Lapua brass for AR15

[kyotekiller25]

Is it worth it to use Lapua brass in a precision minded build AR15 223? I was thinking about trying some of it in my AR. I'm just using some 1x fired, all same headstamp, ready to go range brass right now and not super impressed with the accuracy. Could also be that this is my first AR coming from bolts all my life. They are definitely different, and not quite sure how I still feel about them. I'm willing to give it a good go though before I decide to either keep it, or send it down the road...

 

[CJ6]

Get a brass catcher or you'll be losing that nice brass.
Just me but it took a bit more finessing to get good loads in mine.

 

[anschuter2013]

Using good brass in any firearm is worthwhile. Installing a piece of adhesive backed velcro to the brass deflector really helps to minimize brass case damage upon ejection.

 

[r bose]

I tried Lapua brass in my AR15 when shooting in competitions, Across the Course, shooting slow prone at 600 yards. I didn't see any improvement in scores but then again we shoot at a 2 MOA 10 ring. Sorted, once fired or new (when available) LC brass seemed to work just as well.

Sorted, weighted LC brass will give very good results and it's tough and inexpensive.

 

[Orr89rocz]

Regular starline brass in my 6.8 spc and it shoots very good. I like good brass but only if the gun is capable of utilizing it accuracy wise. Im not sure how many loads you tried but id maybe continue to experiment with what you have to see what it likes before spending money on brass. Brass alone wont make an poor shooting gun a good shooting gun.

 

[distinguished]

I use Lapua for 600yds. It's good brass and it is easier to identify which is for 600 vs 200&300. It is not necessary though, I have shot good scores with LC and Winchester blue bag too. Never tried the new red bag Win. brass. Lapua doesn't need full prep, so that is a plus and the weight is fairly consistent.

 

[jelenko]

precision minded

Say more about what level of precision are you looking for?

And note that standard stocks on an ar15 are not ideal for shooting with a rear bag. It takes some learning to get solid groups from a rest.

 

[ebb]

I've got a 223 Remington 700 with a semi match barrel (not known as top tier, but a custom) I bought Lapua brass for it and have not seen and better groups than with Winchester brass.

 

[joshb]

I would never. For my finicky AR “precision” loads I’ll use 1x fired LC, PMC or other freshly fired in my gun factory brass.

 

[urbanrifleman]

Frontier ammo is LC brass with no crimp.

 

[Kracken McGraw]

I would never. For my finicky AR “precision” loads I’ll use 1x fired LC, PMC or other freshly fired in my gun factory brass.

Hurts to even think about it!

 

[jds holler]

Have I heard that Federal and LC are same?? jd

 

[kd4avp]

Always just used LC brass or basically any surplus military brass. My ARs are not picky on brass. Running Compass Lake barrels on mine and hve decent 200 yd accuracy. As earlier post stated, what type of accuracy are you looking for? For CMP match, the LC or surplus ammo/brass always worked well for me.

 

[SKWERLZ]

LC is my preferred brass for that task.

 

[CF Junkie]

I use Lapua brass in all my bolt action target rifles and am happy with its long life and performance.
I get 20 to 23 reloads out of my Lapua brass in bolt actions. The primer pockets wear out before the necks split.
I have used Lapua brass in my Les Baer Super Varmint AR, but I would not recommend it simply because an AR's action is much more susceptible to causing brass problems with ejection and I found that brass run though an AR gets a lot more buffeting than in a bolt action and shows a lot more wear in a relatively short time. Also, I find that my AR needs a heavier powder charge to effectively operate the gas system which shows up in brass wear after multiple reloads.

I would recommend LC or Starline brass. Starline is less than half the cost of Lapua, so it won't be as expensive when the AR wears it out. Starline lasts about 12 to 16 reloads for me.

 

[kyotekiller25]

Thanks everyone. Ill just stick with what I have and do some more testing. I'm looking for 1/2-3/4 MOA from it for 3 shots at the minimum, which it should have no issues doing. Aero lower, WOA/Krieger upper, Luth MBA-1 stock, Larue MBT trigger, Warne 34mm cantilever mount with a Vortex 5-25x strike eagle.

First outing I tried 53g vmax and 73g ELDMs with 8208XBR and got some 1/2" 3 shot groups at 100 yards, never to be repeated again... Same loads shot 1.25-1.5" at 100 the next time out for 5 shots. Factory federal 53g vmax did 1.25-1.5" at 100 yards for 5 shots. That's just not acceptable for me or the rifle. Maybe from a cheap Walmart AR with factory ammo, but not a quality AR with handloads.

Most of it is probably me. I'm just not an AR guy and haven't figured out how to shoot them accurately. I mean from a bench, I'm doing everything the same as I would with my bolts. My bolt 223 will shoot in the .2s and .3s at 100. So what gives?

 

[Walt Krafft]

The last 500 pc lot of Lapua Match brass was junk. Less than 200 left for the 5th loading. Starline is going strong with the same load. Bolt gun ftr.

 

[markm87]

I tried Lapua brass in my AR15 when shooting in competitions, Across the Course, shooting slow prone at 600 yards. I didn't see any improvement in scores but then again we shoot at a 2 MOA 10 ring. Sorted, once fired or new (when available) LC brass seemed to work just as well.

Sorted, weighted LC brass will give very good results and it's tough and inexpensive.

Agreed. We ran some Lapoochie .223 brass for a while, but the excessive anxiety of recovering it all wasn't worth the zero measurable gain in performance.

 

[SKWERLZ]

Thanks everyone. Ill just stick with what I have and do some more testing. I'm looking for 1/2-3/4 MOA from it for 3 shots at the minimum, which it should have no issues doing. Aero lower, WOA/Krieger upper, Luth MBA-1 stock, Larue MBT trigger, Warne 34mm cantilever mount with a Vortex 5-25x strike eagle.

First outing I tried 53g vmax and 73g ELDMs with 8208XBR and got some 1/2" 3 shot groups at 100 yards, never to be repeated again... Same loads shot 1.25-1.5" at 100 the next time out for 5 shots. Factory federal 53g vmax did 1.25-1.5" at 100 yards for 5 shots. That's just not acceptable for me or the rifle. Maybe from a cheap Walmart AR with factory ammo, but not a quality AR with handloads.

Most of it is probably me. I'm just not an AR guy and haven't figured out how to shoot them accurately. I mean from a bench, I'm doing everything the same as I would with my bolts. My bolt 223 will shoot in the .2s and .3s at 100. So what gives?

Try some 69 or 77 SMK’s with LC brass and 23-24 grains of 8208 xbr.
Run adequate neck tension for a gasser as well.

Also make sure you’re gas tube isn’t battling the gas key on bolt carrier.

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

Is the bullet seating depth changing when rounds chamber? Are you sizing enough headspace? I don't like case shoulder to make contact with chamber when round chambers. What twist WOA barrel? My AR's shoot moa and better with Benchmark and 50-55 gr bullets ( not used for long range targets, mostly hunting/prairie dogs).