Recently I've noticed something new for me with my Lapua brass. And after more checking it happens with all my brass. I like to measure my fired brass like most reloaders to see how it changes after being fired from a particular rifle. Like all of it's expansion dimensions, shoulders, body, lengths,necks inside and out,etc. So one little step that I do on my first outing to the range with a new rifle and ammo is to taker the first fired round and check it for any pressure signs. Seeing how the bolt lift is usually first followed by primer inspection and then I will see if a bullet will fit lousily into the fired case neck. The last thing using a bullet for a quick gauge to make sure that I don't have an unknown tight neck chamber. Crude but effective. So here's the thing. Fired brass at the range has no problem excepting a bullet into the neck, but later after cleaning all of the brass fired from that session (with the same rifle) a bullet will not fit into the fired case neck. The NEW method that I use to clean my brass is the one with SS pins,water,soap, and Lemi Shine and tumbler. It works great inside the brass and out, even gets the carbon out of the primer pockets. I know some will say TOO good because it takes the powder residue out of the inside of the necks which changes how the bullet seats. And I agree if your using naked bullets, but I'm using Moly coated which works fine for me with the super clean inside necks. I never heard of this happening before. Has anyone else? So in conclusion the brass shrinks a little after using this cleaning method. Weird to me. Doesn't really have any other affect because the brass gets annealed and sized after cleaning. And all is back to normal dimensions for loading. Just thought if anyone has run across this same encounter with washing brass? Thanks
Has anyone noticed this with Lapua SR Creedmoor brass?
- Thread starter L W P
- Start date
Dusty Stevens
Shiner
Debur the case mouth and see if that helps
i don't wet tumble, so take this fwiw. you are annealing every time so necks may be on the soft side. brians comment makes sense to me, especially if the chamber neck is on the small size,
also, like dusty said, you might try deburring. OR, measure the outside diameter and do the math. you might find there is just a slight ridge at the mouth that restricts at the pressure ridge on the bullet base. try inserting the bullet backwards and see what happens... do they all stop at the same spot, or is the restriction non-uniform?
i have had that happen on brass that at one time was crimped, although i know that isn't your case.
pirate ammo
Guaranteed to take the wind out of their sails
how soon after firing do insert the bullet,metal expands when hot,contracts when cold.
I think that we're on the same page for this happening after washing, because all of the NEW 6.5 brass that I've purchased (Creedmoor and Grendel) have had very tight necks in the beginning to me (.258"-.259") Of course I did run a oversized mandrel thru them before loading(.2635") which brought the inside neck to .2625'-.263'. Then they loaded perfect for me. So I too think that they are trying to return to the tight setting from memory. Thanks for your input.
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Will be doing that after annealing and resizing. Thank you sir.
No because as I stated in OP a fired case will except a bullet in the neck before washing.. I've checked the chamber dimensions and the neck is .297". Loaded rounds are .292" so ".005" clearance there. And fired cases are .296" outside dia. Good reason though, Thanks.
I had that thought also. Checked at the range with in a minute or so and had clearance for a bullet to fit inside of the fired case neck. So that was my crude gauge that I did not have a tight neck chamber. Thanks for the input.
pirate ammo
Guaranteed to take the wind out of their sails
everything has a memory that tries to go back to proper state,,except mine,wheels"props for some people" are heated to extremes to remove from shafts,,I'm talking
12 to 16 foot wheels here,,same with large gears in reduction boxes,when they cool tight once more!!
12 to 16 foot wheels here,,same with large gears in reduction boxes,when they cool tight once more!!
Yes I agree. Tolerances are needed everywhere with everything. I was just curious if anyone else had run across this before. I was sure someone had. Thanks for all of your guys inputs, it's been informative.
The math is correct and I agree on your analyses about the brass shrinking .004". I've posted this question on another site too and have received several answers that the brass necks are being peened by the SS pins. So this shrinkage that I think I'm seeing is at the very edge of the case neck and possibly not the entire length of the inside of the neck. Anyway it will not cause a problem after I anneal and resize. Thank you for your comment though.
Yes you are correct on both parts. Just wanted some input from others, since I've never noticed this before. Thank you sir.
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