.338 LM brass of unknown make.

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Sasquatch807

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Hi guys,

I recently came across a bunch of .338 LM ammunition and brass. Most of the brass is headstamped Lapua but some of them have no headstamp at all. They are also slightly different in color and feel "harder".

Does anyone here know who might be the maker of this brass?
 
Sasquatch807 said:
Hi guys,

I recently came across a bunch of .338 LM ammunition and brass. Most of the brass is headstamped Lapua but some of them have no headstamp at all. They are also slightly different in color and feel "harder".

Does anyone here know who might be the maker of this brass?
Click to expand...

:needPics:

Pics would help.
 
I brought a few thousand of these cases into Canada in 1993, they are of Lapua origin. There is no problem using them in any 338 Lapua. They are all mill spec and were not headstamped.
bigbull
 
Allright, I'm back with more questions.

Even with light starting loads, the millspec, no headstamp Lapua cases show signs of excessive pressure (i.e. imprint of ejector hole from TRG bolt on the base of the brass). This doesn't happen with the standard Lapua cases, even at max loadings.

What causes this and what loads can I use in the millspec cases ?
 
I agree with Longshot and wouln't use it. Lapua brass used in military applications is the same as the civilian product, both marked .338 Lapua Mag with a small shield with L. Specification is 3T19544.

No idea where this came from.

Hirsch Precision Inc., Lapua CAD military rep.
 
Yep, Peter and Longshot are right on the money. Not worth your gun, nor things like fingers, vision, or worse.

Lapua brass is some of if not the best on the market. If these cases are showing signs and are really Lapua then they've had the ever living crap shot out of them,,, or,,, they are not Lapua cases.

Don't play around with them, no one wants to hear about "bad things" happening. Email Peter, get some nice new Lapua cases, then start a post on how damn good the TRG shot with them!

Take care
 
Here are a couple of pictures of what I mean. In the first you see both kinds of brass. In the second you can see the ejector rod imprints on the unmarked brass and nothing on the marked brass with the same loads.

Here is an quote from another CGNer about unmarked Lapua brass: "I brought a few thousand of these cases into Canada in 1993, they are of Lapua origin. There is no problem using them in any 338 Lapua. They are all mill spec and were not headstamped.
bigbull"

First, all cases were new. I did some further checking and it only happened with the brass loaded with IMR 7828 and not with the other two powders that were tried. Since it happened with the starting load the rest were pulled and powder weighed to check for any errors in charge weights while loading. No errors found.

Any clues ?

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Ouch, thats not good!

How did you make out with the other loads? When you reload, do you weight each charge or load a bunch and chech the odd one?

I always weight each charge now to avoid an accidental gross overload.
 
x2
Especially with a case that big.Could make for an awful big bang.
The primers don't look that bad but they are flattened a little.Definately flat on the lower one.
 
I have not found good success with 7828 in really big cases. It is not forgiving, you can reach over pressure very easily.
I suspect that you will find a difference in case capacities and coupled with the burn characteristics of 7828 combine to give you the pressure problems you are encountering.
I have had the best sucess with either US 869 which unfortunately is temperature sensitive to a degree or Retumbo. Both nearly fill the case to capacity but yield good velocity at a lower pressure (somehow??).
You did not mention what bullet weight you are using, but the 2 slower powders I use work extremely well with 300 gr MKs. I have not spent much time working with the lighter bullets in this caliber.
I had similar results when I tried Norma brass which is 9 grains heavier than the Lapua brass I currently use.
KK
 
Weighing the cases might show if the "No Name" cases are significantly heavier and thus thicker brass. Heavier weight in the same external dimensions equals less volume and thus higher pressure.

Another good reason to never mix brass.
 
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