Problem with n ew Lapua 6BR brass.

[swadiver]

was out of shooting for about five years but recently got back into it. bought some new Lapua 6BR cases. i am used to having to uniform the depths of Lapua 6BR brass, but with the latest 100 bought (what the hell happened to the plastic boxes!!!) the width of the pockets on some are so tight that some will not accept a Federal 205M primer without destroying it. i have loaded many, many thousands of Lapua 6BR brass pieces but never have had an issue with this before. is this issue more common now? do i have to ream out the diameter of the pockets? is Lapua brass quality control slipping? time to go to to Peterson?

 

[a-dog]

Are you 100 percent positive that the problem is the brass and not your tools? I would double and triple check that you are using the correct primers and using the correct small primer rod in your primer seater. I have a hard time believing that all 100 pieces of your brass escaped the quality control checks at Lapua.

 

[Belly Benchrester]

The fed 205m primers are without a doubt tight in new 6BR brass according to my findings as well. I noticed after a few firings I had no issues. Cci 450s were never a problem. Could be a primer issue? Idk

 

[swadiver]

Are you 100 percent positive that the problem is the brass and not your tools? I would double and triple check that you are using the correct primers and using the correct small primer rod in your primer seater. I have a hard time believing that all 100 pieces of your brass escaped the quality control checks at Lapua.

100 % sure not the tools. and as i said in the post, not all of the 100 pieces just some of them. may try a BR4 in them and see if they seat ok.

 

[Webster]

was out of shooting for about five years but recently got back into it. bought some new Lapua 6BR cases. i am used to having to uniform the depths of Lapua 6BR brass, but with the latest 100 bought (what the hell happened to the plastic boxes!!!) the width of the pockets on some are so tight that some will not accept a Federal 205M primer without destroying it. i have loaded many, many thousands of Lapua 6BR brass pieces but never have had an issue with this before. is this issue more common now? do i have to ream out the diameter of the pockets? is Lapua brass quality control slipping? time to go to to Peterson?

I would think not many guys use magnum primers in a 6BR. I though magnum primers were used for cartridges with larger amounts of powder. Does a pocket uniformer go in all the pockets easily? Are the cups well centered in the opening when you push?

 

[swadiver]

I would think not many guys use magnum primers in a 6BR. I though magnum primers were used for cartridges with larger amounts of powder. Does a pocket uniformer go in all the pockets easily? Are the cups well centered in the opening when you push?

i don't believe Fed 205M's or CCI BR4's are magnum primers. CCI 450's are and i am not using them. the uniformer does go in but tight.

 

[hoz53]

I would think not many guys use magnum primers in a 6BR. I though magnum primers were used for cartridges with larger amounts of powder. Does a pocket uniformer go in all the pockets easily? Are the cups well centered in the opening when you push?

i use CCI magnum primers almost exclusively in 6br. ive had lapua brass that it was hard to get the primers in at first. the stuff i have now are easier. i have wondered to whats going on with lapua primer pockets.

 

[Spyder1958]

was out of shooting for about five years but recently got back into it. bought some new Lapua 6BR cases. i am used to having to uniform the depths of Lapua 6BR brass, but with the latest 100 bought (what the hell happened to the plastic boxes!!!) the width of the pockets on some are so tight that some will not accept a Federal 205M primer without destroying it. i have loaded many, many thousands of Lapua 6BR brass pieces but never have had an issue with this before. is this issue more common now? do i have to ream out the diameter of the pockets? is Lapua brass quality control slipping? time to go to to Peterson?

Last two hundred I bought were all over the place when checking them for consistency

 

[ELR LVR]

a few hot loads will help with those pesky tight primer pockets

 

[moondog]

I've found the same. I now use Neo lube on a Q tip in the pockets on first firing.

 

[AlNyhus]

Yes, out of the box Lapua 6BR primer pockets can definitely be 'tight'. There can also be a radius at the bottom that makes the primer feel even tighter and can prevent the primer from seating fully to the bottom. I've posted on this before and included pics.

I consider primer pocket uniforming as standard proceedure, no matter what brand of brass it is. Same goes for equalizing the flash holes.

If you're not doing those steps, you'll be surprised what you'll find...no matter what brand of brass it is.

Good shootin' -Al

 

[dgeesaman]

I’m shocked nobody has measured using their calipers.

Tight v loose primer pockets are determined by thousandths of an inch so even cheap calipers will solve the mystery.

 

[Cnsane]

Ouch

 

[AlNyhus]

I’m shocked nobody has measured using their calipers.

Tight v loose primer pockets are determined by thousandths of an inch so even cheap calipers will solve the mystery.

With gauge pins, a .173" is a nice fit in most Lapua small rifle pockets. Some will be snug with a .172", though.

Compared to the .173" gauge pin, all my dial calipers measure the pockets at .171".

That's pretty typical disrepancy of an inside meaurement with a dial caliper. Whatever the amount of overlap the inside jaws have when the caliper is closed....is the amount that the actual measurement will be off (smaller).

Good shootin' -Al

 

[swadiver]

Yes, out of the box Lapua 6BR primer pockets can definitely be 'tight'. There can also be a radius at the bottom that makes the primer feel even tighter and can prevent the primer from seating fully to the bottom. I've posted on this before and included pics.

I consider primer pocket uniforming as standard proceedure, no matter what brand of brass it is. Same goes for equalizing the flash holes.

If you're not doing those steps, you'll be surprised what you'll find...no matter what brand of brass it is.

Good shootin' -Al

i do uniform the primer pockets with the Sinclair tool. but that does nothing for the erratic differences of the diameter of the pockets.

5 years and more ago, i never had this issue with Lapua 6BR brass. the pockets were tight but always seated the primer with no issue. the price has gone way up, but is quality control from Lapua slipping ?

 

[Dgd6mm]

I think you got seconds or blems.

 

[AlNyhus]

i do uniform the primer pockets with the Sinclair tool. but that does nothing for the erratic differences of the diameter of the pockets.

Just curious...have you checked the diameter of the tight pockets to the ones that seem normal?

Just measured some primers, here's what I found:
205M- .1750"
205 - .1750"
Rem 7 1/2 - .1747"
BR4 - .1751"
450 - .1751"
WSR - .1747"

FWIW, my K&M SRP uniformer measures almost .001" (.0008" to be exact) larger than my Sinclair SRP uniformer.

 

[Janeau]

Been using Lapua brass - new one for 6BR - some converted to 6 Dasher & 30BR - About 1000 so far..just in the last 6 months. Won’t bother anyone with how hany I used before that. - I use 205M in 6 BR & in 30 BR and 450 in the Dasher. One thing I never do is never touching the pockets. I do not see any difference - be with pins or calliper or neck thickness ( brass turned for .30BR) on dimension between old & new. The only see that the new cardboard packing are very nice -case are in a tray separated and no case bounce around as in-the blue plastic case or the older gold cardboard boxes before that.

Yes primer pocket are tight in old batches & new batches of case but not a problem - they seat without crushing them. If you use a hand primer tool someone might find seating primer hard initially but I use a Primal Rights CPS and this is absolutely not a problem.

For the OP and as mentioned by others - I believe he has a tool or primer issues. Do not use any uniformer in the primer pocket - it is not needed at all - pocket depth are so consistent - I would say perfect - that there is nothing to gain doing so. You might do more damage - creating scratches that make it a problem instead of helping anything.


If you want absolutely use one - wait until 4-5 firings before doing so. But this it is not necessary at all. The only thing I do is inside ream the primer holes from the inside with a proper .059 primer hole tool. Is it necessary ? Maybe not..but make me feel good about it

 

[Webster]

was out of shooting for about five years but recently got back into it. bought some new Lapua 6BR cases. i am used to having to uniform the depths of Lapua 6BR brass, but with the latest 100 bought (what the hell happened to the plastic boxes!!!) the width of the pockets on some are so tight that some will not accept a Federal 205M primer without destroying it. i have loaded many, many thousands of Lapua 6BR brass pieces but never have had an issue with this before. is this issue more common now? do i have to ream out the diameter of the pockets? is Lapua brass quality control slipping? time to go to to Peterson?

Let's take a poll. Is anyone else havig this problem with Lapua brown box 6BR cases. Only 1 person mentions a problem on this website.

 

[wkdickinson]

I use Lapua 6BR to make 6BRA cases and use CCI450s exclusively, with no issues. Yes, initially they are tight, but not "too" tight. I use a Lee Bench Prime tool to seat them.