 22-284 about 25 years ago. I was advised to buy 500 Winchester cases to make sure I had at least one Case-Gard 100 full of good brass. Out of 500 I ended up with 150 +/- in a 5gr range towards the heavier side. That was the largest batch under a 3.5gr spread. Last year I wanted a 6.5-284. I ordered 120 from Bruno so I would have a Case-Gard 100. All 120 were in a 2.8gr spread. I measured the first 30 or so for oal, they were all within .0016" for length. Then I gave up. I used the 20 for load work.

When you buy LAPUA, just buy as many as you need, FL size them, and go load them.

 

[dcali]

A couple more points:

First, I have found Norma brass to be every bit as good as Lapua, so don't overlook it - it may be a good option. Unfortunately, it's also expensive.

And second, using Lapua brass in a semi-auto (or even a typical factory bolt action) is a waste of money. I think people in this thread are assuming the use of a custom bolt action with a properly cut chamber aiming for consistent sub-1/2 MOA accuracy or better.

 

[spife7980]

The most obvious visual indicator of quality to me is the primer pockets. Get a scraper and scrape a winchester or remington pocket. Youll see lots of little areas still left where the cut depth is inconsistent and the scraper cant touch it leaving the burnt residue. Scrape a lapua pocket and they all come out nice and shiny without any pocket uniforming.

 

[gotcha]

I hate to bring this up Ben but 1954 was the SECOND half of the last century. I was born in the FIRST half. Hope you're not having problems with Alzheimers yet ..... Anyway I prefer Lapua also for its superior metallurgy/alloy.

Ya' gotta love shoot dots for all he's contributed here

 

[dkhunt14]

A couple more points:

First, I have found Norma brass to be every bit as good as Lapua, so don't overlook it - it may be a good option. Unfortunately, it's also expensive.

And second, using Lapua brass in a semi-auto (or even a typical factory bolt action) is a waste of money. I think people in this thread are assuming the use of a custom bolt action with a properly cut chamber aiming for consistent sub-1/2 MOA accuracy or better.

My buddy has a semi that shoots 1/2 MOA. Matt

 

[ranger3]

I have lapua brass for my 260 as well as winchester 243 necked up to 260. I'm done with win brass, I get 2-3 firings on a bunch of it and the primer pockets are done, same loads on lapua no problem. If I were to get a caliber I don't have brass for, I'd only buy 100 lapua, they would wear out the barrel.

 

[Webster]

I have been loading for 35+ years and shot probably every brand of brass out there.
Can someone explain to me why People think Lapua brass is so far superior than any other brands?
If utmost precision is called for why hasn't anyone turned ultra precise brass on a mill?
Am I just too old school?

I bought a 6BR in 2009 and 200 Lapua cases. Still shooting the same cases. About 18 reloads per case. 1 split neck. I anneal about every 5 reloads. Don't shoot near max loads. No end in sight.

 

[dickn52]

My buddy has a semi that shoots 1/2 MOA. Matt

That is great shooting. Going to move out to 50 yards next week?

 

[dkhunt14]

That is great shooting. Going to move out to 50 yards next week?

That is 100 yards. It was built by a guy that shoots AR'S in competition. Matt

 

[dickn52]

That is 100 yards. It was built by a guy that shoots AR'S in competition. Matt

Just being silly. Good shooting.

 

[284winner]

I was born 3 months before WW ll ended. I'll leave it at that!

1945 was a good year.( July is also a good month) Age is only a number guys. Being in this shooting game gives us all something for our minds to do for excercise so we keep that Alzh_ _ _ _ _ _ thing at bay. As for Lapua brass. Consistency, unifority and weight are not alot different to me and accuracy really isn't either. It's completely how many times I can reload Lapua vs any other brass. It's hands down the best for longevity in my experience. Period. That's the only reason why I use it.

 

[Richard Coody]

1945 was a good year.( July is also a good month) Age is only a number guys. Being in this shooting game gives us all something for our minds to do for excercise so we keep that Alzh_ _ _ _ _ _ thing at bay. As for Lapua brass. Consistency, unifority and weight are not alot different to me and accuracy really isn't either. It's completely how many times I can reload Lapua vs any other brass. It's hands down the best for longevity in my experience. Period. That's the only reason why I use it.

Well i just weigh sorted 200 pieces of the.new creedmoor brass. All but 18 were within 0.5 grains and those 18 were less than 1 gr. Weight varied from 165.48 to 164.78. I would call that consistent.

Started checking necks on the same brass. Decided i need to run an expander in them to straighten out some dents and chamfer first. I will be back with a report.

 

[Grimstod]

6PPC on 200+ reloads. That rifle has had 20 plus barrels on it. And still using the same box of brass that was purchased with it. No enealing either. Lapua!!