Is LC brass "Good" brass?

[grfox92]

I have been reloading for a while now and have 100 RP, some Winchester and some Hornady brass.

I for the first time loaded some 178gr ELDM for my cow tag. I did a max load of IMR4895 which was 44.7C in Winchester brass. That load had major pressure signs by the way of flattened primers, filling up the whole primer pocket. No heavy bolt lift. I accidentally had a RP piece in that batch, it did not have the same flattened primer pocket.

This makes me want to ditch all brass and stick with one brand of brass for consistency. My RP brass has 3 or 4 reloads on it. I have 100+ pieces of LC 17, 18, 16.

I can continue using the RP brass until it's shot. In the mean time I can work on decapping, resizing and swagging primer pockets on the LC brass, IF it is indeed good brass. I'm not concerned about reaming primer pickets, I have time and can do it here and there until it's done.

I've always been told LC brass is good brass, it's thicker and will last longer. Is it? Also is it true it has less case capacity because of it being thicker and I will have to be careful with max loads?

Edit, one last question. I've heard there are 2 crimp styles and one of them is nearly impossible to get out, does anyone know if 16, 17 and 18 would have that crimp? This is all .308.

Thanks,

Gary

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[Axlrod]

I am assuming you are talking 7.62x51. I have had good results with LC brass in a gas gun. I have swaged the pockets and cut the crimp out with a Forster tool, no issues with either.

This is an older article from target shooters, but some good info on brass and loads:

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[Northpark]

Ok first off playing with max loads in mixed headstamp brass is not safe. Not all brass has the same capacity and if you are playing at the top end you can overpressure by simply having a different case.

Now to your original question, yes LC brass is Winchester made and is actually pretty decent stuff in my experience. I use a fair bit of it in 5.56. Takes a bit of work resizing and swaging primer pockets and such but ones you prep it the first time it’s good for a fair number of firings especially if you anneal it.

 

[Formidilosus]

I have been reloading for a while now and have 100 RP, some Winchester and some Hornady brass.

I for the first time loaded some 178gr ELDM for my cow tag. I did a max load of IMR4895 which was 44.7C in Winchester brass. That load had major pressure signs by the way of flattened primers, filling up the whole primer pocket. No heavy bolt lift. I accidentally had a RP piece in that batch, it did not have the same flattened primer pocket.

This makes me want to ditch all brass and stick with one brand of brass for consistency. My RP brass has 3 or 4 reloads on it. I have 100+ pieces of LC 17, 18, 16.

I can continue using the RP brass until it's shot. In the mean time I can work on decapping, resizing and swagging primer pockets on the LC brass, IF it is indeed good brass. I'm not concerned about reaming primer pickets, I have time and can do it here and there until it's done.

I've always been told LC brass is good brass, it's thicker and will last longer. Is it? Also is it true it has less case capacity because of it being thicker and I will have to be careful with max loads?

Edit, one last question. I've heard there are 2 crimp styles and one of them is nearly impossible to get out, does anyone know if 16, 17 and 18 would have that crimp? This is all .308.

Thanks,

Gary

Sent from my SM-G990U2 using Tapatalk

LC is very good brass, and no issues swaging the primer pockets.

 

[wind gypsy]

I've always been told LC brass is good brass, it's thicker and will last longer. Is it? Also is it true it has less case capacity because of it being thicker and I will have to be careful with max loads?

Take unsized fired case(s) with primer still in it, fill it with water, and weigh it to measure case capacity. Do the same with other brass for comparison.

Not ever case with a given headstamp has the same capacity. Things change over time.

 

[grfox92]

Ok first off playing with max loads in mixed headstamp brass is not safe. Not all brass has the same capacity and if you are playing at the top end you can overpressure by simply having a different case.

I learned that this weekend.

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[MikeDeltaFoxtrot]

I have had great look using mil-surp LC brass to load .308. I am not shooting max loads. I shoot 168 grain pills (SMKs as well as TTSX) over 41.3 grains of IMR 4895 and Federal 210 primers. Consistently sub-MOA out of a variety of guns. I'd be careful pushing those heavy bullets you are using with a max charge.

 

[Vern400]

You should not put full power 308 Winchester loads into 7.62x51 brass. It's not the same. The outside shape is the same, but the brass is thicker which results in less case capacity. That drives pressures way up with a given load. If I put my hot 308 loads in lake City brass instead of Remington they'll be way over pressure. Dangerous high. There is different load data for 7.62x51.

It's probably important to note separately that Lake City manufacturers primarily 7.62x51 if not 100% that. Other manufacturers typically use the NATO cross head stamp.

If you're going for high velocity 308 Winchester loads, don't use lake City brass. Somebody's going to say you can- fine. But there's other brass that's way better for that.

Lake City is good brass. Different lots (years too)can be significantly different weights which is directly linked to case capacity. It might be a good idea to weigh the brass and make sure it's fairly consistent or sort it if necessary.

 

[Wrench]

I only have one 308 rifle and it eats lc brass well. I find it to be as described, heavy and tough....and pretty consistent.

 

[grfox92]

You should not put full power 308 Winchester loads into 7.62x51 brass. It's not the same. The outside shape is the same, but the brass is thicker which results in less case capacity. That drives pressures way up with a given load. If I put my hot 308 loads in lake City brass instead of Remington they'll be way over pressure. Dangerous high. There is different load data for 7.62x51.

It's probably important to note separately that Lake City manufacturers primarily 7.62x51 if not 100% that. Other manufacturers typically use the NATO cross head stamp.

If you're going for high velocity 308 Winchester loads, don't use lake City brass. Somebody's going to say you can- fine. But there's other brass that's way better for that.

Lake City is good brass. Different lots (years too)can be significantly different weights which is directly linked to case capacity. It might be a good idea to weigh the brass and make sure it's fairly consistent or sort it if necessary.

I do not intend to chase velocity and push max loads. So far in my experience, max loads don't shoot the best in my gun and somewhere 1.5 grains under max has been most consistent. At least in the powders I've used which is only Varget and IMR 4895.

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[Jeff_Gibbons]

No.

 

[MikeDeltaFoxtrot]

I do not intend to chase velocity and push max loads. So far in my experience, max loads don't shoot the best in my gun and somewhere 1.5 grains under max has been most consistent. At least in the powders I've used which is only Varget and IMR 4895.

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In my experience IMR 4895 is to .308 what IMR 4350 is to 30-06. They go together like peanut butter and jelly. Good luck.

 

[kpk]

LC brass is good stuff. I ran this stuff exclusively in a 308 for a long time.

 

[grfox92]

In my experience IMR 4895 is to .308 what IMR 4350 is to 30-06. They go together like peanut butter and jelly. Good luck.

Awesome thanks. I have a pound to burn through. I hope to shoot out this ruger american barrel this spring and summer lol.

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[Vern400]

I do not intend to chase velocity and push max loads. So far in my experience, max loads don't shoot the best in my gun and somewhere 1.5 grains under max has been most consistent. At least in the powders I've used which is only Varget and IMR 4895.

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I understand, and that's a good thing. Just be aware that ANY load you develop with commercial brass is likely to jump higher in pressure when you put it in military spec brass. Velocity , point of impact, standard deviation can change regardless of the safety aspect. Simply put, you'll get the best performance by head stamp sorting your rifle brass if you're trying to shoot groups.

 

[Schwarz06]

LC brass is good quality. As stated previously, the capacity is much different. I find that Federal and LC brass generally have pretty close capacity being much lower than Remington or Hornady. You will get to pressure MUCH sooner so back down 10 % off of max and rework your load. I'll also echo a previous post in the IMR 4895 and a 165-168 work very well somewhere around 41.5 grains. Good luck.

 

[Dr Evil]

As others have mentioned - I have had great success using both 7.62 and 5.56 LC brass but it IS thicker and requires a load reduction. Personally, I have found IMR 4895 to produce erratic pressure variations near max loads - so I tend to use Varget and a couple of others for my hunting loads.