head scratching over Lapua .223 brass

[JustinP]

have collided with a small lapua brass problem

when reloading once fired lapua .223 brass,medium AR2208/Varget load - no pressure signs) I noted that about 20% of the cases were no-go for headspace in my wilson gauge. I had gauged each case after neck-sizing only as a matter of routine - not expecting this problem from lapua brass that had been fired once only in a chamber set to min. SAAMI spec for headspace.

out came the redding body die and I resized the culprit cases, setting back the shoulder about .001" - no change. I then bumped the shoulder another .001' - still no change, so headed inside to pen this query, before screwing the die in any further out of frustration.

in all cases, even prior to getting the body die out, i could, with a small amount of pressure, push the case all the way into the wilson gauge. this makes me wonder if the lapua brass is a little fat on the ass end? has anyone else had this problem?

the cases are from lot 4PH5003 and are designated as '.223 REM MATCH LAPUA'

cheers

Justin P

 

[SF340Driver]

Justin, I have never used a Wilson HS guage so I will go about this the way I normally do for my brass. Do the once fired cases rechamber without a problem? If so I would suspect an issue with the guage.

If you are neck sizing only I usually go until I notice a case starting to get tight when chambering a round to be fired,note which case or cases). At that point I FL size just enough to get the case or cases that were tight to chamber without any resistance. I then FL size the rest of that batch of brass to that setting.

I have since quit just neck sizing and now just FL size each time I reload -- better consistency. I still size just enough to get the case to chamber without effort.

Regards, Greg