As the title suggests, I'm wondering how many firings I can expect from my 6.5 PRC lapua brass. I have some that are x3 fired, and some that are x6 fired. Full length size every time and bumped the shoulder back .002". I just now got an AMP annealer and started annealing, so this lot of brass has gone between 3-6 non-annealed firings before I started annealing after every firing. Don't know if the damage has been done. In case it matters, these have shot berger 156s with N565.
How many firings to expect: 6.5 PRC Lapua Brass
- Thread starter fattybinz
- Start date
L.Sherm
Silver $$ Contributor
I
Suggest you test annealed vrs non- annealed on target and make your decision.
Probably on the hotter side, but not too bad. Getting 2888 fps out of a 21" barrel. No signs of pressure tho
Test annealed vs not annealed? What will that tell me? If just like to know how many firings to expect out of brass that only started to be annealed after a few firings
I've had my Lapua 6.5prc (necked up to 7mm to make 7prcw) last at least 13 times and still shot great and I know I'm not alone. Annealed every time and shooting them decently fast but nowhere near max speed or pressure of any kind.
Relic
Gold $$ Contributor
I've got some 284 & 6.5x 47 lapua brass with well over 30 cycles on them going strong. I anneal every other firing. Only have 3 reloads on my 6.5 prc brass, but I'm sure it will go the same distance. If you load them hot the primer pockets might get loose before the brass fails. Bill
L.Sherm
Silver $$ Contributor
Which way is the most accurate, dont assume annealing is. My ADG and Lapua brass tests at 665 and 700 yards targets said NOT ANNEALING was the most accurate, your milage may vary but you won't know untill you test it.
No way of putting a number on this sir. Like has been stated before " it depends on the load" and also the dimension variation between your dies and the rifles chamber as to how much you are sizing the case body ETC. Your .002 shoulder bump should help. LAPUA does not recommend re-annealing of their brass due to the chance of over or under annealing that can ruin the cartridge case. Your AMP annealer is a lot better than the flame style annealing systems that are not as precise. In regard to when to anneal LAPUA brass. There is no information on this.
Definitely the brass should out last the barrel if you start with 200 pieces. When you get a new barrel, new brass should be bought at the same time. You should easily get 8-12 firings from your brass with regular annealing.
Dave
Charge weight? Powder? Bullet?
Under annealing has never ruined a single case and it’s much harder to over anneal a case to the point where it becomes dangerous. There are reams and teams of documentation on how annealing can bring brass back to its original performance state. I won’t try to convince you of the merits of annealing, I will however ask you to find me one shooter on the Lapua F class team that doesn’t anneal.
Dave
I've currently got 16 firings on my 6.5 PRC Lapua brass with more than mild loads pushing Berger 140 Hyb, 153.5 Hyb and 142 SMK's. They've been annealed after every firing and they appear like their still quite a bit of life in them.
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Never hurts to anneal every time. No down side. It should make the brass last a lot longer. I noticed after trimming the case length that if you look at the fresh cut surface and you can see a fine black line it's the beginning of a crack. You can see it on the end of the neck long before the sides of the neck show cracking.
6.5 forever
Silver $$ Contributor
It generally takes a couple of firings to form the brass. No loss there.
That's hot as hell with 156s. You're around 74k psi.
Lapua doesn't want you to anneal so the the case necks can split a lot sooner and they can sell you more brass. Plus I'm sure it most likely has to do with some bullshit as to not modifying the brass clause that some lawyer had them put in there to cover their asses. I've never had a problem with flame or induction annealing destroying my brass. common sense goes a long way.
6.5 forever
Silver $$ Contributor
I absolutely agree with you Mike.
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