Lapua Palma brass question

[Chris Butler]

I have 300 pieces that have 4 loadings on them
My loads are moderate. I haven't chased speed or pressure just accuracy. The rifle is a PRS/NRL trainer.

I bought 100 virgin pieces online.

I've gotten 2 different opinions from friends
1. Palma brass is durable just mix the new ones in the rotation

2. Hang on to them until I'm ready to retire the original bunch

What say you, 1 or 2?

 

[mikecr]

What makes 'palma' brass different?

 

[M-61]

What makes 'palma' brass different?

Small rifle primer

 

[David Christian]

Keep the 4th box separate.

 

[Jdne5b]

I would keep them separate, but you could test it. Fire a group of old brass and new brass at a longer distance you train at and see if POI is the same. If it is, then you may feel comfortable mixing them.

For FTR I keep all my lots separate and keep them grouped by firing #.

 

[Big Mc]

I have 300 pieces that have 4 loadings on them
My loads are moderate. I haven't chased speed or pressure just accuracy. The rifle is a PRS/NRL trainer.

I bought 100 virgin pieces online.

I've gotten 2 different opinions from friends
1. Palma brass is durable just mix the new ones in the rotation

2. Hang on to them until I'm ready to retire the original bunch

What say you, 1 or 2?

I try not to mix brass. I try. Just my two cents Tommy Mc

 

[mgunderson]

You can shoot them, but keep them separate. Even lapua brass can have small changes in the neck thickness or internal volume. Check a few dimensions and make sure.

I expect you won't be able to see a difference with the chronograph.

 

[Straightshooter1]

I have 300 pieces that have 4 loadings on them
My loads are moderate. I haven't chased speed or pressure just accuracy. The rifle is a PRS/NRL trainer.

I bought 100 virgin pieces online.

I've gotten 2 different opinions from friends
1. Palma brass is durable just mix the new ones in the rotation

2. Hang on to them until I'm ready to retire the original bunch

What say you, 1 or 2?

I say #2.

If you mix them with the others, when they reach their lifespan, you won't know which are which and will probably have to dump them all; including the 100 that would normally have a little more life. So, if there's no good reason to HAVE TO mix the new ones with the old, I'd do nothing with them and just hang onto them until needed.

 

[Old Navy]

Shoot the new ones four times and then mix them together.

 

[watercam]

FWIW I get at least 30 firings from Lapua SRP brass with full loads of Varget (46.5gr.). I am in agreement with those that keep their brass together in their separate ammo boxes.

 

[Chris Butler]

FWIW I get at least 30 firings from Lapua SRP brass with full loads of Varget (46.5gr.). I am in agreement with those that keep their brass together in their separate ammo boxes.

The person who gave me the advice to mix them (#1) in has over 20 firings on his Palma brass.

 

[Ned Ludd]

Unless you were somehow fortunate enough to buy 100 more pieces of the exact same Lot#, I'd never "mix them together". If they are the same Lot#, just process and fire the 100 new pieces until they have the same number of firings as the original 300 pieces, at which point you can then mix them together if desired.

If you really want get down in the weeds with this, you can determine the average case water volume for each Lot# of brass and see how they compare; i.e. do the volumes of the two Lot#s overlap, or are they practically the same? If the case volumes are very similar for the two Lot#s and you are not concerned about any potential effects of any other minute differences on precision, you could then mix them together. However, I would still suggest putting the same number of firings on the new Lot# of brass before mixing. After mixing, you might also start sorting cases by weight into three or four distinct weight groups (i.e. light/medium/heavy) that will generally have a little more consistent internal volume.

 

[XTR]

I’m currently processing close to 1000 Lapua Palma cases of mixed lots that I’ve been using for 5yrs plus. Load them and shoot. ESP shooting at targets the size of PRS / NRL targets.

Edit: In fact don't take my word for it, do this. Load up the new ones and get them once fired, because new brass will shoot differently that fired brass. Once they are fired and reloaded go out and shoot two 20 shot groups, one with the new stuff, and one with the old stuff and see if you can tell the difference. If you can't then load and be happy, if you can, then segregate to your hearts content.