Thickness of Newer Lots Of Lapua 220 Russian Brass vs Older Lots.

[jackieschmidt]

I decided to try a no neck turn 6PPC using a .273 neck. It’s winter, I have quite a few older barrels laying around that still shoot good. Dusty Stevens loaned me a .273 piloted necking reamer.

The barrel came out good.

I had previously ordered 2 boxes of Lapua 220 Russian Brass, which arrived last week. The lot number on both boxes is 4324325. They also have the number 4PH5013.

So I necked up a few cases and seated a few of my own 68 grn FB bullets. They would not chamber.

What the heck?

I measured the wall thickness on the cases, and they average .0143. I opened the other box, and they are the same.

I measured the loaded round and it measures .2735. ??????

I checked all of my mic’s. They are dead on.

I do not have any older Lapua 220 Russian laying around, I just always necked them up and turned the necks to fit my .269 chamber, but if memory serves, they were no where near in neck thickness as these new cases.

I know Bart shoots a no neck turn 6PPC In a .273 neck. I texted him, he has no explanation.

Has Lapua suddenly started making 220 Russian brass thicker in the Necks.?? or am I missing something here.

 

[D Coots]

All I know is if I went to a no turn neck, the same thing would happen to me. Good luck Jackie.

Seems like my old necks were .017 maybe? Blue box from many years ago.

 

[Bill Norris]

Jackie, This is the last box I bought about 2 weeks ago. Looks like @ .145 on these. According to my notes a box I bought app. two months ago the measurements were about the same.

 

[farmerjohn]

Follow

 

[Bronsin]

That's they way my cases were. Wall thickness was .0145-.015. That's why I always kinda questioned the whole ".273 No-turn" neck chamber. I bought mine in May. I have that exact same lot as yours as well.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Heres from the top- blue box from 4-5yrs ago, gold box from 1998 and the bottom pic is the same gold box as a 22cal before expanding. .0130, .0130 and .0145

 

[X Count]

And this is why I speck neck turn chambers for anything serious. Your not at the mercy of a factory to maintain a tolerance

 

[R.Morehouse]

I know I don't get out much, but I swear I thought " no turn neck " meant something like SAMI spec chamber ( or at least neck ). I honestly never thought that brass prepared for comp. wouldn't be neck turned......I guess you learn something new every day. But I'm still a 262 guy that just sits at a bench.......... Can't see that changing any time soon.......Best of luck with that.

Regards
Rick

 

[jackieschmidt]

I know I don't get out much, but I swear I thought " no turn neck " meant something like SAMI spec chamber ( or at least neck ). I honestly never thought that brass prepared for comp. wouldn't be neck turned......I guess you learn something new every day. But I'm still a 262 guy that just sits at a bench.......... Can't see that changing any time soon.......Best of luck with that.

Regards
Rick

I have been turning necks for 30 years. At first, I did like every one else, and went .262. Then in around 2004, I decided to give the .269 neck a try, and it made turning necks so much easier, and the rifles agged the same.

Recently, when Bart Sauter stated he was using a no neck turn .273, it did catch my attention, considering how well he shoots. If the Lapua Brass is good enough to give the same agging capability as a turned neck, why turn necks.

The monkey wrench was thrown into the gear train when I opened these new boxes and discovered that the brass was no longer .013, but now close to .0145.

There goes the clearance.

As Dusty is also showing in post #6, Lapua 220 Russian used to be thinner and would work fine with a .273 neck. There is no way this current lot of brass will work in anything shy of a .275 neck.

 

[dgeesaman]

I’d skim them to .013 per side and move onward. No turn and skim turn are nearly the same thing to me.

It does make me curious what the official neck diameter is for 220 Russian. If someone straight loads for that, what happens?

 

[jackieschmidt]

I’d skim them to .013 per side and move onward. No turn and skim turn are nearly the same thing to me.

It does make me curious what the official neck diameter is for 220 Russian. If someone straight loads for that, what happens?

If I have to do anything at all, I will just stick to my .269 neck.

like you, I am curious how this added thickness will affect those shooting the 220 Russian “right out of the box” so to speak.

 

[DJSBRS]

Jackie, the brass I have been getting in to neck turned changed around the first of the summer. I have measured many boxes and they did go to from .0142 to .0145. The first of the year this year they were still at .013

Just my .02¢

DJ
DJ's Brass Service

 

[Shooter13]

Jackie,
I have some new sealed 220 that I purchased a year ago, I'll open a box and mic it and see what it measures as I just ordered a new reamer for a .273 neck 6PPC.

 

[Shooter13]

Well, my curiosity was killing me so opened a new box that is a least a year old, 1 case was .015 so I checked zero on mic and it is good (same one you are showing in the pic) and measured 4 more t .0143. So do we have anyone from Lapua on here (maybe a team member?) that can give us a heads up? So I guess we'll be turning our no turn necks!

 

[butchlambert]

I measured my lot# P00406601 and they measure .0143. This is gold box. The 4PH5013 is their part number. My mic is the same as Dusty's.

 

[Shooter13]

I measured my lot# P00406601 and they measure .0143. This is gold box. The 4PH5013 is their part number. My mic is the same as Dusty's.

When I get back home I will check my lot number also

 

[Litespeed]

I have the same lot and getting ready to fire form to 6mm ARC. I had loaded one round to verify the forming load I was going to use and found it larger neck diameter than the Hornady factory loads. It chambered but was a struggle to get out (I really dislike AR's but keep buying them). After measuting the neck thickness at .0145, I turned the expanded brass to .0135 it seems fine now and measures the same loaded diameter as factory loads. SAAMI spec for the ARC chamber appears to be .274"

 

[MislMan]

I am not in the same league as y’all in the machining game but, did you check the dimensions of the reamer to verify expected results. As y’all are well aware it wouldn’t take much wear on the reamer to end up with a smaller diameter then expected.

 

[jackieschmidt]

I am not in the same league as y’all in the machining game but, did you check the dimensions of the reamer to verify expected results. As y’all are well aware it wouldn’t take much wear on the reamer to end up with a smaller diameter then expected.

The problem is not a reamer problem.
The problem is in the realm of the 6PPC when using the Lapua 220 Russian as the parent case.

For years, the cases held a consistent wall thickness to where if you chose to simply neck them up and fireform, you could use a reamer with a .273 neck and have just the correct cleance over a loaded round. More than one shooter is doing this.

Now Lapua has suddenly added at least .001 to the wall thickness, that is .002 on diameter, thus negating the shooters efforts in skipping the neck turning. They will simply be too tight.

You might ask…..”don’t all Benchrest Shooters turn necks?”
Well, the vast majority do have reamers that require neck turning. But, Bart Sauter, who at this moment is doing very well in short and long range Benchrest, just won the NBRSA 3 Gun and the Tackdriver shooting a .273 no neck turn 6PPC.

That can get one’s attention.

 

[MislMan]

The problem is not a reamer problem.
The problem is in the realm of the 6PPC when using the Lapua 220 Russian as the parent case.

For years, the cases held a consistent wall thickness to where if you chose to simply neck them up and fireform, you could use a reamer with a .273 neck and have just the correct cleance over a loaded round. More than one shooter is doing this.

Now Lapua has suddenly added at least .001 to the wall thickness, that is .002 on diameter, thus negating the shooters efforts in skipping the neck turning. They will simply be too tight.

You might ask…..”don’t all Benchrest Shooters turn necks?”
Well, the vast majority do have reamers that require neck turning. But, Bart Sauter, who at this moment is doing very well in short and long range Benchrest, just won the NBRSA 3 Gun and the Tackdriver shooting a .273 no neck turn 6PPC.

That can get one’s attention.

Thanks Jackie. I didn’t realize how little clearance y’all are running for a no-turn neck.