Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles 223 Lapua brass life?

Anyone using Lapua 223 brass got a count on case life? I've been using the same hundred rounds in my CZ 527 with pretty much max loads for a while. I neck sized them the first four times through, full length sized before the fifth and they've been good for another four of neck sizing before FL sizing again. I've gotten about ten reloads out of most of them and they look like they could go a lot further. So far only a few cases have needed trimming. I know Lapuas are relatively expensive but I'd say well worth it based on appearance and apparent condition of these after ten reloads.

I have some Lapua 6ppc brass made from 220 Russian that I have loaded 20 times easy, they have been annealed from time to time. sounds like your 223 brass could stand to be annealed

In the long run probably the cheapest brass you could buy.
With minimum resizing like you are doing you might get 30 or more reloading cycles

I have 100 that have 10 reloads on them. I had to trim twice so far. I bump the shoulder .002 on each load. I’m about 2000 rounds away from getting a new barrel put on and when I do, I will buy around 800 rounds of new Lapua and scrap the others. It’s my favorite gun to shoot. Right now, I’m using about 5 different head stamps because that’s what I’ve been accumulating for years between factory ammo and impulsively buying and experimenting with new brass. Each time it’s a pain to load because so many are different and have varying load frequencies. Some are twice fired up to 10 times fired. The record keeping is crazy. It will be so nice to start fresh and not have to clean separately or sort hundreds of cases out.

43shooter: I am happy some fellow CampFirers have replied to your question.
I have MANY Varmint Rifles in 223 Remington but only one was set-up with LaPua brass.
And that all factory stock Rifle is stunningly accurate.
That Rifle is a Remington XR-100 (single shot, bolt action, 26" heavy barrel) with a Leupold 8.5x25 variable scope which helped me make the smallest grouping I have ever shot with an all stock factory Rifle (non-40-X Rifle)!
That 5 shot group at 100 yards measured .121"
Sounds like you and your CZ are as interested in Varminting as much as accuracy so I wanted to relay this to you - my loading in the XR-100 in 223 Remington uses the wonderful LaPua brass, Federal 205M Match primers, Berger 52 grain MEF bullets and H 335 powder.
My LaPua brass are only on their third reloading so I can not comment on "brass life" but I am sure the consistency of the LaPua brass has a lot to do with the excellent accuracy I am getting.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Staying away from the hot loads and sticking to minimal sizing certainly helps. Unfortunately, in the same gun, mine is getting tired from being run too hot. I should be using Benchmark instead of AA2015. Won't help much now because the pockets are getting loose. They have 12 shots on them, so I still got decent use out of them.

That's a great group. You have an accurate rifle and know how to shoot it.

I don't know if the Lapua brass makes that much difference accuracy wise on my CZ or not. It's an unbedded walnut stocked carbine that was mfg in 2001. I shoot it with either a 2-7 VX2 or the factory open sights. It's sure not a target rifle and seems to heat up pretty quick. Once in a while on a cool day if I shoot it slow it will get five shots into an inch at 100 yards. I'd say probably the best thing about the Lapua brass for this rifle is longevity.

I really like Lapia brass for a different reason than what you gave. I’ve gotten those many reloads with Remington and with Winchester brass. (Nosler and Peterson brass I’ve found good also.)
What I like about Lapua (+ the others I mentioned) is the consistency. Their brass is usually a maximum of two grains difference in weight from max to min. They also are ready to load as they arrive. Lately with many of the lower cost brass I’ve had to run the into a sizing die - mainly due to the neck being out of round, sometimes the neck is so bad I’ve thrown the bad ones away. With the cheaper brass +/- 6 grains is common for weight variation.

Painted Dessert is right . By once cry once . You will be reloading with the same brass and components so you can expect the same results. Change powder , brass, bullets and primer and you start all over . If your loads produce sub MOA why waste components. I’ve loaded my 223 Lapua brass over 15 times . Trim, aneall and bony hot rod it and you’ll produce accurate loads till you have to change seating depth .