I'm new to reloading, so please excuse the obvious. I'm looking at buying 200-300 cases of Lapua brass for my 260 Remy. I've got a Forester co-ax press with a full sizing die. When available, I can get 260 cases for about a buck apiece. However the 308 BR or Palma brass (small primer) is about .86 cents a case. The 308 is believed by some to be a better case, and cheaper. Thoughts? Can you think of any problems?
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260 Rem - Lapua Brass
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Sully2
Well-Known Member
I went the Lapua route and glad I did. I get MANY many reloads from them
J E Custom
Well-Known Member
I use the 308 Lapua brass for my 7/08 and it is the best brass I have found. I also use a lot of
Remington brass with good success and normally only cull 5 or 6 Per 100 rounds after sizing,
trimming. And turning.
I wished Lapua made 7/08 (Proper head stamp) but they don't.
Someone said they made 260 brass and that would be the best of all worlds.
I always prefer necking down because I can turn the necks if they are to thick.
Just my opinion
J E CUSTOM
Remington brass with good success and normally only cull 5 or 6 Per 100 rounds after sizing,
trimming. And turning.
I wished Lapua made 7/08 (Proper head stamp) but they don't.
Someone said they made 260 brass and that would be the best of all worlds.
I always prefer necking down because I can turn the necks if they are to thick.
Just my opinion
J E CUSTOM
Lapua does make 260 brass.
Midway sells a slick primer pocket tightening device for 30-40 bucks. It swages the pocket and works great. Ive had the same issue with my 308.
i get a ton of reloads. i quit counting. i use a pretty stout load of 45 grn h4350 with either 130 bergers or 123 lapua scenars. easily in the 3100fps range with a 4 groove 28in krieger.
i will say though i need to anneal after the 6th firing. they still shoot pretty good but in f-class i will start to notice unexplained vertical. i usually prep 3 lots of 50 pcs for competition. fire them 6 times then send them off for sonic cleaning and annealing for 33 bucks a hundred. while the first 100 is getting cleaned and annealed i use the other 50 and just continue the rotation.
some of my cases have 12-18 firings and the only issue is some of the primer pockets are loose.
i think it helps that i use a collet die which works the brass very minimal and only bump the shoulder 1-2 thou every 3rd-4th firing. also the reamer is very much on the sammi minnimum. i turn all my necks to 14 thou bc the lapua stuff averages 14.5-15 thou
i only use sonic cleaning because its what dj's brass uses. i don't have either type here at home. i just use corncob media to shine them up between firings but it does nothing to clean the inside. i don't really like the inside of the necks clean anyway, but after 6-7 firings there is just too much build up in the cases.
i hear from guys the ss rods work great, i never tried them.
Another reason to stay away from the Lapua 308 palma brass is the small primer:
From article linked below: "Simply stated, the small primer in the .308 case is at the low end of acceptable ignition under ideal conditions - and conditions are often not ideal. As ambient temperature drops and especially if ignition systems are modified (uselessly, I might add) with lighter firing pins, ignition reliability declines. A system which is marginally acceptable under ideal conditions will then begin to produce hangfires and misfires. In many cases, when shooters used the Remington small primer cases as a full-length .308, this is exactly what happened. Heavier powder charges and slow-burning powders further add to the difficulty of ensuring reliable ignition. With the typical Palma load of 46 grains of Varget, a moderately slow powder, I will venture to say that many small primers will be inadequate to ensure adequate ignition under all environmental conditions."
The Rifleman's Journal: Cartridges: Lapua Small Primer .308
From article linked below: "Simply stated, the small primer in the .308 case is at the low end of acceptable ignition under ideal conditions - and conditions are often not ideal. As ambient temperature drops and especially if ignition systems are modified (uselessly, I might add) with lighter firing pins, ignition reliability declines. A system which is marginally acceptable under ideal conditions will then begin to produce hangfires and misfires. In many cases, when shooters used the Remington small primer cases as a full-length .308, this is exactly what happened. Heavier powder charges and slow-burning powders further add to the difficulty of ensuring reliable ignition. With the typical Palma load of 46 grains of Varget, a moderately slow powder, I will venture to say that many small primers will be inadequate to ensure adequate ignition under all environmental conditions."
The Rifleman's Journal: Cartridges: Lapua Small Primer .308
