Thanks for the numbers. Walls are my main interest. I am stretching from .470 to .500 in diameter which takes the wall thickness from .030" to .028". Rough numbers from a quick calculation. Feel free to back me up
Thickest 30-06 brass?
- Thread starter Mram10us
- Start date
Help Support Long Range Hunting Forum
J E Custom
Well-Known Member
Measuring wall thickness any where in the case body is difficult at best, case manufactures have different design parameters in different areas and are not consistent from one to the other.
The easiest way to find this would also be to weight sort or volume test after case prep. It still wouldn't tell you the wall thickness in any given area, but it would be an indication of the durability and the possibility of the thickest case wall. the other way is to section the case in half from neck to case head. an optical comparator is the best way to measure the wall due to damage that could be caused by the sectioning.
I have sectioned many different case brands to see if there were problems or why one held up better than another and found that the case and case web was very different in many brands and based on their forming dies.
If you can afford to sacrifice one case from each brand, you can section them and then get the measurements that you want and where you want. One reason that Lapua last so long is their web design is very different from others and well engineered.
Hope this helps
J E CUSTOM
The easiest way to find this would also be to weight sort or volume test after case prep. It still wouldn't tell you the wall thickness in any given area, but it would be an indication of the durability and the possibility of the thickest case wall. the other way is to section the case in half from neck to case head. an optical comparator is the best way to measure the wall due to damage that could be caused by the sectioning.
I have sectioned many different case brands to see if there were problems or why one held up better than another and found that the case and case web was very different in many brands and based on their forming dies.
If you can afford to sacrifice one case from each brand, you can section them and then get the measurements that you want and where you want. One reason that Lapua last so long is their web design is very different from others and well engineered.
Hope this helps
J E CUSTOM
baldhunter
Well-Known Member
Remington 30-06 brass seems to has a little less case capacity than the Winchester brass some I assume it's a little thicker.
I also found Lake City to be the thickest I have used, but that was years ago. Winchester has been the thinnest I have used. Remington falling somewhere between the two. Same with 308 brass.
sodakota
Well-Known Member
I have Military brass dated back to the 40's. They all seem to take less powder to get the same velocity as factory brass. The 'thinnest' brass I use is WW. The RP brass seems to have less capacity in general than WW. The other brass I use to some extent is FC and that seems to be between RP and WW.
epoletna
Well-Known Member
JE:
Could you expand on your statement that Lapua brass has a different web design. I'm having a hard time understanding how a web could be designed differently and be stronger unless it is just deeper. Thanks.
Could you expand on your statement that Lapua brass has a different web design. I'm having a hard time understanding how a web could be designed differently and be stronger unless it is just deeper. Thanks.
I'm having a 30.06 built at this moment. I have both Lapua and LC Match brass for it. I thought for sure the Lapua brass would be thicker. If case capacity is any indication the, Lapua case held more water than the LC brass.
For me any of the military 06 cases are the thickest and same with 308. I started shooting surplus WWII and Korean era ammo back in 1970 in my 1903A3. I started hand loading some of this brass a few years latter with the old Lee hammer style loading tool. I have a supply of 1960's era LC Match 06 that I reserve for serious accuracy shooting times out of my M1 Garand. For me the thinnest cases are Winchester also. I have a tight neck 308 rifle that I can use Winchester cases safely with no neck turning but any other case has to have the neck turned.
Opa-lopa
Well-Known Member
Thicker isn't always better. These are LC 30-06 converted to 25-06 after 4 firings.. the paper clip test won't find this.. the case-chamber interaction is very non-linear in many ways & hence way more complex than just wall thickness..
Attachments
MSURunner
Well-Known Member
My guess without having sectioned the cases to back it up would be that with most stretching coming from the walls near the head, if their drawing process pulls more brass up and thickens that area of the case, like a larger fillet radius essentially, then it would lend itself to longer life.
J E Custom
Well-Known Member
Lapua has a slightly convex design while others have a concave design. This is one of the reasons that Lapua primer pockets last longer because instead of Opening the pocket during firing, the design will close/reduce the dimensions when firing hot loads. I found that the Lapua primer pockets get tighter because of the design. (One of the reasons I sectioned one of the Lapua cases).
This is another reason for doing volume or weight testing.
J E CUSTOM
fiftybmg
Well-Known Member
I have heard of .375 H&H brass blown out to .404 Jeffery and used successfully despite the 11 thou rim diameter difference. Yes, the shoulder does "disappear".
There is only an 11 thou expansion of the walls, which seems close to what you are trying to do, but I think 30-06 brass has less material in the web area, so if you do blow the walls out 30 thou, I expect you to stretch the primer pockets as well.
You will only know it can be done if you try it.
On the left is the original Jeffery case, .375 size progression is right to left.
Original content is here :
GunSite® South Africa - South Africas Firearm, Tactical & Hunting Discussion Forums
GunSite South Africa - South Africas Firearm, Tactical & Hunting Discussion Forums
www.gunsite.co.za
Last edited:
epoletna
Well-Known Member
Thanks for that explanation, JE. Interesting stuff. Hard to imagine primer pocket getting tighter with subsequent firings, but if you say so, I'll believe it.
Very interesting comparison and a good evidence that you need to know the capacity of your brass.
