Anyone here using the palma small primer brass for their 308? I am just getting started and will be buying brass shortly and was wondering if I should consider the Palma Small primer over the standard Lapua large primer?
Thanks
Thanks
308 Palma Brass?
- Thread starter TrxR
- Start date
Just buy the standard Lapua .308 brass. Lots of hype about the small primer brass having less SD in velocity. What brass did the GB team use (winners of the last Palma team event). Berdan primed brass because it was cheaper to sell it for scap than have it shipped back home.
I dunno, I was shooting this weekend with the small primer 308 brass and got an SD of 6.4 with my load of IMR4895 (46.0) and hornady 155gn AMAX using BR-4 primers. The average speed was 2904 without any signs of high pressure, nice bolt lift, good looking primers etc. I can't wait to try them again as this was my first outing with them completing a ladder test with 46.0gns being the best.
Evan
Evan
- Location
- calgary alberta
My experience is that the Palma brass takes more pressure before loosening up the primer pockets. I run my 308 right on the edge of pressure as that is where it has the best accuracy. With standard Lapua 308 brass after 6 reloads the primers would go in with finger pressure, no tools required. The Palma brass goes much further before the pockets open up.
As for deviation in velocity I did not find any significant change or improvement.
YMMV
As for deviation in velocity I did not find any significant change or improvement.
YMMV
Last edited:
rnbra-shooter
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- New Brunswick
The small primer .308 brass is a specialty item. It arguably *might* provide some benefits for long range (1000 yard) shooting, though there are definitely tradeoffs and "gotchas" involved, that an experienced reloader will have to take into account and decide if the possible benefits are worth the possible fussy bits. Things like needing not just any small rifle primer, perhaps having powder ignition difficulties either in colder weather or with some powders, plus one guy I know had irregular primer firing until he slightly sharpened his firing pin.
The small primer brass is a (possible) tool in an expert reloader's toolkit - by no means is it an automatic "go-to" item if you are looking to make the very best long range .308 ammo.
It would be *much* simpler to just buy the regular large-primer Lapua brass. It is very, very high quality brass, and is capable of producing world-level accuracy at 1000 yards without any fussiness or trickery.
The small primer brass is a (possible) tool in an expert reloader's toolkit - by no means is it an automatic "go-to" item if you are looking to make the very best long range .308 ammo.
It would be *much* simpler to just buy the regular large-primer Lapua brass. It is very, very high quality brass, and is capable of producing world-level accuracy at 1000 yards without any fussiness or trickery.
- Location
- calgary alberta
I agree, the standard large primer Lapua brass is REAL hard to beat. The chances for 99.8% of shooters needing the additional pressure handling capability is very low. However having 1 more trick available to work with for a reloader is nice.
The new .308 variant is identical to Lapua’s current .308 match brass with the exception of the primer pocket. The brass will be head-stamped “.308 Win Lapua Palma”.
Tests Reveal Better ES and SD with Small Primers
Initial tests of the small primer pocket .308 by U.S. Palma team members have been very promising. The small primer pocket case seems to have advantages in both accuracy and the ability to handle high-pressure loads. However, the primary improvement found with the smaller primer is reduced ES and SD. Palma Team members have found that, with almost every brand of primer tested (small vs. large), the smaller version has yielded reduced Extreme Spread and Standard Deviation. This pays dividends in 1000-yard shooting. Also, some testers believe that small primers are more consistent and require less sorting — and that there are more varieties of small primers that seem to work really well in the .308 case. Moreover, the small primer types are more uniform, from lot to lot, than are large primers, according to some testers. More info will follow. Check this Daily Bulletin Monday.
Tests Reveal Better ES and SD with Small Primers
Initial tests of the small primer pocket .308 by U.S. Palma team members have been very promising. The small primer pocket case seems to have advantages in both accuracy and the ability to handle high-pressure loads. However, the primary improvement found with the smaller primer is reduced ES and SD. Palma Team members have found that, with almost every brand of primer tested (small vs. large), the smaller version has yielded reduced Extreme Spread and Standard Deviation. This pays dividends in 1000-yard shooting. Also, some testers believe that small primers are more consistent and require less sorting — and that there are more varieties of small primers that seem to work really well in the .308 case. Moreover, the small primer types are more uniform, from lot to lot, than are large primers, according to some testers. More info will follow. Check this Daily Bulletin Monday.
SD is inversely proportional to the size of the flash hole.
Berdan primers have the smallest flash holes and also get the best SD.
The Palma cases have a smaller flash hole the the cases with large primers. i would therefore expect better SD. But a standard 308 decapper pin won't go through the small flash hole. I used my 223 decapper rod.
Berdan primers have the smallest flash holes and also get the best SD.
The Palma cases have a smaller flash hole the the cases with large primers. i would therefore expect better SD. But a standard 308 decapper pin won't go through the small flash hole. I used my 223 decapper rod.
