22 BR v 22 BR Lapua?

[Boyd L.]

I asked this in someone else’s thread in the 6mm/wildcats forum but I believe that the technical knowledge will be more comprehensive here.

In that thread it was indicated that a difference exists between a 22 BR chamber and a 22 BR Lapua chamber. I’ve never heard of a 22 BR Lapua, though my wildcat knowledge is scanty at best.
Since these are wildcats my guess would be the 22 BR Lapua is cut with a reamer ground for some Lapua case characteristic?

I’m considering a 22 BR, instead of a 22-250 or variant, and am trying to learn.


Thanks

Boyd

 

[linebaugh]

The 22 BR Remington vs the 22 BR lapua. The 22BR rem was not a wildcat round.

You will want a 22 BR lapua as you will be using 6mm lapua brass and necking it down. 22 BR remington brass is long gone.

 

[Boyd L.]

The 22 BR Remington vs the 22 BR lapua. The 22BR rem was not a wildcat round.

You will want a 22 BR lapua as you will be using 6mm lapua brass and necking it down. 22 BR remington brass is long gone.

So the “Lapua” chamber is actually based on the 6mm BR Norma design? That I can understand.
Thanks.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

It is really called 22br norma. Made for lapua brass. Based off the 6br norma. Easy to think its lapua since thats the brass you use

 

[Will Henry]

In fact, it was the 22BR which was the original factory cartridge and the 6BR the wildcat (briefly). The original case was shorter than the BR Norma. Later, Remington lengthened the 6BR cartridge by about forty thou but I'm not sure about the 22. I have reamers for the originals which I bought in 1979 and for the Norma which I bought 30 years later. WH

 

[jds holler]

My 22 BR is a Remington 40X from the late seventies, and it has a Remington barrel stamped "22 BR Rem" on it. I assume that it is chambered for the original incarnation of this cartridge.

My chamber is indeed a little tight when I use Lapua brass to form my shells. I've over come the problem with a 308 small base die. Body diameter is the problem, not head space.

I've scored a bunch of 7BR Rem brass, which I've also used to form cases with, and they fit my chamber better than the Lapua with no small base die.

The difference is minute, and I suspect it may be no more than the Lapua brass being thicker, with less "spring-back".

My theory may be hair-brained, and would not be the first one. jd

 

[Laurie]

Body diameter is the problem, not head space.

Yes, just so - not at all hare-brained. My first 6BR was chambered by a smith whose reamer was pre 6mm Norma BR. One Lapua case in three or four was a little tight on chambering; 100% were hard on extraction, some really hard - so much so that I took a soft-face mallet with me to the range to tap the bolt open until I got hold of a small-base body die.

So, 'Boyd L." you definitely want a reamer whose chamber is designed for the Lapua case unless you have a large stash of Remington cases on hand. This issue has been covered in depth on this site going back to its days as the single cartridge 6mmBR.com website, but such is the longevity of original reamers and presumably original Remington brass, the issue regularly resurfaces in forum topics like yours. Here are a couple of relevant extracts from the 6mm BR Cartridge Guide section of the parent Accurate Shooter website:

The 6mm BR that is most commonly used today is also called 6mm Norma BR, “6BR Norma”, or just plain “6BR”. Norma started with the 6mm Remington Benchrest and increased the base dimension slightly. But the official SAMMI cartridge OAL is the same: 1.560″. (However Remington did originally produce brass at 1.520″ OAL and some older chambers have been cut to a shorter length.) Though Norma standardized the round, most people shoot Lapua brass, because of its superior quality and uniformity, not to mention lower cost. .........

............... Use Lapua brass. None better. Make sure your gunsmith chambers for the Lapua brass dimensions, not 6mm BR Remington brass or Norma brass. Some lots of the Lapua are very slightly larger at the base than Norma. If you have a barrel tightly chambered for Norma brand brass, Lapua brass should fit if you use a small base size die. The tight spot is at the web of the case–it may be just a tiny bit larger diameter than the Norma. But the Norma brass is very good. It’s just a good deal more expensive than Lapua from most vendors.

Although your interest is the .22 BR, the 6mm information is relevant as you start with that model as your base case. Good shooting - like all the BRs, a great little round.

 

[butchlambert]

Not all of it has disappeared! I have 2,000 rounds of the 6mmBR Remington new brass.

 

[Ramblerman]

Old thread but I have an old 22 BR and the Norma 6 Dasher brass formed in the 22 BR dies fits good...no "click" in extraction. FYI.