Lapua Brass Gold box vs Blue box

[Larry Koch]

Is (Gold box) Lapua brass better than the newer (Blue box) Lapua? or is it just smoke and mirrors?

 

[Thud]

I think it’s Smoke and Mirrors

 

[Mark W]

Back when I played pool the same think happened when Masters cue chalk changed the paper wrap by adding the image of an American flag. Suddenly the pre-flag chalk was in high demand with many claiming that it worked better than chalk in the newer package even though the manufacturer and most users claimed no difference.

 

[Straightshooter1]

Is (Gold box) Lapua brass better than the newer (Blue box) Lapua? or is it just smoke and mirrors?

I don't know if by "Gold Box" you're referring to their old Brown Box cases or what. Anyway . . . maybe the pic below will give you some idea whether it's a smoke and mirrors thing or not.

 

[JimPag]

Is (Gold box) Lapua brass better than the newer (Blue box) Lapua? or is it just smoke and mirrors?

I sent 400 Gold Box 6BR cases to DJ at DJ'S brass service. They came from one lot. I wanted him to hydroform the cases into 30 BRX and what Smokin Joe called his 30 Thrasher which is a fifty thousands short 30 Dasher cartridge. I shipped them in a medium flat rate postal box and put all 400 in a couple of big plastic baggies. When he called me back when he was finished with them he asked me, was that brass that you sent me gold box brass? I said yes it was why? He said I could tell they were because they are a lot tougher to hydroform than the blue box stuff. Another thing that I have to say is that is that I still have about 40 boxes of GB 6BR cases with a few different lot numbers and the neck thickness is no different than the blue box stuff that I have. PS: I am not interested in selling this brass.

 

[Larry Koch]

I don't know if by "Gold Box" you're referring to their old Brown Box cases or what. Anyway . . . maybe the pic below will give you some idea whether it's a smoke and mirrors thing or not.

View attachment 1361527

Based on this analysis information gold box (brown) has less copper and more zinc.
What more zinc does In copper does? But it isn’t just smoke and mirrors.

 

[358WCF]

Is brown box really gold box, or is it the stuff in a brown box which is about the color of paper foodstore bags for those who remember. I have some gold box 308 from the early 90s that's been outstanding in every way & also some brown box 30-06 I got last year from another site's classified section that's really not up to the expected quality. If it was the 1st Lapua I ever used, I sure wouldn't get any more. Unsure of the age or chronological timeline of this stuff. It could be Korean War surplus for all I know. Maybe it's Lapua's "white box".

The blue box 06 I just got didn't measure as uniform for thickness as the gold box 308. I only checked a few though & haven't weighed more than about 3 or 4. They fireform to Ackley & shoot well enough so far. We'll see how long they last.

Camera's inop but will try to get a picture of the brown boxes next week when the kids are here.

 

[mikecr]

Another thing that I have to say is that is that I still have about 40 boxes of GB 6BR cases with a few different lot numbers and the neck thickness is no different than the blue box stuff that I have.

I'll suggest that you're sitting on a pile of gold their buddy.

What I notice, that aggravates me, is that no case makers today will tell us the alloy they are using.
And if there is one thing I've learned, I can't make Norma last.
No problem with old Lapua, or Winchester.

Maybe I can cut tiny coupons from cases of different make and test them at work. I'll have to look into that.

 

[jackieschmidt]

I doubt anybody abuses case more than Short Range Group Shooters with the 220 Russian turned into the 6PPC.

ForyearsI have said that we owe the success to the Lapua 220 Russian Case, simply put, we shoot pressures that are in the high side of the upper load window. I typically shoot my own 68 grn flat base at 3450 fps.

several years ago, we started to notice that case life became a big issue. Primer pockets would loosen after just three firings. When I say loosen, I mean absolutely no feel at all when seating them.

Many inquiries were made to Lapua to no avail. Their story was that they had changed nothing.

Except the color of the box.

So now I just make up a lot of cases. I also have a flush insert die that hits the web hard, allowing me to get a few more firings.

The 30BR is exactly the opposite. We push 112 grn 30 caliber bullets at 3000+ fps with no Ill affects what so ever. Extraction is easy and primer pockets stay tight. In fact, about the only indication that your cases have had it is necks start falling off.

I am pretty sure that something with Lapua changed besides the color of the box. But the only chambering it seems to make a difference in is the 6PPC made from the 220 Russian.

 

[CJ6]

So Jackie...If I get the jist of that is that NEW 220 Russian and 6 BR cases are alloyed different ?

 

[mikecr]

I also have a flush insert die that hits the web hard, allowing me to get a few more firings.

What's a flush insert die?

 

[JMayo]

2k+ rounds on 50 ppc brass and the pockets are about done.

 

[jackieschmidt]

What's a flush insert die?

I got this idea from Charles Huckeba a few years back.

You take a regular Redding full length sizing die, chuck it up and, using a carbide drill and boring bar, remove the shoulder completely so all that is left is the tapered part of the die. You can now, using a arbor brass, push the case in untill the head is flush Without disturbing the shoulder. This closes the web down a thousandths or so more.

you turn the die over and push it out with a rod. Then go through the normal reloading steps.

Works great.

 

[Larry Koch]

I got this idea from Charles Huckeba a few years back.

You take a regular Redding full length sizing die, chuck it up and, using a carbide drill and boring bar, remove the shoulder completely so all that is left is the tapered part of the die. You can now, using a arbor brass, push the case in untill the head is flush Without disturbing the shoulder. This closes the web down a thousandths or so more.

you turn the die over and push it out with a rod. Then go through the normal reloading steps.

Works great.

Are you just trying to squeeze the base of the cartridge? To get rid of the click when opening the bolt?

 

[jackieschmidt]

Are you just trying to squeeze the base of the cartridge? To get rid of the click when opening the bolt?

Not trying, it works.
here is a picture of one of them

 

[Doom]

I don't know if by "Gold Box" you're referring to their old Brown Box cases or what. Anyway . . . maybe the pic below will give you some idea whether it's a smoke and mirrors thing or not.

View attachment 1361527

The data is from an article on accurate shooter

You are being redirected...

and is a good source of information. The brass used in the "Brown Box" is especially puzzling since it is not normally cold worked but hot worked. Both C240 and C260 brasses can be used for cases and the choice is most likely based on cost as copper tends to be very volatile. That is probably why Lapua used Muntz and boxed it differently so its use would not reflect negatively on the "Blue Box".

 

[swd]

The data is from an article on accurate shooter

You are being redirected...

and is a good source of information. The brass used in the "Brown Box" is especially puzzling since it is not normally cold worked but hot worked. Both C240 and C260 brasses can be used for cases and the choice is most likely based on cost as copper tends to be very volatile. That is probably why Lapua used Muntz and boxed it differently so its use would not reflect negatively on the "Blue Box".

There was a thread this article came from here on the forum. There was lots of interesting discussion. And there is no doubt Brown/gold box is different than blue.

 

[Dgd6mm]

There was a thread this article came from here on the forum. There was lots of interesting discussion. And there is no doubt Brown/gold box is different than blue.

Yes, just look below this post at: Similar threads.