6 BRA Extraction and bolt lift issues

[DJSBRS]

I continue to read where a considerable amount of you are having bolt lift and or extraction problems with ALPHA OCD brass with mild loads.

In my opinion, after many hours of research and testing, I have determined the real issue that those problems are caused using the wrong chamber reamer dimensions for that particular brass. The new Alpha 6 BRA OCD brass is harder than Lapua and will not expand at the .200 line to match a Lapua Fire form/ Hydro formed chamber. You must have a chamber less than .470 at the .200 line to allow the Alpha OCD BRA brass to actually expand and grab your chamber wall and not thrust on the bolt face causing hard bolt lift.

Options:
A) Use the proper reamer designed for Alpha BRA brass to grab all of the chamber side wall of the case to hold in place while bullet is exiting barrel without thrusting on bolt face.

B) Use a neck sizer/ shoulder bump die only until ALPA 6 BRA OCD brass expands more after several fired rounds ( more than 6 ). Do not full length size as it will not ever allow brass to expand to the Lapua chamber at .200 line.

C) Use Lapua brass to expand to that chamber.

In order to use Alpha OCD brass without issues, I recommend sending an unfired 6BRA OCD brass to order a new reamer from maker of your choice.

I have been told Alpha sells a specific reamer for their 6BRA OCD brass.

Just my .02¢ worth.

DJ

DJ's Brass Service
205-461-4680

 

[SKWERLZ]

Why not design brass that works with the popular chambers like Norma, lapua and Peterson?

Then your stuck with a reamer that forces you to only one brass option.

 

[DJSBRS]

The first batch of Alpha 6BR brass (non OCD) would form to a standard chamber. When they made the primer pockets harder ( OCD ), the whole case became too hard to form properly.

The cost to retool is very expensive to make larger brass at the .200 line.

DJ

 

[Clancy]

Spot on Mr Jones.

 

[Alex Wheeler]

All BRA brass is OCD. We still have some of the first run. It does not work in all chambers either. The weird thing is that the one chamber it worked really well in was cut with my first BRA reamer which was oversized. The reamer was so good I sent it out to be measured to learn what the true dimensions were. Mainly the freebore. But the .2" line was .472". I believe it too because if we use brass from that chamber in my other chambers it wants to click. So its definitely my fattest reamer. But also has probably 75% or more of the records.

 

[DJSBRS]

All BRA brass is OCD. We still have some of the first run. It does not work in all chambers either. The weird thing is that the one chamber it worked really well in was cut with my first BRA reamer which was oversized. The reamer was so good I sent it out to be measured to learn what the true dimensions were. Mainly the freebore. But the .2" line was .472". I believe it too because if we use brass from that chamber in my other chambers it wants to click. So its definitely my fattest reamer. But also has probably 75% or more of the records.

Was the first 6BR Alpha OCD? Also Alex, was your original chamber pre Alpha era?

DJ

 

[Alex Wheeler]

Was the first 6BR Alpha OCD? Also Alex, was your original chamber pre Alpha era?

DJ

I dont know, I know the dasher had non ocd at first. Not sure about the br. But the bra was all ocd.
All my chambers are pre Alpha. We were shooting the bra before they made brass for it.

 

[Ackman]

I have been told Alpha sells a specific reamer for their 6BRA OCD brass..

DJ

DJ's Brass Service
205-461-4680

That's correct. They have reamers spec'd for everything they make.

 

[urbanrifleman]

Good to know.

 

[waverly]

We make them and they are $380. They are carbide and we guarantee every dimension will be within 4 microns (75% of the reamers fall within 2 microns). They are the most accurate chambers reamers in the world.

Tom DANIELSON
Alpha Munitions

This was an email exchange between Tom Danielson and myself maybe 3-4 months ago.

I told him $380. was more than I could justify and he told to call JGS. His reply is below.

No worries. Have JGS cut the BRA with CIP base and you will be good.


Good guy. I have taken his advise and ordered the JGS reamer since i chamber maybe 3-4 barrels a year. I have Lapua brass and a JGS Wheeler #1, and will have other CIP Alpha reamer from JGS in a few to go with the Alpha brass I have as well. Now all I need is time to shoot.

Waverly

 

[Alex Wheeler]

We make them and they are $380. They are carbide and we guarantee every dimension will be within 4 microns (75% of the reamers fall within 2 microns). They are the most accurate chambers reamers in the world.

Tom DANIELSON
Alpha Munitions

This was an email exchange between Tom Danielson and myself maybe 3-4 months ago.

I told him $380. was more than I could justify and he told to call JGS. His reply is below.

No worries. Have JGS cut the BRA with CIP base and you will be good.


Good guy. I have taken his advise and ordered the JGS reamer since i chamber maybe 3-4 barrels a year. I have Lapua brass and a JGS Wheeler #1, and will have other CIP Alpha reamer from JGS in a few to go with the Alpha brass I have as well. Now all I need is time to shoot.

Waverly

You should ask Tom what the maximum chamber size can be, and let JGS know. They have a tolerance. So if .470" is the max you may want to order a reamer .0003" smaller than that. And make sure the smith cuts a chamber no bigger than the reamer. That is common.

 

[Lynn313]

We make them and they are $380. They are carbide and we guarantee every dimension will be within 4 microns (75% of the reamers fall within 2 microns). They are the most accurate chambers reamers in the world.

Tom DANIELSON
Alpha Munitions

This was an email exchange between Tom Danielson and myself maybe 3-4 months ago.

I told him $380. was more than I could justify and he told to call JGS. His reply is below.

No worries. Have JGS cut the BRA with CIP base and you will be good.


Good guy. I have taken his advise and ordered the JGS reamer since i chamber maybe 3-4 barrels a year. I have Lapua brass and a JGS Wheeler #1, and will have other CIP Alpha reamer from JGS in a few to go with the Alpha brass I have as well. Now all I need is time to shoot.

Waverly

How does your Alpha brass perform with the chamber you have cut to the CIP base? Yesterday I mailed a 28” Kreiger to my gunsmith to cut an inch off of and rechamber with an Alpha 6 bra 120 fb reamer. I was having some bolt lift as low as 29.5 Varget. I had some other problems including my necks not sealing in my chamber. What is the neck on your smaller base chambers. Thanks for any help you can provide.

I have 300 that I skimmed the necks to .012. Of these I have shot 112 in a chamber I think is too large at the base for them. I have another 300 I haven’t touched. I thought about selling my Alpha & trying to find Lapua 6 BR to fire form instead of rechambering.

 

[Clancy]

How does your Alpha brass perform with the chamber you have cut to the CIP base? Yesterday I mailed a 28” Kreiger to my gunsmith to cut an inch off of and rechamber with an Alpha 6 bra 120 fb reamer. I was having some bolt lift as low as 29.5 Varget. I had some other problems including my necks not sealing in my chamber. What is the neck on your smaller base chambers. Thanks for any help you can provide.

I have 300 that I skimmed the necks to .012. Of these I have shot 112 in a chamber I think is too large at the base for them. I have another 300 I haven’t touched. I thought about selling my Alpha & trying to find Lapua 6 BR to fire form instead of rechambering.

Sounds good either way. I would get an eBay press and a hydro form die before I added 300 rounds to my barrel.

My friends say I like my ammo like I like my whiskey, warm and small batch. So, I don’t need many pieces of brass. I can get through the better part of a barrel with 50 pieces.

If I was a volume shooter, I’d certainly hydroform or let Mr Jones do it for his modest fee.

 

[waverly]

How does your Alpha brass perform with the chamber you have cut to the CIP base? Yesterday I mailed a 28” Kreiger to my gunsmith to cut an inch off of and rechamber with an Alpha 6 bra 120 fb reamer. I was having some bolt lift as low as 29.5 Varget. I had some other problems including my necks not sealing in my chamber. What is the neck on your smaller base chambers. Thanks for any help you can provide.

I have 300 that I skimmed the necks to .012. Of these I have shot 112 in a chamber I think is too large at the base for them. I have another 300 I haven’t touched. I thought about selling my Alpha & trying to find Lapua 6 BR to fire form instead of rechambering.

I don 't have the Alpha CIP reamer. It's 18-20 weeks lead time. I have Wheeler #1 reamer, and Lapua brass, but have not cut a chamber for a BRA. I have 2 boxes of Alpha BRA brass and thought I'd like to be able to use it. Thats why the Alpha CIP reamer. Then there is a butt load of added expense for the custom reamer, dies, etc. It's going to be expensive.

I have 2 Dashers that were competitive the last time I shot them. I've got 2 shoulders and biceps with screws in them. I'm still in PT from surgery, and I'm hoping the surgeon will release me to shoot after July 5. Everything I've wanted to do has been on hold. It's been a very long year.

I copied some info from Tom at Alpha because I thought it tied into the conversation. If you email Tom at Alpha he'll probably send you a copy of the reamer print. It has the answers to your questions. I'd post it but there is a disclaimer attached to it. Ask your gunsmith which reamer he has.

I hope I haven't muddied the waters on this post. Good luck with your BRA.

I'm sorry for the delayed response. I work Saturdays. Then this morning my
wife got torn up by wasps working in the yard after church. It's been a day.

Regards, Waverly

 

[Lynn313]

I don 't have the Alpha CIP reamer. It's 18-20 weeks lead time. I have Wheeler #1 reamer, and Lapua brass, but have not cut a chamber for a BRA. I have 2 boxes of Alpha BRA brass and thought I'd like to be able to use it. Thats why the Alpha CIP reamer. Then there is a butt load of added expense for the custom reamer, dies, etc. It's going to be expensive.

I have 2 Dashers that were competitive the last time I shot them. I've got 2 shoulders and biceps with screws in them. I'm still in PT from surgery, and I'm hoping the surgeon will release me to shoot after July 5. Everything I've wanted to do has been on hold. It's been a very long year.

I copied some info from Tom at Alpha because I thought it tied into the conversation. If you email Tom at Alpha he'll probably send you a copy of the reamer print. It has the answers to your questions. I'd post it but there is a disclaimer attached to it. Ask your gunsmith which reamer he has.

I hope I haven't muddied the waters on this post. Good luck with your BRA.

I'm sorry for the delayed response. I work Saturdays. Then this morning my
wife got torn up by wasps working in the yard after church. It's been a day.

Regards, Waverly

Thanks for the information.

Yesterday I mailed my barrel to my gunsmith. He has an Alpha 6mm BRA reamer .120 fb.
My gunsmith did not do the barrel I’ve been having problems with. I bought the 28” Kreiger + all gunsmith work for $500 on a Black Friday sale one of the gun stores was having. If Alpha doesn’t inform these store owners when they make changes a certain # of customers are going to lose money & have bad experiences before everyone is aware of the problem.

After I shoot it with the new chamber when it returns I’ll post results here. I’m having the 1” piece sent back to me. If smooth enough I’ll have my .469 - .474 minus pin gauges & can check the old chamber.

 

[dgeesaman]

Hypothetically could I take my current 6BRA reamer, which is too wide for alpha, and have JGS grind it down to .470?

David

 

[DJSBRS]

Hypothetically could I take my current 6BRA reamer, which is too wide for alpha, and have JGS grind it down to .470?

David

Yes sir. Provide all your other dimensions are larger or the same and not less than as well.

DJ

 

[dgeesaman]

Yes sir. Provide all your other dimensions are larger or the same and not less than as well.

DJ

Ok that makes sense. I wasn’t sure how much stock removal was reasonable.

Less hypothetically speaking, I really doubt I’d ever bother unless my current reamer needs resharpened.

David

 

[Link]

This problem made me ill. After spending a LOT of money just to have a barrel chambered to 6bra then to have brass problems in the early run of Alpha. I had the barrel rechambered to straight 6br, problem solved.
:{

Thinking back this cost me a hole season and about 1K. - Lost time and money - oh well.

 

[SKWERLZ]

This problem made me ill. After spending a LOT of money just to have a barrel chambered to 6bra then to have brass problems in the early run of Alpha. I had the barrel rechambered to straight 6br, problem solved.
:{

Thinking back this cost me a hole season and about 1K. - Lost time and money - oh well.

That’s why I used a different brand of brass for my 6BRA and couldn’t be happier with it.
Too many occurrences of issues with alpha brass.