221 Fireball brass for 20 Vartarg

[L.Sherm]

I used Lapua 221 Fireball for some 17 Mach IV. Worked perfectly.

Theres nothing wrong with Lapua 221 FB brass as long as your reamer is set up for it and being unavailable im a huge Lapua fan in bigger calibers. Kindler designed the 20VT around Rem 221 FB brass and those reamers won't work with Lapua brass, I think even some of his early reamers had a .226 neck.
Today did spec a reamer about 5 years ago for Lapua brass with the .200 at .377 and nk at .233 which is only about .001-.002 clearance, to tight for my liking with out turning.

 

[20 TAC]

I'm in the process of forming 1,000 20 VT brass from new Starline right now. Haven't lost one with this batch or the previous batch. I'm using a Bullberry form die that takes it down in 3 steps. I'm also using a 10:1 lanolin mix applied liberally.

Thanks for sharing, this is good to know. I may DM you my lot number just for comparison. I used the exact same process between the Starline, 100-Remington, and 100-Lake city. Lost the first 2 Starline, never lost a single LC or Remington.

 

[20 TAC]

Being new, it's amazing how many opinions go out over the good, bad and ugly on in this case brass. I know we all have input, but it always comes down to doing your homework and following your gut instincts!

We all have different budgets to work within, some no limit, others a strict limit. We all end up doing what best works for us, based on the knowledge of ALL that share there experience.

I have a couple mentors on here that I lean on usually before I make any final decisions.

At least for me.

As opinions go, I love Starline brass in both handgun and rifle (bottleneck and straight wall) when purchased for the intended chambering. Just relating my experience with case forming in this instance. Perhaps I should try more with an alternative forming method to arrive at end result. But I am not dogging Starline brass. Quite a fan actually.

 

[Skunce]

I've also formed many 20 Vartarg cases from Starline 222 and 5.56 brass. The only case that collapsed on me I had annealed first. I use a 300 Blackout die with the decapper removed, then a Redding 221 trim die, then I cut the extra long neck off before using a 20 Vartarg body die. Anneal, trim, and size in the 20 Vartarg full length die then turn the necks.

 

[tstowater]

When I got started with the 20VT, I tracked down as much Remington 221 FB brass as I could find. I don't have to worry about turning necks but I am planning on annealing frequently to preserve longevity. Bought a couple 20 Practicals very recently. Brass should be a lot easier to keep in stock with its parent source. Do love the 20VT.