Peterson or Lapua brass
- Thread starter Eric Leonard
- Start date
Op, since you are resizing to 25-06(.257) i would recommend the peterson because it is "softer" out the box than Lapua and should be easier to reshape. You would be necking 30-06(.308) brass down quite a bit so the softer material should move better in the die. Would also recommend sizing down in at least 2 steps...or better still, would be to use .270 Win brass(.277)...then you could probably re-size in 1 step using the 25-06 FL sizing die. Peterson 270 Win brass is in stock just about everywhere...not cheap but available. Side note, if your 25-06 is only used for hunting, dont discount Starline. Its much more cost effective and with good brass prep and loading technique will give you more than acceptable accuracy for that purpose.
Steve Donlon
Gold $$ Contributor
In my 30-06 rifles I have .337 chambers so I turn the necks , but like straightshooter1 said, the web thickness is thicker and looks like it has a little less volume for powder on the Peterson brass when you put the brass next to each other. But that won't matter much in the 30-06 unless you are running hotter loads with the 25. I think that might be a reason it will not last as long as Lapua. I do get pressure signs sooner with Peterson. Otherwise, get which ever one you can get the best deal on. I notice the difference more on the 6.5 Creedmoor brass because of higher pressure loads.
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wildcatter
Silver $$ Contributor
If you want to give up volume go Peterson. But why build any cartridge to give up on capacity. Main thing is do not try and load Peterson with the same loads you used in Lapua. Plus to date, which case is most dominate in Benchrest,,,, the most absolute accuracy game on the planet, long short and intermediate? One clue, it aint Peterson!
I'd go well out of my way to use Lapua, it's proven for decades to be as good as it gets!
I'd go well out of my way to use Lapua, it's proven for decades to be as good as it gets!
DLT
Silver $$ Contributor
He’s right
ELR LVR
Silver $$ Contributor
on certain cases a max load leaves some space on top of the powder column
In these instances I like that space filled to try and bring the load density up as much as possible
IE: for things like .223 I want more capacity so often use LC which is tough and thin
For other cases like the BR, I want thick cases to fill up that internal space
-----------------
So this is another deciding factor to consider between Lapua vs Others
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One other thing that goes along with this is brass weight
I try to make my brass weight as close to one another as possible
So when I built the last 284 Win, I already had Winchester Brass
and bought some Peterson to test
Peterson was so close to the Winchester including the neck tension & weight
that I can mix them up and not worry about having to segregate them
-----------------Similarly I really don't care for Federal brass due to how soft it is
But when I make .260 from .308, --- Federal brass is the same weight as my other brass so I can
use federal when I do this, (for instance if I find once fired range brass)
One reason I like the 260 is because there is so much 308 range brass you hardly ever have to buy extra brass
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Whatever is your choice. The work required to prep n develop loads is Identical. mike in ct
wildcatter
Silver $$ Contributor
My lapua 223 Match brass is I dentical case capacity to the three different year lots of LC I have, but the lake city has weight variance of over 1,5 grains, with every lot I've had.The Lapua holds a ,6 variance for any lot I've checked,,,, thats all I've personally used, 1000's! Consistency is hands down to Lapua/
I load 6mm AI and 257 AI, for both Lapua 8x57 is the most consistent and the strongest brass I've found for any 7mm parent cased cartridge made. Same for the 30/06 brass, I use it my 338/06 AI and have sized it down and trimmed/turned for the 7x57 AI. I've used about everything out there in the past 7 decades, but have yet to find anything as consistent or as strong as Lapua, from any country!
The Peterson I've only seen the BR brass, and it went down the road quickly, If I want less powder capacity, I'll chamber a round for it. I have never seeded for anything but the best when it matters, for me Lapua has proven to be in every case I used. 220 Russian, 221 fireball, 22, 223, BR, 6.5X47, 8x57, 243, 30/06, in these cases I have never found anything their equal. Yes I've tried.
But I've shot short range BR for years, and now everything matters to me. By Lapua and know it is as good as you can buy, or try something else and hope it as good as what everything else is compared to? One thing is for sure, it won't be better than Lapua!
ELR LVR
Silver $$ Contributor
If all you're looking for is light tough brass
Lapua may be it.
Thats not my concern in my brass
Neck tension being consistent and not taking 50 lbs of force to seat a bullet is.
Each person may have their own criteria to meet
And Actually RP 6BR brass has been my best BR brass. Lapua gives me more split necks
And Even when I anneal, my RP brass lasts longer
I don't mind chamfering flash holes or turning necks to uniform the brass
The neck tension is where it's at.
"Accuracy is in the neck tension, not how tough the brass is"
I have not found that Lapua brass that can provide lighter neck tension like
Winchester, RP, Peterson
Otherwise I would keep buying Lapua too.
Last lot of Lapua I bought, I figured I'd give them a shot again and fell for the hype
Experienced the same thing as 5 years ago thinking ..."when in doubt? buy Lapua right?"
... same thing again, no matter the caliber of cartridge = Too heavy of neck tension.
So I'm seeing this as a constant as opposed to a lot to lot anomaly with Lapua
I'd be afraid I'd have to turn my Lapua necks to .005" thickness to get the same neck tension as what my other brass provides.
I'm just not going to fall for all the hype for their brass anymore.
If all a person cares for is how LONG their brass lasts then I tip my hat to Lapua
On the other hand, by choosing what performs best for me ...
...I don't mind having to buy more brass in 3 or 4 years
I'll buy Lapua's bullets though, they're bad ass
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Long ago I swapped out my Lapua 6BR for Peterson and I have never had to trim them after more than 15 loading's...
Wet tumbled clean, AMP annealed {for consistency} neck chamfer Id/Od to remove any peening to the case mouth and that perhaps accounts for the fact that they have never needed trimming as there is always a small amount of brass removed. Chamber is a JGS 1262 no neck turn that just seems to shoot over two rifles and barrels.
Pockets still good and only recently did I need to size the body of the cases as I started using a Wilson seating die to seat and they were just a bit tight in the die though still able to chamber in the rifle.
Put them through the Roll Sizer and presto!
No sticking in the Wilson die, only needed to take about .001" down.
I could have just passed the cases back through a body die but as they were all powdered up and ready to seat, putting them through the Roll Sizer meant that I did not have to lube the cases for the body die to shrink them down a tiny amount.
They are still delivering good results and a week ago resulted with a 200.15 at 500yds, second string 100.9 with #9 shot just dropping out of X a 6 O'clock... Pilot error I suspect...
Just picking up the news of 50% tariffs of European goods starting June first so it’s either get your Lapua, Norma brass or settle on Peterson…
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wkdickinson
Gold $$ Contributor
I am on the 7th reloading of 200 pieces of 6.5 CM Peterson and the primer pocket are still "tight".
rwj
Gold $$ Contributor
My post was not a complaint, just reporting an observation. Peterson cases have performed well, delivered good service life, and are made not far from where I live. Interesting to note that I’ve met other users that have reported the same need to trim more frequently. Good to hear that other users are not.Long ago I swapped out my Lapua 6BR for Peterson and I have never had to trim them after more than 15 loading's...
Wet tumbled clean, AMP annealed {for consistency} neck chamfer Id/Od to remove any peening to the case mouth and that perhaps accounts for the fact that they have never needed trimming as there is always a small amount of brass removed. Chamber is a JGS 1262 no neck turn that just seems to shoot over two rifles and barrels.
Pockets still good and only recently did I need to size the body of the cases as I started using a Wilson seating die to seat and they were just a bit tight in the die though still able to chamber in the rifle.
Put them through the Roll Sizer and presto!
No sticking in the Wilson die, only needed to take about .001" down.
I could have just passed the cases back through a body die but as they were all powdered up and ready to seat, putting them through the Roll Sizer meant that I did not have to lube the cases for the body die to shrink them down a tiny amount.
They are still delivering good results and a week ago resulted with a 200.15 at 500yds, second string 100.9 with #9 shot just dropping out of X a 6 O'clock... Pilot error I suspect...
Just picking up the news of 50% tariffs of European goods starting June first so it’s either get your Lapua, Norma brass or settle on Peterson…
wildcatter
Silver $$ Contributor
I don't ever load by sami specs, all my rifles are loaded to the chambers they are finished with. Sammi is a standard for manufacturing, and not one of my rifles are manufactured. Like others said we have different needs, and I refuse to accept a general specification for close enough to apply that to my rifles. They are one of's, regardless of chambering, and get treated that way!
I also taylor every rifle with loads specific to that rifle, even if I own more than one rifle in that chambering. Some get as little as .001" tension some .0035" tension. But my dies are what dictate my seating tension, not my brass. I will assure anyone the BR loads I shoot would destroy the r-p brass to the point the primers would fall out in two maybe 3 firings at the most. But is run 95 grn HPBT out of my standard 6BR at 3050 fps, I have to to get it to group in to the .2's" Same with my .257 AI 88grn HPBT to over 3700 fps, but again thats where it gets into the .2's"
But whatever an individual needs to do what they want is what works, trust me, they don't work for me, But, I only have experience with their BR case, that was enough for me!
I also taylor every rifle with loads specific to that rifle, even if I own more than one rifle in that chambering. Some get as little as .001" tension some .0035" tension. But my dies are what dictate my seating tension, not my brass. I will assure anyone the BR loads I shoot would destroy the r-p brass to the point the primers would fall out in two maybe 3 firings at the most. But is run 95 grn HPBT out of my standard 6BR at 3050 fps, I have to to get it to group in to the .2's" Same with my .257 AI 88grn HPBT to over 3700 fps, but again thats where it gets into the .2's"
But whatever an individual needs to do what they want is what works, trust me, they don't work for me, But, I only have experience with their BR case, that was enough for me!
Owens85
Gold $$ Contributor
Either brass will work fine. As for to much neck tension that is what it is . You can control that with any brass.( Mandrels/ bushings) As for seating force you can control that with condition of the inside of your necks. ( Tumbling in different medias / different lubes before seating bullets/ brushing inside of necks /doing nothing to inside of necks to actual neck tension all this will change seating force but that's not neck tension).
Having said all this i do have some Peterson brass for a hunting rifle and it does just fine for that application. As for my BR rifles it's Lapua.
Having said all this i do have some Peterson brass for a hunting rifle and it does just fine for that application. As for my BR rifles it's Lapua.
I do love me some Lapua brass.
That being said, I've now bought Peterson in 6CM SRP and LRP, .260 Rem, and 300 PRC that I necked down. In all four, I've managed single digit SDs, and in the three standard .478 bolt face cartridges I've got handloads that routinely go sub half-minute for five shot groups.
I will not hesitate to buy more... but really availability has been the biggest driving factor for me. I am not a benchrest guy, so half MOA and single-digit SDs are my happy spot.
No issues with the reloading process either and Peterson. However I will admit that I'm only only my 3rd firing of some of it... so perhaps something ugly will rear its head later. Lapua brass is awesome for longevity.
That being said, I've now bought Peterson in 6CM SRP and LRP, .260 Rem, and 300 PRC that I necked down. In all four, I've managed single digit SDs, and in the three standard .478 bolt face cartridges I've got handloads that routinely go sub half-minute for five shot groups.
I will not hesitate to buy more... but really availability has been the biggest driving factor for me. I am not a benchrest guy, so half MOA and single-digit SDs are my happy spot.
No issues with the reloading process either and Peterson. However I will admit that I'm only only my 3rd firing of some of it... so perhaps something ugly will rear its head later. Lapua brass is awesome for longevity.
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