SmallCaliberCentral

Hi everyone. A buddy of mine called me this morning and asked me to post this question on this forum because I talk about it alot with him. Strange thing is happening to him. He bought lapua brass and it has been fired twice, maybe three times. Absolutely no signs of pressure and his load doesn't exceed max from any loading books, but his primer pockets are getting loose to the point that primers are falling out. This happens to me after many firings through the same lot of brass but I've never heard of this unless you are experiencing high pressure. Any suggestion for this buddy of mine? I'm drawing a blank. He shoots a 223 and uses rem 7-1/2 br primers.

He might have better luck with CCIs. When I shot a lot of IPSC pistol, no one locally would touch CCI primers, they were oversized and plugged up the Dillon primer feeds, and no one wanted the hassles. It's a thought............ (I know it might ruffle feathers, but that was our experiences around here, I personally have nothing against CCIs, but I don't use them any more).

Lee Precision recommends CCI's and that's about it. That's all I'm using and haven't had any problems.

I gave my friend a call and he is going to try cci in the ones that are loose. I will give you a report the first of the week and let everyone know if that works. Appreciate all the help.

KVW,

You might find out what load your friend is using in what rifle and conditions, loose primer pockets in Lapua 223 brass are usually caused by the reloader..........

I have no expierience with Lapua 223 brass.
Lapua 308 Win brass is known to have less case capacity than most other factory offerings putting it in a class like LC military stuff.
Less capacity equals higher pressures and increased velocity per equal weight charge. While your friend may be following the book he may be actually over max using the Lapua. Something to consider.

One other possibility. I remember reading a thread on another forum concerning Lapua 223 brass. It seems Lapua subcontracted out some lots due to thier inability to keep up with demand. Shooters noticed a decline in quality but I cannot remember thier specific complaints.
Lapua has vowed not to subcontract thier products in the future. Maybe your friend got one of these subquality batches.

I suggest your friend look into the case capacity issue though. Even junk brass should last more than 2 or 3 firings unless your hotrodding it.
General rule of thumb. Primer pockets getting larger means overpressure.

Could it be that your friend is using a primer pocket reamer to clean the primer pockets every time he reloads? This might explain why the pockets are lose. I use a primer pocket reamer on new brass and then a uniformer to clean the pockets.

skipper wrote:Could it be that your friend is using a primer pocket reamer to clean the primer pockets every time he reloads? This might explain why the pockets are lose. I use a primer pocket reamer on new brass and then a uniformer to clean the pockets.

This one you have to explain to me. What the difference between a reamer and a uniformer?

I use carbide primer pocket cutters made by Whitetail Eng., I've used them for umph-teen years now both on new brass and to clean the pockets after firing.

Tom

A primer pocket reamer will cut the pocket to a particular diameter as well as a uniform depth. A primer pocket uniformer only cuts to depth.

A reamer is a must have if you use military brass that have the primers crimped. I don't think I have ever used a reamer on commercial brass.

Well, here's what we figured out. CCI primers didn't make a difference. We tried some older winchester brass, no problem. Got out some older lapua brass, no problem. We decided it was a bad batch of brass. Talked with our local sportsman warehouse about it and they told us they already have plans in place to not stock lapua anymore because they have been having many complaints about these exact same things. Thats a bummer when you spend that much on brass and it's junk. Thanks to all the ideas though. Is anyone else having these problems? I shoot nosler and mine seem fine.

Lapua is all I use in my 308 Win custom tube. Have loaded some up to twenty times with no problems. Might still be using them if not for my mistake. I set my shoulder bump die deep for another barrel then forgot to reset it for the custom. The old brass couldn't take that much stretching.
Had to toss it.

Lapua is considered by most to be the best brass vs cost. I would consider it a shame if there was a store near me that stocked it and was considering discontinuing it.

I'm still holding my breath that Lapua will make some .204 brass. If they did, I'd buy a case of it. Until then, Norma is my brass of choice for my Panda.

I really wished Starline made 204 Ruger brass.