Opinions on bullet expansion

[SPIKER]

You do not like the Lapua Brass? I just got 200 new cases. I haven't started with them yet. Is there something that I should know that I don't? They all have a mark on the necks from being annealed.

[Meketrefe]

You do not like the Lapua Brass? I just got 200 new cases. I haven't started with them yet. Is there something that I should know that I don't? They all have a mark on the necks from being annealed.

no no sorry... let me further explain....
Anything that lapua makes is amazing. What I am saying there is more advantage in the brass vs. others than the bullets vs others. The brass is the best there is. Depending on cartrige and loads one might get more loads or less loads but on average you get a lot more life from the brass than any other brass and super consistent both in weight and capacity and specially primer pocket
and flash hole uniformity. Some think lapua brass is expensive but it is actually cheaper than many others like federal. I had cases of 308w and 223 that I reloaded more than 50 times and
still going. No primer tension loss and not deformation. Like all things it depends on how hot you load and how much you rework the brass and I do anneal the brass as needed.,
So yes, lapua is the king of brass. Once you try it there is nothing else.

[SPIKER]

no no sorry... let me further explain....
Anything that lapua makes is amazing. What I am saying there is more advantage in the brass vs. others than the bullets vs others. The brass is the best there is. Depending on cartrige and loads one might get more loads or less loads but on average you get a lot more life from the brass than any other brass and super consistent both in weight and capacity and specially primer pocket
and flash hole uniformity. Some think lapua brass is expensive but it is actually cheaper than many others like federal. I had cases of 308w and 223 that I reloaded more than 50 times and
still going. No primer tension loss and not deformation. Like all things it depends on how hot you load and how much you rework the brass and I do anneal the brass as needed.,
So yes, lapua is the king of brass. Once you try it there is nothing else.

Ahh,,you are an anealer. This is the one branch of the reloading tree I have never ventured out on. I understand how it works, but have never done it.

I see that Hornady has a kit now that includes a torch, and some type of brush on coating that melts to tell you when the brass is at proper temp. Care to tell us how you do yours?

And.....how do you pronounce that name of yours...phonetically...

Also, I see a lot of info that states by changing brass you can increase pressure, etc. If I start using the Lapua brass after the Winchester brass, what changes will I have to look out for?

[Meketrefe]

Ahh,,you are an anealer. This is the one branch of the reloading tree I have never ventured out on. I understand how it works, but have never done it.

I see that Hornady has a kit now that includes a torch, and some type of brush on coating that melts to tell you when the brass is at proper temp. Care to tell us how you do yours?

And.....how do you pronounce that name of yours...phonetically...

Also, I see a lot of info that states by changing brass you can increase pressure, etc. If I start using the Lapua brass after the Winchester brass, what changes will I have to look out for?

Annealing is simple, one can do that with a bowl of water and a torch. A cheap lazy susan is a good way to make it super easy. With some round annealing might be skipped or
it might be needed every few firings to avoid splits or anything in between. When forming brass it might be also a necessity to get to the desired formed case from the parent case.

Initially any thing we change has an impact on the load but also one must be reasonable, and based on what is needed. Let me explain....
If you have a powder thrower that doesn't seem to be so consistent and your charges varies by 1/2 grain then it doens't have the same effect if you are loading a 300 win mag vs.
a tiny 5.7 FN. In the winmag you will not see any practical change while in the little 5.7 you might destroy accuracy and even create a dangerous situation because 1/2 grain is
a much smaller percentage to 65grs than to 6grains.
Same thing with brass capacity... if you load for a 308w for average load lets say low pressure loads and you change the brass you might see change in starting pressure but
many times you will not notice any signifcant change for average purpose. If you are loading specialty loads lets say match loads, long range or super hot hunting then it is different because a small variation
on those extremes might produce an unwanted result in spikes in pressure or accuracy so one might choose to tune down the charges and work it up again with the new brass.
For the average load with good quality brass I could take a coservative load and just load it to factory like specs with a wide range of brass and bullet brands. But those will yield
small differences in the point of impact but will be close enough for the purpose if it is just general shooting.
but if one wants accuracy is ok to change any components but when we do we have to test them again and the might want to keep them consistent thereafter. So the charges and
rounds would show good accuracy and grouping.
Any of the given variables has a clear effect in what the bullet does and again, depending on volume and other variables this might be noticeable or not. Normally expect at least small differences because when we work up loads we might work them for specific rifle and other type of firearm in rthe same caliber with different barrel might like other loads bettter.
The things that impact accuracy are:
- The brass construction and internal volume (brand of brass and batch).
- The brass consistency in the dimensions (careful brass preparation with the same brass)
- The brass neck wall thickness and tension.
- The primer
- The powder type, charge and even batch (powder might change compositions slightly from year to year)
- The bullet brand, weight and specific model. Sometime manufacturer might change slithly the design from one year to another and this will also show. A good reason to buy
bulk batches from a bullet one likes.
- The seating depth of the bullet
- The crimp
- The round must be clean of oils, wax and other residues.
- The temperature of the round. Some loads and powders are more sensitive to weather and also rounds seating in a hot chamber for too long might behave different from the
previous round when fired.

Any of the above can have a change and many times will have a change in the round behaviour. Depending on the size