.308 Lapua brass small or large primer?

[charlie b]

So, am about ready to order some brass and would like to know if there is much difference between the two.

[Ted_Feasel]

So, am about ready to order some brass and would like to know if there is much difference between the two.Some are finding depending on barrel length and powder used the small primers are more conducive for slower powders. I have some starline match brass in 308 with small primer going down a 28" shilen and its worked perfectly

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[Stumpkiller]

There was just a review I read (Shooting Illustrated?) where the large primer outperformed the small for standard deviation and group size.

Like Ted says - there are factors that mat favor one or the other in your load or rifle. Try a few of both and see.

Intuitively the small may give more reloads before the pocket gets over loose . . . or not depending on load and whether the neck gives out first.

[Fuj']

I have no personal testing to back this up but, I will stay with
a large primer. My reasoning is hunting related with doses of
slow burning powders, and colder temps. Might need that extra
cap to set off the boiler room, reliably. For the longer game ??
My CCI BR2's in cherry picked Hornady brass still does right by
me.

[charlie b]

Thanks. I can't find much one way or the other. This is for informal paper punching.

I have had the decent luck so far with Winchester brass and have used CCI BR2 primers as well. My current batch of Win brass is on it's 12th reload, but, several of those have been with cast bullets. And, I don't push to the hairy edge on jacketed loads either. I've sliced open a couple of the Win cases and do not see any thin or thick spots in the cases so everything seems to be going well.

[CFJunkie]

charlie b,

I've finally decided that large primer Lapua brass in my .308s shoot most accurately with Federal 210M primers.
I have tested Winchester WLR, and Federal 210 primers as well in my .308s but have gotten marginally better results with the 210Ms so I now use them exclusively.
I've had great results and long brass life as well.
I average just over 20 reloads with Lapua brass in the .308s, based upon over 16,000 .308 reloads.
I, too, don't go for hot loads, just what shoots most accurately.

I haven't noticed that much of a difference in primers when shooting my .22-250 rifles based upon over 5,400 reloads.
I shoot Federal 210 primers in the .22-250s because I haven't see any value in shooting the more expensive 210Ms.
Perhaps my loads weren't tuned as well as with the .308s or the 6.5mm CMs so I couldn't measure any difference.
I also shot most of my .22-250 rounds before I started to really refine my technique so 'shooter based variation' may have masked any accuracy improvements due to primers.

I'm my 6.5mm CM rifles, I have found the Lapua small primer brass shoots slightly better than the large rifle primer brass from Norma or Hornady after over 8,800 reloads with the 6.5mm CMs.
Among the small rifle primers, the CCI BR-4 primers shoot slightly more accurately than CCI 400s and much better than the Federal 205Ms.
The CCIs shoot better than the Federal 210M large rifle primers in either Norma or Hornady brass.
All of my 6.5mm CM results have been after my technique tuning efforts so I am pretty confident in the data.

[JeepsAndGuns]

I was under the impression that the small primer 308 brass was made/intended for palma rifles/matches.

[charlie b]

It may very well be, which is 155gn bullets.

I have found that what I don't like are Fed 210 primers. The CCI std primers have been good, but, the BR primers better. Have not tried the Fed 210M primers.

For small rifle in the .223 I use Rem 7 1/2 BR primers and they work very well. I suspect they may not do well in the .308 since they seem to be a bit on the soft side, especially compared to the CCI primers.

So, looks like I should just go ahead and get the LR version. I just looked at the 6mmbr site and all of their recommended loads for the .308 are LR primers.

Thanks everyone.

[Fuj']

It's interesting to note that Lapua is releasing Creedmoor brass
in LRP's. Alpha has been making Creedmoor brass in both primer
sizes, and the LRP's are their better seller. There is a primer test
on the Alpha site if anyone is inclined. Laurie Holland in the UK
has done extensive testing. I believe he stayed with the LRP for
his .308 bench guns using Sellior and Bellot.

[J.Baker]

Here's an article from last fall regarding the components and loads used by all the top shooters shooting 6 or 6.5 CM in PRS competition last year.

https://precisionrifleblog.com/2019/09/06/6mm-6-5-creedmoor-load-data/


Edit: Whoops! Thought this was about the Creedmoor primer debate. Overlooked the .308 specification in the title.

[petesv]

hello i found lrp lapua brass much better in my .308 than srp of the same brass also a lot cheaper if buying lapua .

[6mmBR_Shooter]

I just looked at the 6mmbr site and all of their recommended loads for the .308 are LR primers.


Keep in mind that page is almost 15 years old. A lot has changed since then.

Several folks shooting F Class are using SP brass in 308. For informal paper punching, it doesn't really matter. One advantage of SP is that you might be able to standardize your primers to all 1 type.

[charlie b]

I thought about standardizing primer size but then I would not. I like the Rem primers in the .223 but would go with the CCI's for the .308, so I'd still have two different primers to deal with.

I ended up ordering the large rifle brass.

[CFJunkie]

I think you made as good a choice as any.
You know that I over analyze everything and I thank you for recommending that I test some Rem 7 1/2 BR primers months ago.
I rebuilt my confidence in the Rem 7 1/2 BR primers for my bolt action .223s after dismissing them as too soft when I was shooting my ARs.

For the .223, with lots of testing of Rem 7 1/2 BR versus CCI BR-4 primers, the maximum difference in accuracy after hundreds of rounds was just over 2% difference and most of that difference was due to about 6 groups that were probably due to 'shooter induced variations' than to the primer that was used.
A difference of +/- 0.003 inches around a 0.278 average group size with a bolt action .223 at 100 yards isn't enough to make any conclusion when the SD for group size is 0.040. As a shooter, I was causing more variation than the primers.

For all intents and purposes, I think the two primers are essentially equal.
I have concentrated on powder, bullet and seating depth choices and haven't worried about primers with small rifle primers since.

For the .308, LRPs are a good choice for the .308 IMO and if you find a primer that works best for you and your loads, you'll have confidence in the choice.
It will let you move on to varying the components and settings that make more of a difference, like powder, charges, bullets and seating depths.
I think that will do more for improving your accuracy than worrying about whether you picked the right primer.

Just keep on knocking the center out of the bull with whatever you choose.

[charlie b]

Thanks. Now to verify my favorite loads are good with the new brass.

[wyosam]

I found no difference in performance with my 6.5 CM (don’t think I shoot or load at a level where I could tell though). In the small batch test I did I didn’t see a significant change in brass life either (the SRP might have averaged one more load, but it wasn’t night and day). This was with Starline, not Lapua though.


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[darkker]

A bit late to the party...

You should use whichever you like. A couple years ago now, I pressure tested the SR Vs. LR brass. There was no pressure differences, and I couldn't see any ignition changes; with one catch.. Older powders, cold weather, and less that full house loads, would have some uninitiated issues with the small pockets from times to time.

Cheers

[Ted_Feasel]

I found no difference in performance with my 6.5 CM (don’t think I shoot or load at a level where I could tell though). In the small batch test I did I didn’t see a significant change in brass life either (the SRP might have averaged one more load, but it wasn’t night and day). This was with Starline, not Lapua though.


Sent from my iPhone using TapatalkI've found lapua is way over rated. There are much better values our there including starline and atlas

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[Tempest]

I've got much longer life out of the SR Palma brass shooting a 200g Berger.