New 223 lapua brass

[Conorj]

I've bought new lapua brass do I need to do any prep with it before I load it? I've seen a video on YouTube where the primer pockets are uniformed and the neck thickness sized, is this overkill or worth the extra hassle?

[Andrew]

22 minutes ago, Conorj said:

I've bought new lapua brass do I need to do any prep with it before I load it? I've seen a video on YouTube where the primer pockets are uniformed and the neck thickness sized, is this overkill or worth the extra hassle?

I always FL resize new brass so that my second loading results are as near to the first as possible. I trim to a uniform length as well. You can uniform the primer pockets, et al, but consider the rifle they are being fired in (stock or custom chamber) and the use. I shoot pint sized prairiedogs out to 400 yards with my .223 and never uniform necks or primer pockets. Were I shooting some kind of precision event, I might. It depends on how well the rifle was shooting. I certainly wouldn't do it preemptively.~Andrew

[lapua]

Ive just loaded 200 new lapua .223 brass for the first time. Neck tension was very different, i use an arbour press so get good feedback. If i was after precision, i would do something with the necks but im just banging gongs for fun. Shoots sub 1/2 moa but im expecting improvement next time   

[Catch-22]

Stick an expander mandrel down inside the neck. Rounds the neck nicely, removes dings and pushes brass neck wall inconsistencies to outside of neck, improving neck tension.

[Chanonry]

18 hours ago, Conorj said:

I've bought new lapua brass do I need to do any prep with it before I load it? I've seen a video on YouTube where the primer pockets are uniformed and the neck thickness sized, is this overkill or worth the extra hassle?

No you don't, but you can if it makes you feel better.  

People do lots of stuff with a theory backing it up  but with no data driven evidence to demonstrate any benefit.  Its more superstition really than science. 

[foxpig]

My routine with  new 223 lap brass 

Trim To uniform length.

Chamfer inside and out

K&m expand iron/mandrel.   . 22

Run into le Wilson fl neck sizing die.

Prime 

Charge

Seat bullet

Shoot

Simples 

Uniformimg primer pockets = waste of life 

Leave flash holes alone aswell. Save some of your life , go shooting 

Neck turn if have tight neck custom chamber.other wise complete waste of life.

 

[Laurie]

Foxpig has got it right. You do need to chamfer the inside case-mouth edges as with any new case to ease bullet seating. IME, new Lapua brass has very consistent OALS, so I never bother with trimming. Neck tension out of the box is usually very tight indeed with this make irrespective of cartridge, too tight in fact, so inside lube the necks and run them over either a mandrel expander or the expander ball in your sizer die if using a conventional FL die set. Some people FL size and if you're using that die's expander for the previous step, you might as well size at the same time. Again, IME Lapua cases of all calibres usually arrive in pristine condition, so IMO FL sizing isn't required. If there are some 'dinged' necks, size them - although if the ding is big, better to carefully open it up manually beforehand with the bullet in a same calibre inert round or dowelling.

Foregt flash-holes, primer pockets, necks, weight and all the case-prep tips unless you're loading for a custom rifle. Some of these practices may be useful / ncessary with other makes but not Lapua's 223 Rem cases - you've paid for Lapua to get it right in the factory and no rectification is needed.

Oh, and do inspect cases closely. Lapua is good, but the very occasional shoulder or neck flaw escapes factory inspection - a slight longitudinal fold is the most likely. Better to junk that case now before doing the other steps or worse only noticing it on final inspection after priming, charging, bullet seating etc.

[VarmLR]

All I do with new Lapua brass is partially pass them through a sizing die to run the necks over the expander mandrel, chamfer the case mouth, load then pass the rounds through a lee factory crimp die set for a very light crimp to ensure uniformity of neck tension and shoot. I gave up FL sizing it (as I do with some other brass) because comparisons with FL sized/virgin brass showed no difference in results.  I occasionally have to use the flash hole de-burring tool but Laurie is right, by and large, Lapua brass is so good from the factory these days, you'll rarely need to (unlike some other makes).  I have a primer pocket uniforming tool but figure why use it when Lapua have made each primer pocket near identical in the first place!