6BR .272 No turn neck........Well maybe not!

[dreever]

This is to give all you .272 no turn neck guys (especially Newbies!) a heads up on what could be a potentually dangerous situation.
I recently bought a used rifle with a .272 neck. Well a loaded round of fresh Lapua brass has a loaded neck dia. up to .27150 on the high spot going from about .27040-.27150. Not every piece of brass was that bad, but there were enough that I quit checking every piece and decided to do a cleanup turn so they would all be the same. Makes picking a bushing a lot easier, and you get consistant neck tension.
.27150 is getting way to tight for a .272 chamber so I'll neck turn them down to .26940 which gives me about a 90% cleanup on the necks. No problem, I'm used to neck turning.
I'm posting this since a lot of newbie's might buy a rifle with a .272 neck and assume it's a no turn for Lapua brass. Well maybe it is and maybe it isn't depending on your brass in hand. ALWAYS Mic a dummy round with the brass and bullet you intend to use just to make sure you have enough clearance before you pull the trigger on that first live round. In fact, before firing any of your new rounds it pays to Mic everyone just to be safe. If you want a no sweat no turn neck a .274 chamber would be a much safer bet.

Danny

 

[skeetlee]

i havent ever had any trouble with .272 chambers and lapua brass, and i have had several!! Lee

 

[dreever]

Dave,

This is the last of 500 pieces of Lapua 6BR brass that I bought from Bruno's back in January of 2006. Lot number was LECLSK Back then it was .37 cents a piece. Should have bought 1000! Since I've always neck turned up untill now I never bothered to measure the brass unturned. My neck turner has been set up from day one for my .269 neck chambers. I just grudgingly changed it to turn this brass for this rifle.
I bought this rifle , a safe queen, with only 50 rounds fired for my 13 year old son so he can have something to learn on. Maybe shoot some short raqnge score so he can learn the wind. That and primarily for the Surgeon 591 action which I have a fondness for.
After he gets onto things I'll probably opt for a barrel change to an 8 twist.

Since this barrel is a 14 twist the bullet info won't help you much. Sierra 70 gr. HPBT Match Kings measure .24310.

The best lot of Berger 105 VLD's I ever had was lot # 0000071 they were fat boys measuring .24330 Bergers old worn out bullet die.

My current lot of Berger 105 VLD's that I'm using are pretty good Bergers new die after polishing, lot #0000628 they measure .24310

My 8 twist .237 bore Kreigers have always liked fat bullets.

Danny

 

[SS427]

Danny, as a semi-newbie no turn neck owner, I appreciate you making this post. I'm about ready to order another hundred rounds of Lapua brass for my 6BR, so I will check this closely before I shoot any of it.

My current lot of un-turned Lapua brass loaded with SMK bullets measures .2695 at the thickest. It is very uniform with 90% of it right at .269. I was using a .268 bushing but moved down in size to .267 because the brass doesn't seem to be springing back quite as much as it used to and I wanted to try a little more neck tension.

 

[dreever]

Dave,

The lot I'm dealing with measures on the average .0141, no wonder I have to turn it. I'm cleaning up about 90% of the neck to get it down to a loaded round dia. of .26940.
I like the sound of your lot of Bergers they definately are "Fat Boys"!

Danny

 

[NorCalMikie]

Danny: Most of my Lapua brass I've had for a few years. I loaded up when it was available. All of my 6BR chambers are also .272 "no turn". I've never had any problems "but" I don't turn necks.
I've never considered turning necks so I don't see the problems you're running into.
If any of you folks are into turning necks, this would be real good information to keep track of. The more info the better, Mike.

 

[flatlander]

Danny, My first two Dashers were chambered by Randy Gregory using Grant Ubl's reamer, which had a .274" neck. Grant explained that he'd borrowed Dennis Flaharty's reamer (which had a .272" neck) for his first bbl., and had run into the same sort of problems you described. So, when he ordered his own reamer set, he spec'd a .274" neck. This was back in 2004; when I bought a lathe and started doing my own barreling work, the Dasher was the first reamer I bought, and mine also has a .274" neck. Never have had an occasion to regret going this route, either.