Lapua 308 Brass primer pockets too tight

[mrappe]

I have never loaded Lapua brass before and last night I was priming some in 308 with CCI benchrest primers and could not get them to go in without extreme difficulty using my RCBS Hand Priming Tool. Some would go in with a great deal of pressure and I finally had to use my RCBS Primer Pocket Uniformer on my Case Prep Center on them to get them to seat but even then they were tight. I am thinking that the dia of the pocket is somewhat smaller tan any other case I have loaded. This was a shock since I always thought that Lapua was premium brass and did not need much case prep.

 

[condor bravo]

I just happened to have a new once fired box of Lapua .308 brass that I had never loaded before so gave a few a try with CCI large rifle primers. Most primed with no problem but a couple didn't seem to center properly upon priming and there might have been a slight shearing of the primers during seating. However I blame that on my failure to allow enough time to sufficiently line up the primer before applying the pressure. But otherwise they seemed to be OK. I'm using the RCBS automatic priming tool that bolts to the bench and has an over supply of leverage for priming. I can see where you might run into trouble with a hand priming tool and possibly you did shear some during seating. To proceed with the rest of my box, I see that I may need to slow down some to ensure proper alignment. The original primers sort of looked like they could have been crimped but I really don't think that would have been the case.

 

[precision_shooter]

Lapua brass is pretty much all I use and load in .308. Never had an issue outside of not aligning the case properly. I use regular large rifle CCI primers and Winchester.

 

[condor bravo]

I primed some more of the Lapua .308 brass and yes there does seem to be something about them that "by feel" you do have to be very careful that the case/primer are properly centered with each other before applying the seating pressure. I probably lightly sheared one or two more primers. Don't think I would like to be priming and loading those as my only .308s (but certainly wouldn't turn any down if offered).