6x47 lapua education

[david12601]

When I first started doing 6 creedmoor from 6.5 brass I just stepped down with a couple of bushings so it was not such a harsh jump.

Brass looks good so far........after fire forming going to range today with reloads various bullets and powder loads......anyone using imr4955 enduron powder I have way more than I should want to start using it up

I was really blown away on the accuracy of the 103 hornady (seconds ) that I used to form the brass

 

[Lefty Trigger]

Brass looks good so far........after fire forming going to range today with reloads various bullets and powder loads......anyone using imr4955 enduron powder I have way more than I should want to start using it up

I was really blown away on the accuracy of the 103 hornady (seconds ) that I used to form the brass

Never rule out "seconds" on bullets. I bought a thousand once for my 7mm and the only thing I seen wrong was discoloration spots on them, all shot just fine. Recently purchased some 6mm "blems" and found about 80 in 500 that had misformed plastic tips. Even the crooked tipped ones shot well but I just used those to sight in at close range or for barrel warmer shots.

 

[david12601]

I have bought blems from nosler 115 gr 25 caliber the weight and the cosmetics almost identical in 300 that I bought but the color of the blue tip was not exactally like the the reg first run bullets ....but they shot lights out in my 257 ackley

 

[ASbobcat]

Need some education.....i have new 6.5x47 lapua brass and 6x47 lapua forester full length sizing die along with a 6x47 lapua redding body die and a 21st century 6 mm mandral die......would like some one to give me their necking down procedure..so I don' t ruin a bunch of brass thanks

Just reamed a chamber with PTG "off the shelf" reamer. Neck .273, FB .118, .200 Datum .472, shoulder .458, chamber length 1.860.

Called Peterson and they said their loaded neck OD is .274. I'm not turning necks ever again, and they have no idea when theirs will be back in stock, so that's a no-go for me.

Ran it through a new Forster FL die and ended with . 262. Way too narrow, so I sent it to Forster to have neck honed out to .270 ($24). Some on this site have reported that "just run through a Forster FL die, perfect". Well, I don't know what lot their dies were, but this was not my experience.
Many here have also reported that using intermediate bushings is a bad idea. It's doable but, you end up with a lot of runout, and it's a lot more time consuming. Having tried this technique in other calibers, I concur that this is a less than perfect solution.

And remember to anneal after necking down, as brass will be work hardened. (VERY important)

The only shortcoming of Lapua brass (loaded neck OD .271) is that the shoulder is VERY narrow at .452. So cases require fire-forming before establishing final accuracy load. This is easy, just load and shoot, but with components being scarce, it is something to consider. The good news is that the case OAL will shrink when you blow out the shoulder, so it will be awhile before you have to trim.

I use an expander mandrel to establish final neck ID, because it avoids stretching the neck when pulling a ball out. By using different bushing and mandrel diameters, you can accurately control neck tension. In my case a .270 Redding TiN bushing (actual ID .269) and a Sinclair turning mandrel (.241). This gives .002 neck tension. Using an expander mandrel (.242), you get .001 tension.

 

[david12601]

I settled on using body die Forster full length without button and final with mandrell die....lots of lube so far I am satisfied

 

[ASbobcat]

I settled on using body die Forster full length without button and final with mandrell die....lots of lube so far I am satisfied

Curious, what diameter does the body die give you?

 

[Kracken McGraw]

Just reamed a chamber with PTG "off the shelf" reamer. Neck .273, FB .118, .200 Datum .472, shoulder .458, chamber length 1.860.

Called Peterson and they said their loaded neck OD is .274. I'm not turning necks ever again, and they have no idea when theirs will be back in stock, so that's a no-go for me.

Ran it through a new Forster FL die and ended with . 262. Way too narrow, so I sent it to Forster to have neck honed out to .270 ($24). Some on this site have reported that "just run through a Forster FL die, perfect". Well, I don't know what lot their dies were, but this was not my experience.
Many here have also reported that using intermediate bushings is a bad idea. It's doable but, you end up with a lot of runout, and it's a lot more time consuming. Having tried this technique in other calibers, I concur that this is a less than perfect solution.

And remember to anneal after necking down, as brass will be work hardened. (VERY important)

The only shortcoming of Lapua brass (loaded neck OD .271) is that the shoulder is VERY narrow at .452. So cases require fire-forming before establishing final accuracy load. This is easy, just load and shoot, but with components being scarce, it is something to consider. The good news is that the case OAL will shrink when you blow out the shoulder, so it will be awhile before you have to trim.

I use an expander mandrel to establish final neck ID, because it avoids stretching the neck when pulling a ball out. By using different bushing and mandrel diameters, you can accurately control neck tension. In my case a .270 Redding TiN bushing (actual ID .269) and a Sinclair turning mandrel (.241). This gives .002 neck tension. Using an expander mandrel (.242), you get .001 tension.

Your statement about the loaded neck measurements on the Peterson brass makes it sound like it would require neck turning for nearly all chambers. I’m glad I didn’t go that route then.

 

[david12601]

New brass diameter 6.5 x 47 lapua .286
Run through body die .274
Run through sizer without stem .262
Run through mandrel .268
Loaded with 105 hybrid .269

 

[ASbobcat]

New brass diameter 6.5 x 47 lapua .286
Run through body die .274
Run through sizer without stem .262
Run through mandrel .268
Loaded with 105 hybrid .269

Thanks for that info. Looks like the body die would have been a better option than paying to modify a Forster.
My lot of brass (P01199102/3104518) measures .288 out of the box and .271 loaded. Weight 161.0-161.5.
My Forster FL was also originally .262, so that looks the same, but it sure looks like the brass is significantly different. Curious how your lot weighs.

 

[ASbobcat]

I messaged Lapua and asked about 6x47. They said they couldn't explain why they don't offer it, but would pass on the request. I would think it a relatively simple tooling effort, or they wouldn't have offered the 6Creedmoor. The more of us that send a note asking for it, obviously the more likely it will be offered in the future.

 

[ASbobcat]

I'm going to be posting a box of Lapua 6.5x47 brass on the "for sale" section, but wanted to mention first here.

101pcs total. I have converted 53pcs to 6x47. 70pcs un-fired, 31 once fired (resized, ready to load).

My cost with shipping $129. Lots of labor converting 53pcs.

$110 shipped in original box, $100 in plastic bag. (shipping cost diff).

Also have PTG reamer and go/no-go gauges available.

 

[lee1982]

Called Peterson and they said their loaded neck OD is .274. I'm not turning necks ever again, and they have no idea when theirs will be back in stock, so that's a no-go for me.

They might have been thinking of what reamer you should use. Loaded neck diameter is around .272, at least on the lot of 1000 pieces of Peterson I have. I personally use a reamer with .4717 @ the .200 datum, .275 neck, and zero velocity difference between new and once fired brass. Load development can be done right out of the box.

 

[ASbobcat]

They might have been thinking of what reamer you should use. Loaded neck diameter is around .272, at least on the lot of 1000 pieces of Peterson I have. I personally use a reamer with .4717 @ the .200 datum, .275 neck, and zero velocity difference between new and once fired brass. Load development can be done right out of the box.

Very possible, although I did specifically ask about loaded neck OD. It did sound a little fat to me.

Thanks for the additional info. Sounds like their shoulder is closer to reality than Lapua's. I think Lapua just modified their 6mmSM setup to save cost, which would explain the narrow shoulder.