I need some help from the reloading gurus.

[ShootnMathews]

Ok. Here's what I'm going to to. I grabbed 9 of the once fired Lapua from the loads I shot trying to hit the node again. I'm going to size and reload them at 46, and 46.2 and see how those do. That way I know they are fireformed and everything should be as uniform as it's going to get.

Also I did weigh the cases and the Lapua are exactly 3 grains (on average) lighter than the federal brass just like I expected which means I should need a little more powder to hit the same pressure. So hopefully the 46.2 in this once fired brass hits home. I will say I can feel the difference seating the bullet. In the federal brass the 46 grain charge got a little crunch on the powder and in the Lapua brass it just touches the powder. On the 46.2 grain loads I got about the same crunch as the 46 federal brass. Also I trimmed an alarming amount off the once fired Lapua. It surprised me. I mean I don't think I've ever seen this much stretch on one firing of virgin brass.

 

[ShootnMathews]

So did you weigh the empty cases to see what the difference is between them?

The Lapua is almost exactly 3 grains lighter than the federal on average. I just weighed 3 of each to get a fast look at them. I loaded up a few to try tomorrow. I think the once fired brass will be better. Everything about the once fired brass loads just felt better. From primer seating all the way to bullet seating.

 

[Tidus56]

I will be interested in your results, keep us posted.

 

[Koda_]

I was hoping not. I have other rifles that I've swapped brass in several times and only needed to tweak the powder slightly and was right in the money again.

then you got lucky on those. Changing a component means starting over.

 

[Tiny Tim]

Do you have a chronograph? What was the velocity of the load in the Federal brass vs the Lapua? Also different brass will have different hardness and may affect bullet release and thus your pressure curve. Remove as many variables as possible.

 

[NDF]

Or just get some more federal brass, sell the lapua as once fired and move on, why fight it if a 1/2" is giving you sleepless nights, good luck

 

[ShootnMathews]

Do you have a chronograph? What was the velocity of the load in the Federal brass vs the Lapua? Also different brass will have different hardness and may affect bullet release and thus your pressure curve. Remove as many variables as possible.

No sir I don't. A chronograph is on my wish list but I don't have one yet. I should have one by now you'd think

 

[FEENIX]

No sir I don't. A chronograph is on my wish list but I don't have one yet. I should have one by now you'd think

I have a LabRadar and F1 Crony that I have had for a long time as a backup. A chronograph can be a hefty upfront investment but will augment your load development process. You do not have to have an LR or MS; keep an eye on the ads for those upgrading. Good luck!

 

[Lefty7mmstw]

I've seen a brass switch make zero difference, and I've seen it kill a load. My 7stw doesn't care between ww and rem brass with it's normal load but acted like hell froze over when I ran Bertram brass with it.

 

[ShootnMathews]

I've seen a brass switch make zero difference, and I've seen it kill a load. My 7stw doesn't care between ww and rem brass with it's normal load but acted like hell froze over when I ran Bertram brass with it.

I agree totally. I I have a 243 that I worked up loads with Winchester brass and later picked up a box of Nosler brass. Both brass shoot identical. Same exact load. Same grouping. Same POI. I was hoping for similar with this 308 but that's a fat NO so far.

 

[ShootnMathews]

I've had my eye on a magneto speed but honestly I know nothing about chronos. If you were say just starting out and wanted to pick up one for load work that was accurate and did the job but didn't break the wallet which one would you buy? I guess I'm asking which one do you think is the best deal. . Thanks again. I value your input.

 

[ShootnMathews]

Or just get some more federal brass, sell the lapua as once fired and move on, why fight it if a 1/2" is giving you sleepless nights, good luck

That's an option I suppose but I've always had my best luck with Lapua brass in the past. So I think it will do fine once I figure out what it wants. If I switched to federal I'm sure I'd have to fireform it as well

 

[Alibiiv]

Here's what I've got. It's a Savage 308 win. I used Federal gold medal match for the barrel breakin and then worked up a load in the Federal brass that was shooting 1/4 moa with 168 grain Amax and 46 grains of Varget and a 210M primer. I only had about 40 pieces of Federal brass so after it was getting pretty shot out I grabbed a box of Lapua brass. I knew I'd have to tweak the load some but I expected just a small powder charge adjustment because I have done similar with other rifles In the past. Instead though this rifle just shoots like crap with the Lapua brass. 45.8 grains shoots the best at about 3/4". So you think the brass needs fire formed first to shoot well? I've always had good luck with Lapua right out of the box. What are some of your thoughts??

I have not changed anything g else in the load. I just took the 1/4 moa load and put it in the Lapua brass. Same primer. Same bullet. Same seating depth. And the same charge at first. Then I went up to 46.6 grains and 45.5 grains. 45.8 shot around 3/4 moa and below that opened up and above that opened up. It's got me a little puzzled.

Here's a pic of how it was shooting with the Federal brass. I know it says 45.8 grains but 46 (like I said above) proved to be the better load after more testing.

At this point I have read up to the last reply; #14. I would suggest that you start with total uniformity of the brass, without uniformity you are going to be chasing any number of extraneous variables. By this I mean to totally prep your cases from start to finish; FL resize, anneal, primer pocket uniforming, flash hole deburr, anneal, trim to length the entire process from start to finish. When I start out with a new lot of brass this is where I start from, then I know that what I am working with is what I "have" been working with from the last batch of brass. Just because the box says Lapua or Petterson that doesn't make it impervious to issues in manufatcuring, especially with today's market of high demand and diminished quality control to meet those needs. Who knows you could have gotten a bad batch of brass? I am not saying this is the case (no pun), but....in my opinion this is a good place to start. Without uniforming/prepping all of your brass before going any further, even if you "do" find an answer to this issue with this particular lot of brass, that doesn't mean that it cannot happen again. And...without uniformity of your brass it will be like chasing your tail all over again. This is just my opinion, prep the brass and "then" start chasing the issue you have described.

 

[xsn10s]

Ok. Here's what I'm going to to. I grabbed 9 of the once fired Lapua from the loads I shot trying to hit the node again. I'm going to size and reload them at 46, and 46.2 and see how those do. That way I know they are fireformed and everything should be as uniform as it's going to get.

Also I did weigh the cases and the Lapua are exactly 3 grains (on average) lighter than the federal brass just like I expected which means I should need a little more powder to hit the same pressure. So hopefully the 46.2 in this once fired brass hits home. I will say I can feel the difference seating the bullet. In the federal brass the 46 grain charge got a little crunch on the powder and in the Lapua brass it just touches the powder. On the 46.2 grain loads I got about the same crunch as the 46 federal brass. Also I trimmed an alarming amount off the once fired Lapua. It surprised me. I mean I don't think I've ever seen this much stretch on one firing of virgin brass.

I was going to ask if you check case length. I've had instances where case length, too long, caused accuracy issues. I'd use a vld chamfer, I've seen accuracy improve using that chamfer.