Lake City Brass

[Hippy]

I found some LC brass and after preping- cleaning, trimming ,removing the crimp I have different years from 02--14 most of it was 11.
Question is there really that much difference from year to year - thought I would shoot groups from same year hoping that there won't be enough difference to cause issues

Thanx
Jim

 

[1lnbrdg]

Strange thing about LC brass, they may make it any date but actually head stamp it when it goes into production to actually be loaded.

I just semi-sort by weight and live with what ever works out. I'm shooting sling though, not enough difference to make it matter for my needs.

 

[people]

A year is a long time. Just because it is one year does not mean they were from the same lot. Some of it is very concentric some is not.

 

[JRS]

The only real difference is case capacity. You might find a capacity difference of 0.1 - 0.3 of a grain from one year to the next.

 

[AckleymanII]

I sort by year, period.

 

[Flouncer]

Sort of on topic but didn't want to start a new thread. I think I understand why there is primed Federal "pull down" brass in 5.56, 7.62 and 30-06. But why is there 8x57 Mauser and .243 Winchester available ? - thanks

 

[DirtySteve]

I can not add input and the last part about the 8X57. But if you could separate the year groups by weight. Just another step toward consistency.

 

[GrocMax]

I have thousands of LC 223 from 02 to 16, ain't enough difference to worry about, the bell curve is tight.

 

[Rsadams]

+1 on just sorting by year... Iam loading for m4 so it really doesn't matter...

 

[GaryL1959]

I found some LC brass and after preping- cleaning, trimming ,removing the crimp I have different years from 02--14 most of it was 11.
Question is there really that much difference from year to year - thought I would shoot groups from same year hoping that there won't be enough difference to cause issues

Thanx
Jim

I've loaded bunches of LC over the years. I've found LC brass to be more weight consistent over time than some of the more popular commercial stuff.

 

[DRNewcomb]

Well, I have my accuracy ammo and then there's what I've got for when the zombies show up. The zombie stuff has all sorts of mixed head stamps, seconds for bullets and loaded with WC852 or another surplus ball powder. The accuracy ammo is all the same lot of prepped brass (not range pickups), 1st run bullets of the same lot, match primers and Varget or another quality powder. It just depends on if you're looking for accuracy or volume of fire.

On the topic of LC brass. One of the best changes I've made is to switch from shooting LC 77 match brass to Lapua Plama brass in my bolt gun.

 

[C.E.Smith043]

Well, I have my accuracy ammo and then there's what I've got for when the zombies show up. The zombie stuff has all sorts of mixed head stamps, seconds for bullets and loaded with WC852 or another surplus ball powder. The accuracy ammo is all the same lot of prepped brass (not range pickups), 1st run bullets of the same lot, match primers and Varget or another quality powder. It just depends on if you're looking for accuracy or volume of fire.

On the topic of LC brass. One of the best changes I've made is to switch from shooting LC 77 match brass to Lapua Plama brass in my bolt gun.

Thats crazy cause if a zombie was actually after me, i would want the most accurate loads i could get. You got to hit them in the head you know....

 

[fguffey]

Question is there really that much difference from year to year

I do not have all the problems reloaders have; I thought LC used different year head stamps to aid in sorting. I can load 200 LC cases in groups of 10 and them fire them. After firing I dump the 200 cases into a tumbler and when finished I sort the LC cases by year to get the cases back to where they were when I started.

And then there are those machine gun fired cases; I never experience the drama other reloaders experience when sizing cases.

F. Guffey

 

[alb]

Depends, I think, on the MG it was fired in. M240Bs seem to produce brass that's a lot less abused than what an M60 puts out; Minigun brass is suitable only for recycling.

 

[fguffey]

Minigun brass is suitable only for recycling.

There has to be a factor that applies when going from firing to the recycle barrel.

F. Guffey

 

[divingin]

I thought LC used different year head stamps to aid in sorting.

No, like most military equipment, it is used for traceability. If you've ever wondered why the military pays so much for equipment, you've never seen the stack of paper that goes with it. An avionics box I used to work on weighed about 30 lbs; it shipped with about 150 lbs of paperwork that documented procurement and testing.

 

[Nature Boy]

There has to be a factor that applies when going from firing to the recycle barrel.

F. Guffey

I use a case gage for my "factor" when inspecting once fired LC 7.62 brass. If it sticks way out of the gage I consider it blown out too much to reload and pitch it in the scrap bucket.

 

[fguffey]

I use a case gage for my "factor" when inspecting once fired LC 7.62 brass. If it sticks way out of the gage I consider it blown out too much to reload and pitch it in the scrap bucket.

Manufacturers of cases do not sell cases to reloaders that know what they are doing, manufacturers sell cases of one dimension; that would be a case that fits the minimum length/go-gage length chamber with .005" clearance. I have 8 30/06 rifles, I could ask; "what good will a case that is short from the shoulder to the case head be to me?". If I measure case length and find the case protrudes from the cage .010" I can find a rifle that the case will fit. .010" case head protrusion from a L.E. Wilson 30/06 case gage means the case was fired in a chamber that had .010" clearance.

The answer to the; "what good is a case that is too long for my chamber do me? My dies and presses have threads, threads make my dies adjustable, with little effort I can size cases for short chamber and for long chambers; I am limited by the length of the case from the shoulder to the case head. Again, my favorite cases are machine gun fired cases and cases that have been fired in rifles with trashy old chambers. When I purchases cases from firing ranges I take my case length measuring equipment. Why am I required to fire the cases to get them to fit?

And, again; there are 280 Remington cases, the 280 Remington case all of my long 30/06 chambers. The case length of the 280 Remington is .041" longer from the shoulder to the case head than the 30/06 case so I ask; how can I miss?

F. Guffey

 

[DRNewcomb]

Thats crazy cause if a zombie was actually after me, i would want the most accurate loads i could get. You got to hit them in the head you know....

No, head shots don't kill zombies. You just have to chop them up with quantity of fire. Speaking of zombies and "quantity of fire", flame throwers work well too.

 

[Nature Boy]

Manufacturers of cases do not sell cases to reloaders that know what they are doing, manufacturers sell cases of one dimension; that would be a case that fits the minimum length/go-gage length chamber with .005" clearance. I have 8 30/06 rifles, I could ask; "what good will a case that is short from the shoulder to the case head be to me?". If I measure case length and find the case protrudes from the cage .010" I can find a rifle that the case will fit. .010" case head protrusion from a L.E. Wilson 30/06 case gage means the case was fired in a chamber that had .010" clearance.

The answer to the; "what good is a case that is too long for my chamber do me? My dies and presses have threads, threads make my dies adjustable, with little effort I can size cases for short chamber and for long chambers; I am limited by the length of the case from the shoulder to the case head. Again, my favorite cases are machine gun fired cases and cases that have been fired in rifles with trashy old chambers. When I purchases cases from firing ranges I take my case length measuring equipment. Why am I required to fire the cases to get them to fit?

And, again; there are 280 Remington cases, the 280 Remington case all of my long 30/06 chambers. The case length of the 280 Remington is .041" longer from the shoulder to the case head than the 30/06 case so I ask; how can I miss?

F. Guffey

That's all fine and dandy, but I'm talking about buying once fired LC 7.62 cases from secondary sources that were fired by the military from machine guns. My factor, as you put it, is to measure them with a case gage before I put any effort into them and cull the ones that are blown out.

What you're talking about, I have no idea