What to do

[Ted_Feasel]

I'm probably one of the few that think lapua is not even close to being worth the cost. I can buy 250 starline , hornady, atlas and with willingness to put the time in come up with 175 or more of those 250 pieces having tighter specs than lapua.. that's just my opinion.. I lost my taste for lapua after the 1st time I bought some when 1/3rd were under saami min, only about 1/3 were at minimum and rest were over.. I'd rather have at min and over but none under.. that again is just my anal retentive nature plus if I'm going to spend $100 buck for 100 cases they will be american made like alpha or such

Sent from my SM-N975U using TapatalkPlus I have starline rifle brass going on 10th reload, I have starline handgun brass on reload number 25+

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[gbflyer]

Plus I have starline rifle brass going on 10th reload, I have starline handgun brass on reload number 25+

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I have also had great luck with Starline.

I got started with Lapua in 1991 shooting bench rest. We converted .220 Russian to 22 and 6mm PPC. It was the gold box stuff. While still good, I’m not nearly as impressed with the blue box.

I’m not a brass snob by any stretch. But I do avoid Hornady when I can. I got a lot of new .300 H&H that “headspaced” .018 short of my chamber which is .002 long of new Winchester and Norma brass as well as loaded factory Nosler which is also Norma. That’s case head to the shoulder, not the belt. They were good for exactly 3 firings before they came apart[emoji35]. The first stretch did them in I guess.

Sorry to the OP for straying off here. That’s my specialty.

[Ted_Feasel]

I have also had great luck with Starline.

I got started with Lapua in 1991 shooting bench rest. We converted .220 Russian to 22 and 6mm PPC. It was the gold box stuff. While still good, I’m not nearly as impressed with the blue box.

I’m not a brass snob by any stretch. But I do avoid Hornady when I can. I got a lot of new .300 H&H that “headspaced” .018 short of my chamber which is .002 long of new Winchester and Norma brass as well as loaded factory Nosler which is also Norma. That’s case head to the shoulder, not the belt. They were good for exactly 3 firings before they came apart[emoji35]. The first stretch did them in I guess.

Sorry to the OP for straying off here. That’s my specialty.Lol.. I reckon what works best is what works best, what might work well for one may not for another but definitely my staple for bolt 308 and 6.5 creedmoor are starline, my staple for AR308 is IMI match, AR6.5 creedmoor is starline and my AR6.5 grendel is hornady

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[Mr.Snerdly]

Mr. Feasel, do you feel you get accurate measurements with the calipers? Maybe there is something wrong with mine but I can't get a consistent reading. I am going to buy a 3-4" micrometer. They are pretty expensive new but I believe I can pick up a good used one for around $25-30. I have a 0-1" and a 2-3". I believe a 3-4" would cover everything I want to do and I would feel more comfortable using them.

[Ted_Feasel]

Mr. Feasel, do you feel you get accurate measurements with the calipers? Maybe there is something wrong with mine but I can't get a consistent reading. I am going to buy a 3-4" micrometer. They are pretty expensive new but I believe I can pick up a good used one for around $25-30. I have a 0-1" and a 2-3". I believe a 3-4" would cover everything I want to do and I would feel more comfortable using them.I think I got lucky with these because they always return to zero with out having to zero but typically I use these in the picture here but I have compare these two readings 100s of times and developed confidence in this particular digital set but as I said I may have got luckyhttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200106/98ef11e9847fdb57b16394c2f5afd5cb.jpg

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[Ted_Feasel]

I think I got lucky with these because they always return to zero with out having to zero but typically I use these in the picture here but I have compare these two readings 100s of times and developed confidence in this particular digital set but as I said I may have got luckyhttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200106/98ef11e9847fdb57b16394c2f5afd5cb.jpg

Sent from my SM-N975U using TapatalkFrom time to time I still compare the 2 and they always jive but if you want unquestionably accurate spend the money mitsstoyo .. imo they are as accurate as you can get.. I have had these over 30 years and they are still on the money

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[gbflyer]

Mr. Feasel, do you feel you get accurate measurements with the calipers? Maybe there is something wrong with mine but I can't get a consistent reading. I am going to buy a 3-4" micrometer. They are pretty expensive new but I believe I can pick up a good used one for around $25-30. I have a 0-1" and a 2-3". I believe a 3-4" would cover everything I want to do and I would feel more comfortable using them.

I’ve got a set of the Chingaling mics, wouldn’t want them for the space shuttle they’re decent for gun work. Mine came with a set of test bars which are handy for checking mics and calipers too. I think Grizzly had them if I recall correctly. There are some good deals on EBay for the real ones sometimes. I did invest in a Starrett depth mic with the square blade that can be rotated. Very, very good tool. I’ve got one of those digital cheap calipers like Ted pictured above. It’s good for woodworking[emoji1]. He must have gotten a good one.

[gbflyer]

Lol.. I reckon what works best is what works best, what might work well for one may not for another but definitely my staple for bolt 308 and 6.5 creedmoor are starline, my staple for AR308 is IMI match, AR6.5 creedmoor is starline and my AR6.5 grendel is hornady

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Yeah I was agreeing with you on the Starline. Never had any bad, pistol or rifle.

[Ted_Feasel]

I’ve got a set of the Chingaling mics, wouldn’t want them for the space shuttle they’re decent for gun work. Mine came with a set of test bars which are handy for checking mics and calipers too. I think Grizzly had them if I recall correctly. There are some good deals on EBay for the real ones sometimes. I did invest in a Starrett depth mic with the square blade that can be rotated. Very, very good tool. I’ve got one of those digital cheap calipers like Ted pictured above. It’s good for woodworking[emoji1]. He must have gotten a good one.That is what I think is that I just got lucky on that set of digital's because every time I have checked them against my high in analog calipers they have been dead nuts on

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[Ted_Feasel]

Yeah I was agreeing with you on the Starline. Never had any bad, pistol or rifle.I'm with you brother I understood what you were saying :)

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[wyosam]

Just to be extra safe on the bullet depth, I went through the entire procedure again. I took a once fired case, just resized the neck a slight distance, seated the bullet in just slightly, measured the length, then I chambered the round, ejected it and again checked the length. I then set the bullet to .030" deeper off this measurement again and every measurement came out almost identical to my original measurements that I set the bullet in the Lapua brass. I also chambered another loaded round I reloaded that had Winchester brass. It chambered perfectly as well so it just has to be the brass. Is there no chance that the Lapua brass won't get stuck if I fire it? I am very, very new at this but I read numerous places that when the round is fired normally the brass has slight clearance in the chamber, the brass expanded to the dimension of the chamber on firing and after firing it decreases in size slightly but is still larger than the original size. I have read that this is an advantage to have the case fit as closely as possible to the chamber dimension and some say neck sizing is more desirable than full length sizing. I have also read that the shoulder will eventually get pushed out and then some say rather than full length resizing you should "bump" resize the shoulder and this is considered easier on the brass and can be reloaded a few more times.

I would like to emphasize that this is just what I read and I have no first hand knowledge of any of this. If anyone would be willing to give advice I would be most appreciative.

I would also like to make an observation, and this is with experience, at least in this one area. The digital calipers are not as accurate as a mechanical micrometer. I have tried and tried and often times I measure the same thing a number of times and find that it will vary by .001-.0015". If you are proficient in the use of a micrometer there should probably be less than .0001-.0002" variation. The digital powder scale is also quite variable in checking powder weights as well, although I knew the one included in the reloading kit I bought would probably only be close enough to avoid blowing up your rifle. There are digitals on the market very accurate but they are going to cost quite a lot. The beam scale is accurate enough I think but it no doubt takes more time.

I’ve found the same thing with digital calipers. Dials have been working for a very long time. I think digital was a solution without a problem. I prefer a beam scale, too.


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