how many licks does it take

[swampratt]

Thanks okietom I have been reloading since about 2009 so I am a new guy in most circles.
But I take my hobbies to limits some people do not care to reach.

Heck I hated the chevy small block for many years ,,I was Oldsmobile mostly.. anything but a chevy..

I studied the small chevy for 2 years then built a 350 with stock breathed on stuff and it surprised me with a mid 14 second time slip.
Then I really let the 350 have it about 3 years later and had the same car with the same 91 octane running 175MPH in 3/4 of a mile..Fun stuff.

 

[swampratt]

Now for the results!!!!!
45 reloads on this Lapua .308 brass and it is game over.

I used a Lee die Full Length Sizer die each time..This die has been honed .0005-.001" and polished. Just to not size down my case body as much.

Now I shot it 14 times then trimmed I took .024" off of it to bring it back to 2.008"
Then I shot it until the round count was 35 and trimmed .024" off to bring it back to 2.008"

I would take 0000 steel wool and clean carbon off the neck and hand brush the inside then lube inside the case neck with Hornady Unique case lube.
And outside got the same then FLS and then I would wipe off the case lube with paper towel.

I would also clean the lube from inside the case neck with a Q Tip.

I shot round 35-45 at a 100 yard target 11 total rounds
I forgot to swab the neck inside once and poured in the scooped measured Varget that resulted in granules sticking inside the neck.

I seen it before I inserted the bullet.. so I took a clean Q Tip and cleaned the neck and pushed the stuck powder down on top of the other powder.

This blew my group!!! That shot went high and right...
Wind was blowing during this test 5-15 mph but at 100 yards I feel this did not screw the results too much.

This is getting long winded so here is a pic of the last 11 shots fired at 100 yards scooped measured not weighed.Yea I said that already.
Edit: I used 210m and cci 200 primers for that last 100 yard group you see

 

[swampratt]

a little more info on the fail.

The pockets on this case got a little loose but no seepage was ever present and the primers still took some pressure to remove.
After I shot #43 I noticed what looked like a line forming around the case head.
I did the paperclip test and no line was felt.
Shot #44 was loaded and fired.

I seen a definite line around the case head.
Loaded shot #45 went to chamber it and it was not wanting to go in the last 1/2".. I forced it and then removed it.

Chambered it again and same deal stiff with the case head separation line present.. I fired it anyway.

It extracted in 1 piece and no seepage at the primer or the case head crack.

The seating pressure of the bullet remained the same through all the rounds.. Never annealed and the case growth is what I feel was the demise of the case.

This case was never cleaned , just wiped off with 0000 steel wool lightly taken to the neck OD to remove carbon to keep my die from getting crud in it.

Who wants to do a Winchester or other brand case?????
only take about 4 hours or so

 

[TedKennedy]

Thanks, Swampratt - interesting stuff.

I loved those Lapua cases when I had my .308 Remington.

I shoot 7X57 all the time now, and Lapua doesn't make those. I swapped to Norma - they seem to be the same quality as the Lapua. Have you used much Norma?

 

[swampratt]

I have 3 or 4 Norma cases in .243 that I picked up .
I loaded them with the same accuracy load as my Winchester brass and it printed a .880" 3 shot group at 211 yards!
Better than my Winchester brass.. This was with a Mossberg 100atr with a Tasco 3x9-50 scope.

That Norma brass is what got me thinking about higher quality brass..So I got some Lapua to try in my .308 and it was better by a thousandths at 200 and much better past that.. and no more fliers.

I would have got Norma but not any local and the Lapua was .. So I just stuck with Lapua.. that was just this year when all this went down.
Now my Winchester and other cases are collecting dust.
I feel it is a waste of powder and other components to even use other cases.

But in a situation where you need a lot of ammo really bad (SHTF) I guess those other cases will work fine.
Plinking paper to impress yourself or reaching out way far to kill critters I will be using Lapua or the Norma in my guns.

 

[swampratt]

I think I will get 2 presses going to save time on the next test.
I have a Lee necksizing die for my .308 I can use it for 3 shots before I get a stiff seating round.

So maybe I can get more shots before the case head separates.
If I shoot the next one 120 times while every 4th shot gets FLS I would have only FL Sized the case 40 times.

Gets ya thinkin. will the case last that long will the neck split as NO annealing will happen during testing..
Or will the case still grow a bit during the Neck sizing and I only get 80 shots? or 46