Trying Alpha 6 Dasher Brass . . .

[JLT]

I don't really like wasting barrel life and components with fire forming. Yeah, fire forming can be decent practice but what it consumes as prelude to load development is material.

So, I figured I'd give Alpha 6 Dasher brass a try. Lapua has served me very well over the years - it has proven to be remarkably durable and some of the cases in rotation have well over 25 firings on them but I figure a new-ish Bartlein barrel presents a good opportunity to give the relatively new Alpha brass a whirl.

I ordered some from Chattanooga Shooting Supplies and they were delivered a couple of days ago. I opened the box this morning and the product makes a fine first impression. The packaging is terrific - a sturdy 100 round ammo box with two foam layers, one layer for loaded rounds and the second layer is added to protect the empties. The brass looks great and a few minutes ago I threw a sample of 50 cases on my FX200i-WP to begin the tale-of-the-tape process.

I like what I see. Weight consistency is outstanding. Results:

Statistics
Values in grains.

Obs 50
Min 132.28
Max 132.96
ES 0.68
STD Dev 0.160
Mean 132.80
Median 132.83
Modal Value 132.92

Weights measured with
A&D FX200i-WP

The distribution chart divisions in the attached thumbnail are 1/2 standard deviations. Note the ES of .68 grains and the standard deviation of .16 grains for the sample of 50. The standard deviation is .12% (.0012) of the sample mean. That is remarkable for anything that is mass produced. A tip of the hat to the folks at Alpha for some serious applied operational quality theory. Six Sigma folks should be impressed.

I grabbed the calipers and measured the overall length on a dozen or so and concluded that going any further would be a waste of time. 1.335 - 1.336" for the cases measured.

I'm going to run a mandrel through them and skim the necks later this morning - they are going into a .2705" chamber - and I hope to get some of them to the range in the next few days.

Can't wait to see what they do on paper.

 

[djporter]

Please keep us posted on your progress. I also have 100 with one firing on them. I hit them light for the first firing.
Dan

 

[Ranger188]

I tried one of their first batches, (Alpha) found the same as you. Very consistent.
I had been necking down 6.5 Lapua brass before that.
But when I went to shoot them, had primers let loose after a couple firings.
My loads were a little warm. Lapua then came out with 6 creed brass, went back
to Lapua brass never had a problem.
My 2 cents.

 

[shoot4fun]

I don't really like wasting barrel life and components with fire forming. Yeah, fire forming can be decent practice but what it consumes as prelude to load development is material.

So, I figured I'd give Alpha 6 Dasher brass a try. Lapua has served me very well over the years - it has proven to be remarkably durable and some of the cases in rotation have well over 25 firings on them but I figure a new-ish Bartlein barrel presents a good opportunity to give the relatively new Alpha brass a whirl.

I ordered some from Chattanooga Shooting Supplies and they were delivered a couple of days ago. I opened the box this morning and the product makes a fine first impression. The packaging is terrific - a sturdy 100 round ammo box with two foam layers, one layer for loaded rounds and the second layer is added to protect the empties. The brass looks great and a few minutes ago I threw a sample of 50 cases on my FX200i-WP to begin the tale-of-the-tape process.

I like what I see. Weight consistency is outstanding. Results:

Statistics
Values in grains.

Obs 50
Min 132.28
Max 132.96
ES 0.68
STD Dev 0.160
Mean 132.80
Median 132.83
Modal Value 132.92

Weights measured with
A&D FX200i-WP

The distribution chart divisions in the attached thumbnail are 1/2 standard deviations. Note the ES of .68 grains and the standard deviation of .16 grains for the sample of 50. The standard deviation is .12% (.0012) of the sample mean. That is remarkable for anything that is mass produced. A tip of the hat to the folks at Alpha for some serious applied operational quality theory. Six Sigma folks should be impressed.

I grabbed the calipers and measured the overall length on a dozen or so and concluded that going any further would be a waste of time. 1.335 - 1.336" for the cases measured.

I'm going to run a mandrel through them and skim the necks later this morning - they are going into a .2705" chamber - and I hope to get some of them to the range in the next few days.

Can't wait to see what they do on paper.

View attachment 1186431

Reduce your normal load a little because the Alpha Dasher brass seems to have less volume than Lapua.
I skimmed my necks for a .271 chamber and so far am pleased with the brass. ES & SD are low and I'm using about .3 less Varget to get the same results. Only two firings to date but have seen zero primer pocket issues.

 

[JLT]

Reduce your normal load a little because the Alpha Dasher brass seems to have less volume than Lapua.
I skimmed my necks for a .271 chamber and so far am pleased with the brass. ES & SD are low and I'm using about .3 less Varget to get the same results. Only two firings to date but have seen zero primer pocket issues.

Thanks for the reminder. I've heard that internal capacity is a bit short of Lapua's, about 1% or so. I was planning on doing an abbreviated work-up. I just hope I can get enough RL-16 in there to get my target velocity. Where's that arrow shaft drop tube . . .

 

[Hoodoo]

Thanks for posting. Been thinking about switching back to a Dasher with this brass now being available.

 

[JLT]

Thanks for posting. Been thinking about switching back to a Dasher with this brass now being available.

I really hope the brass performs well. I like everything about the Dasher except the case forming/fire forming exercise. Taking that off the table makes things so much easier!

 

[Hoodoo]

I really hope the brass performs well. I like everything about the Dasher except the case forming/fire forming exercise. Taking that off the table makes things so much easier!

I agree. It would be a lot easier to buy Dasher brass and not have to worry about forming. I've basically convinced myself to switch my 2 rifles back to Dasher this fall. I'll probably buy 4 or 500 pieces and give it a go this winter.

 

[goosepilot]

Any updates on alpha brass?

 

[padom]

Any updates on alpha brass?

Im shooting it now, its humming along nicely. You can run into issues if your chamber wasnt cut with a Alpha reamer.

 

[djporter]

Im shooting it now, its humming along nicely. You can run into issues if your chamber wasnt cut with an Alpha reamer.

Can you explain what the issues maybe?

 

[JFrank]

I had a pressure issue once with Alpha brass that remains unexplained however and since I’ve changed powder and bullets I haven’t noticed any unwarranted pressure signs.
I also do not run the upper node as this is just a lightweight hunting application and I’m fine with 2900 fps .

 

[padom]

Can you explain what the issues maybe?

I cannot, that's just what I was told by my smith and alpha..

Can run into pressure issues early with alpha brass in non alpha reamer chambers... so their gotta be a dimensional difference somewhere

 

[LVLAaron]

I know there's some drama with Alpha and the BRA chambers - haven't heard anything negative about any of their other offerings.

 

[David Wiggins]

I don't really like wasting barrel life and components with fire forming. Yeah, fire forming can be decent practice but what it consumes as prelude to load development is material.

So, I figured I'd give Alpha 6 Dasher brass a try. Lapua has served me very well over the years - it has proven to be remarkably durable and some of the cases in rotation have well over 25 firings on them but I figure a new-ish Bartlein barrel presents a good opportunity to give the relatively new Alpha brass a whirl.

I ordered some from Chattanooga Shooting Supplies and they were delivered a couple of days ago. I opened the box this morning and the product makes a fine first impression. The packaging is terrific - a sturdy 100 round ammo box with two foam layers, one layer for loaded rounds and the second layer is added to protect the empties. The brass looks great and a few minutes ago I threw a sample of 50 cases on my FX200i-WP to begin the tale-of-the-tape process.

I like what I see. Weight consistency is outstanding. Results:

Statistics
Values in grains.

Obs 50
Min 132.28
Max 132.96
ES 0.68
STD Dev 0.160
Mean 132.80
Median 132.83
Modal Value 132.92

Weights measured with
A&D FX200i-WP

The distribution chart divisions in the attached thumbnail are 1/2 standard deviations. Note the ES of .68 grains and the standard deviation of .16 grains for the sample of 50. The standard deviation is .12% (.0012) of the sample mean. That is remarkable for anything that is mass produced. A tip of the hat to the folks at Alpha for some serious applied operational quality theory. Six Sigma folks should be impressed.

I grabbed the calipers and measured the overall length on a dozen or so and concluded that going any further would be a waste of time. 1.335 - 1.336" for the cases measured.

I'm going to run a mandrel through them and skim the necks later this morning - they are going into a .2705" chamber - and I hope to get some of them to the range in the next few days.

Can't wait to see what they do on paper.

View attachment 1186431

I started using Alpha about 3 yrs ago in our Dashers for f class. It has been outstanding. Zero fireforming when loading for 2 shooters is a tremendous savings. I have been loading 33.0 gr Varget since very first firing getting 3025 fps average . We just retired the first batch after 3 barrels use because of clickers. Very consistent sizing throughout the 20+ reloads. Primer pockets were still tight and very little spring back on necks annealing every firing. I have just changed the wife’s barrel and noticed her clickers ( after 3 barrels) showing up in her Borden BRMXD. New brass for this year entails turning necks , size it for trueness, load it with 33 gr and shoot a match.

 

[Ed kof]

I ordered some for my buddy because he is worse than me on a computer. Quite a few would not chamber because the shoulder was pushed way up. He is gonna run them through a die and see if that cures the problem. Just a bad lot? Edk

 

[JLT]

I ordered some for my buddy because he is worse than me on a computer. Quite a few would not chamber because the shoulder was pushed way up. He is gonna run them through a die and see if that cures the problem. Just a bad lot? Edk

Your friend may want to give Alpha a call before he does anything. They may want to examine the product before anything is done. I'll bet they expedite replacements.

 

[Ed kof]

Thanks for the tip. I’ll see if he has resized them yet. Edk

 

[Shooter13]

Can someone tell me the difference between a Lapua and Alpha reamer?
Thanks

 

[G Liles]

Can someone tell me the difference between a Lapua and Alpha reamer?
Thanks

It would be nice to see the prints for both reamers.