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Lapua 308 brass


Richiew

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Hi All 

info /advise regarding how many times can Lapua 308 brass be reloaded before its time to chuck it . Its not been anealed  and am now on the 7th use and the cases dont seem to expand,leaving sooty cases that dont need trimming to length anymore . Does this mean they are work hardened too much and past their sell by date ???? 

Thanks for any replies                              regards Richard

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I am on my 9th reload in lapua brass. 2x trimmings in quite a stiff load (46gr N140 155gr SMK Palma) primer pockets are getting a bit loose and some soot. I suspect the brass does need annealing but it's nothing major and it still groups great. I will bin it at the 10 point just in case and also as I want to try Palma brass. New brass is cheaper over this lifespan than buying an annealer albeit the induction annealing technology looks good and over the long run could perhaps help. Not sure how other brands would fair, was talking to someone today who mentioned federal brass died on its 2nd reload. I've only ever use lapua brass so can't speak first hand. I guess it depends on how you load, if you FL size each time and if you are using v light loads perhaps which will basically determine how work hardened the brass becomes. There are many better qualified people on this site who will be able to explain the intricacies far better than I. 

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Hi Morse 

thanks for the reply ,I have been neck sizing only and have used the brass to load 155s with 42.5 gr of N135 for most of the reloads then lately some 175s and 185s with upto 46 gr of N550 .found a few necks with a slight chip on the outside after chamfering but that could be me overdoing it a bit,tried less pressure and got a lyman electric case prep gizmo and only gave a light pressure outside chamfer with the inside done with a VLD chamfer -much better results .Noticed a drop in accuracy lately so might get the last load for the 185s sorted then goto new brass for the best loads .     cheers 

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hi there 

 would like to anneal but not sure if the cost of the machine vs new brass works out cost effective .if only using one set of brass and doing the annealing when do you finally say enough is enough and buy new brass ? and start all over .for the price of the AMP annealer I can get a shed load of brass to last at least 10 years worth of shooting . 

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One of the benefits of annealing is reckoned to be maintaining consistency of neck tension throughout the life of the brass and so minimising ES.

This is clearly a different approach to the plain cost of annealing machine vs run the brass till its dead and buy more option .....which accepts gradual degradation of the brass and consequent accuracy impacts.

The AMP machine is great but there are cheaper (flame heated) options on the market to avoid the £1000+ pain!

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Raptor calls (on here) makes a very effective (and well regarded) machine for the common cartridges for a few hundred pounds, which would allow you to anneal them as often as you like for very little effort.

I anneal all my carts using the blow torch and battery drill in a dark room method (not the most accurate or consistent way but it works for me), and have been using the same 200 Lapua cases, which I bought when I first got the .308, for about 20 firings (annealed after every 5 firings) with no noticeable change in performance.

I have read posts from target shooters who anneal after each firing once they have the machine to do so.

Just a thought, and maybe it does not suit you, but over time annealing your brass rather than buying new will save you money.

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You should get 20+ reloads as long as you're annealing and not loading too hot.  You don't need a machine to stress relieve the brass. Plenty still use just a gas torch and cordless drill.  Shooting Shed sell the annealing cups to use with a cordless.  You won't get the consistency that a bespoke annealer will give you but you should still be able to anneal. It's all I did until buying one of the Raptor machines.  10 reloads as only 5p per case all told so you have your money's worth on those already ;-)  In your shoes, if the primer pockets are still firm and there's no split necks or waisting at the case head, I'd be using a few of those cases to learn to torch anneal as you don't stand to lose much if you cock it up and destroy a few.

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8 hours ago, banus02 said:

i read on here a while ago that some one was offering to anneal cases for 10p each plus postage.cant find it now though

Justin Credible on here does them for me. Give him a pm.

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