I'll ask a question also. Should I throw away hundreds of Lapua cases now that the barrel they were used in is out of service? What's the normal routine for this?
"Tight" or out of spec Lapua brass?
- Thread starter Enosiophobia
- Start date
Here's what I did to save a batch of Norma 6.5cm brass
I ran them through a 30-06 die to size the .200 line, this will lengthen the case also. Anneal then resize through your normal die to desired length and clearance. You may need to trim when done.
I covered this in post 2. If you change guns/barrels, you often have to small base size them.
screaminweasil
Silver $$ Contributor
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Cheaper than throwing away all that brass
If you didn't already... I would bump the shoulders to the same measurement as the go-gauge for the cartridge. Sometimes it takes an extra couple thousands bump for the FL die to size the base of the brass a little more. Another thing would be to make sure you have case lube on the bottom of the case. The lube will help size the bottom of the case a little farther.
I ordered a set this morning. Should be here tomorrow. I've swapped numerous aftermarket barrels and this is the first time I've run into this.6.5 Creedmoor AR Series Small Base Taper Crimp Die Set
AR Series Small Base Taper Crimp 2 Die Set by RCBS Product Overview: RCBS Small Base Taper Crimp Die Sets are a must for progressive reloaders. They feature a Small Base Sizer Die designed for semi-automatic firearms, and a Taper Crimp Seater Die. The Small Base Sizer guarantees the cartridge...
Cheaper than throwing away all that brass
I sized them 1-1.5 thou smaller than the gauge. I dialed the die down even further to maximum and it had no effect on the base dimensions. Like I said, this never came up before. I guess the real question from all this is does Lapua brass typically vary that much?
But, you said it was previously fired, so it’s not really about Lapua. It’s about how much it fit to your previous chamber.
If a couple saw high pressure, they may be more expanded than the others. Did they all see the same number of firing?
Some of my brass has taken 2+ firings for the shoulders to all be pushed out. If I measured it after just one, I’d wrongly think it was a Lapua issue. It’s not, they just haven’t finished fully forming.
If a couple saw high pressure, they may be more expanded than the others. Did they all see the same number of firing?
Some of my brass has taken 2+ firings for the shoulders to all be pushed out. If I measured it after just one, I’d wrongly think it was a Lapua issue. It’s not, they just haven’t finished fully forming.
6MMsteve
Gold $$ Contributor
Brass usually don't vary alot but chambers in barrels can be crazy, factory barrel with a new reamer, factory barrel with a hard used reamer, chamber can be small or even track to one side at the business end... the only way to get good chambers is to have your own reamers that you prefer, and have a good gunsmith chamber your barrels with his or your reamer.. and that you hope he keeps up with specs on the reamer. I would say with 99.9% fact that gunsmiths on this site are some of the best in the world
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UPDATE:
My apologies for the "false alarm". For the knowledgeable, this was most likely a routine issue. If I didn't provide enough or clearer information at the outset, I apologize.
RCBS small base dies arrived today. Re-tested on of the problem fired cases. Tried to re-chamber, no go. Pressed through the small base dies, chambers just fine. Since I had installed barrels previously from different manufacturer's, including this one, I'd never experienced a "tight" chamber like this one. I guess I can understand the concept of a manufacturer chambering a factory barrel a little loose compared to one chambered by a company with tighter tolerances. Until recently, I don't even know that I knew such variances existed.
One parting question. Once all the offending brass had been run through the small base die, must I continue to use that same small die moving forward with this barrel? Since I realize that the newly small sized brass will fireform to the tighter chamber of the new barrel, would I be wrong in assuming that a non small based die would allow the base to (or size it so) grow to a larger diameter because of the looser tolerance? Would the smaller based brass retain that smaller base diameter if used in a non small based die?
Again, sorry for the false alarm and appreciate all the assistance.
My apologies for the "false alarm". For the knowledgeable, this was most likely a routine issue. If I didn't provide enough or clearer information at the outset, I apologize.
RCBS small base dies arrived today. Re-tested on of the problem fired cases. Tried to re-chamber, no go. Pressed through the small base dies, chambers just fine. Since I had installed barrels previously from different manufacturer's, including this one, I'd never experienced a "tight" chamber like this one. I guess I can understand the concept of a manufacturer chambering a factory barrel a little loose compared to one chambered by a company with tighter tolerances. Until recently, I don't even know that I knew such variances existed.
One parting question. Once all the offending brass had been run through the small base die, must I continue to use that same small die moving forward with this barrel? Since I realize that the newly small sized brass will fireform to the tighter chamber of the new barrel, would I be wrong in assuming that a non small based die would allow the base to (or size it so) grow to a larger diameter because of the looser tolerance? Would the smaller based brass retain that smaller base diameter if used in a non small based die?
Again, sorry for the false alarm and appreciate all the assistance.
If your FL die is too close in dimension to the chamber, you may need it again. If it's a factory chamber, you'll probably be fine.
I had a combination where my fired brass was only .0005" larger than my sized brass, at that .200" line. I would get clickers with normal loads. I ended up opening up my chamber with a flex hone, probably about .0005". It fixed my issue.
No need for apologies. We're all just glad you're able to use this brass again. To answer your question about having to use the small base die again... Most likely not, but if you fire a hot load, probably yes.
I know guys use "old" brass in new barrels with success but when I get a new barrel it gets new brass. I had this same problem a couple years ago when we had a component drought and I used old brass that was shot in a factory barrel. There are so many tricks to try and get them to work but in the end the problem always keeps coming back at some point until you just get new fresh brass
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wedgy
Gold $$ Contributor
Glad your problem was solved with assistance from the forum, that is what it is here for. Please consider becoming a supporting member by upgrading your membership.
How do you know that the bullet is jamming into the lands?
The ring is on the Ogive. Looks like a deep VLD seating stem made it. Its far from the bearing surface of the bullet where the lands would contact.
Exactly.
If it were the lands hitting it, it wouldn't go all the way around, it would be 4/5/6 dashes around the circumference - not a full circle.
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