New 308win build and new ALFA Brass.

[Mark611]

Alright, first I built this rifle off of a Savage model 12 That I bought new about 11yrs ago, it was ordinally a 223rem, I had my friend Dean at Walnut Creek Precision do the work on this build, Dean blueprinted the action and MELONITED the action and barrel, I used a PTG bolt head and all new everything for the bolt, the barrel I'm running is a pre fit Criterion 26'' bull barrel 1&10 twist, now my question, what are your thoughts on how I should break-in this ALFA brass? should I anneal it first before I shoot it? also, how many times should I fire these cases before I bump the shoulder to make sure the brass is fully formed? your thoughts gentlemen.

 

[Straightshooter1]

Alright, first I built this rifle off of a Savage model 12 That I bought new about 11yrs ago, it was ordinally a 223rem, I had my friend Dean at Walnut Creek Precision do the work on this build, Dean blueprinted the action and MELONITED the action and barrel, I used a PTG bolt head and all new everything for the bolt, the barrel I'm running is a pre fit Criterion 26'' bull barrel 1&10 twist, now my question, what are your thoughts on how I should break-in this ALFA brass? should I anneal it first before I shoot it? also, how many times should I fire these cases before I bump the shoulder to make sure the brass is fully formed? your thoughts gentlemen.

You really don't need to do the annealing until after the first firing. . . though it might help some with with fire forming.

It will probably take at lease two firings to get them fully fire formed. After the first firing, try chambering several of the cases and if some don't go in easily, I'd just take those and set my die to bump the shoulders .002. Then I'd size the whole batch.

Back in April I received a box of Alpha .308 and because the case mouths had burrs on the inside and outside, I chamfered and deburred them before loading and firing for the first time. As you can see in the pic below (line dated 4-28 with 80 rounds fired), that first firing gave me really good results. I also took various measurements to see how they compared to some of my other brass I've used (see pic below).

 

[Mark611]

Thank you for the info, my next question was about turning the necks to remove the fat off of them or unforming them before the first firing? I have no experience with Alpha brass, I usually use LAPUA, and I usually turn the fat off of them before the first fining! my goal is to make sure I work this brass correctly before I fire it! I have a Brownell's neck turning set up with the mandrels and the die body to do the work, and from what I see in your info that maybe the correct thing to do?

 

[Straightshooter1]

Thank you for the info, my next question was about turning the necks to remove the fat off of them or unforming them before the first firing? I have no experience with Alpha brass, I usually use LAPUA, and I usually turn the fat off of them before the first fining! my goal is to make sure I work this brass correctly before I fire it! I have a Brownell's neck turning set up with the mandrels and the die body to do the work, and from what I see in your info that maybe the correct thing to do?

The only time I think one should turn necks before firing is when they have a chamber that will require it in order to chamber that case. For no turn chambers, I only like to do it once the case is fully fire formed so that I get that little cut into the shoulder as consistent as possible. That's almost always after the second firing. Otherwise, the necks might have to be turned a second time. And with a new barrel and new brass, turning later is ok by me since it typically take 150 -200 rounds down the barrel for the barrel to speed up and settle in. Everything is ready to go, except for a little load development) at 200 rounds fired.