Weight sort Lapua 300 Norma Brass???

DJ Fergus

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I quick checked 20 pieces out of 100 Lapua 300 Norma cases. My lightest is 317.5 grains & heaviest is 320 grains. I won't be able load & shoot these for a while. What do you guys think? Weight sort them or not?
 
In my pinion, Weight sorting is just one part of prepping cases for consistency. I like to size, trim, turn the necks and volume or weight sort my cases before I load them. In my mind, it eliminates any doubt
of differences in performance caused by inconsistent brass.

I like to eliminate as many factors as possible during load workup so I can concentrate on the load it's self. Even the best brass has some differences case to case.

So I would recommend doing as much as you can to uniform the cases, Including weight sorting. I weight sort to within 1 grain, and for all out accuracy I pick 5 or 10 cases that weight exactly the same after all the prep work is done.

J E CUSTOM
 
We are only talking about 100 cases here, right? That's not much work or time to sort if you ask me.

I Can't imagine in a 300 Norma that your load would be sensitive to .15 gr of powder difference, which is about what 2.5 gr of brass weight is equivalent to, but the vertical induced by the increase in the approximate 6- 10 FPS caused by this difference would be about 1" @1000 yards, worse case.

Might not make that much difference if you are in the middle of a nice, fat, velocity node, but if you're like me, and I'm guessing J E Custom, you'll want to eliminate ALL variables within your power to eliminate, and instead you'll want to be focusing on the shot and the wind, instead of thinking about the load, brass, etc.

I know guys get away with it all the time, I just haven't found myself to be one of those guys.

If it were me, I'd weight sort the 100 cases, be meticulous in all my other load prep, then shoot say 10 representative worse case weight difference of them, all on paper, 3 -5 round groups, in brass weight sequence lowest to highest, at range, on a very calm day.

Then I'd weight sort and reload exactly as before, and shoot them 1 case low brass weight, 1 case high brass weight, for 3-5 round groups on paper at range. Compare the groups. You'll have your answer.

Good luck whichever way you decide to go.

P.S. my 338 LM is sorted into 1 grain max brass weight difference per 20.
 
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I quick checked 20 pieces out of 100 Lapua 300 Norma cases. My lightest is 317.5 grains & heaviest is 320 grains. I won't be able load & shoot these for a while. What do you guys think? Weight sort them or not?
Where did you find 300 NM Lapua brass?
 
I've actually got 200 cases. I set 37 aside to end up with 163 cases with a variance of 1.6 grains. I usually weight sort within one grain but I've never dealt with a case that weighs 320 grains.
 
[QUOTE

Might not make that much difference if you are in the middle of a nice, fat, velocity node, but if you're like me, and I'm guessing J E Custom, you'll want to eliminate ALL variables within your power to eliminate, and instead you'll want to be focusing on the shot and the wind, instead of thinking about the load, brass, etc.


Exactly !!!!

I don't like second guessing what the problem is, So i try to eliminate
as many potential problems as possible. By doing this, the rifle will normally out shoot me eliminating any excuses. It also helps me find a problem by not wondering If i should have done this or that.

The fewer the possibilities, the fewer solutions you have to consider.
I realize that very few can see the difference it makes, but any improvement is worth the trouble. I have made changes that only produced improvements in group size by .015 to .020 thousandths. And if i can repeat these results, then I know it is a change for the better.

I continually try to improve my accuracy because I don't ever want to tell my self. "That's close enough" Or "that will do".

J E CUSTOM
 
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Well Sh!t
Why the heck aren't they available In the states?
That Trudeau fella must have pulled some strings across the pond:)

That's ridiculously low weight variation BTW, I recently weighed some Bertram brass that had a 10 grain spread and it was the same price as Lapua
 
I've actually got 200 cases. I set 37 aside to end up with 163 cases with a variance of 1.6 grains. I usually weight sort within one grain but I've never dealt with a case that weighs 320 grains.

The 163 in 1.5 gr I would run as a lot. That's only .1gr of equivalent powder difference, and even if you weigh each powder charge, say on a balance scale, that's about the best resolution you could hope for in powder anyway. (+- .05 gr)
Maybe use the other 37 for foulers, sighters, load development, experimentation on the effects of brass weight difference on your groups?
I still would have put them in a box in weight order, so that all cases next to each other are very close in weight, and I would shoot them in that order.

Just me being anal about stuff.

I meticulously prepped and weight sorted an entire lot of 800 cases... not that tough if you enjoy what you're doing... and the fruit of your labor.

blackaj mentioned low weight variation. That 800 round lot I weight sorted? 4 grain total weight variation, with 2 300 round groups with 1 gr weight variation each, (248 gr and 249 gr)and 2 100 round groups outside of that group of 600 with also 1 gr weight variation. (247 gr and 250 gr)
The manufacture of this brass? ADG.
Something to think about. I think they'll be releasing the 300 Norma Mag brass this year if they haven't already.
 
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Ok guys before we get all silly here..
Have you checked case capacity?

Case weight variation is not the enemy, sort by capacity.

I'm going to be extremely surprised if Lapua brass has enough capacity variation to make it worth sorting
 
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