I'm just curious if any of you have tried the Lapua brass for the 30/06. I've used it in the 308 and it seems outstanding. I did hear one report of relatively poor quality Lapua 30/06 though. The same person had great luck with Norma '06, but I've had I very bad experience with Norma .280 brass and probably won't buy it again regardless. So here's the question: Is the Lapua '06 worth triple the Winchester price. (I think it definately is worth triple in the 308.)

Thanks for all replies

Gabe

Honestly, probably not worth the extra cost if it's going to be used in a typical sporting rifle. However, that hasn't stopped me from using it in my '06 Model 70 Winchester. It's very good stuff.

Gabe:

When I bought my 30-06 a number of years ago I bought 100 each of Lapua and Winchester brass. Both have now been loaded 3 or 4 times and are still going stong. However, all 100 Lapua cases were perfect, requiring no case prep other than initial trimming and chamferring. Also, they all weighed within 0.7 gr of the average weight. One Winchester case had to be tossed to begin with - the brass had a seam in it that resulted in 2 'ears' of brass overlapping in the neck and shoulder area. The remaining cases required resizing to get the dings out of the case mouths. I also deburred the flash-holes and uniformed the primer pockets. From these 99 cases I got 90 that weighed within 1.5 gr of the average value.

I can't comment specifically on any accuracy difference between the two types of brass, because I use the Lapua brass exclusively for my Hunter Benchrest Match loads with match bullets, while the Winchester brass is used only for hunting loads. However, I suspect it isn't much different. My deer load with a 150 gr Hornady PSP flatbase and a max load of IMR4064 runs 0.1" larger for 3-shot groups than the average for 5-shot groups with my match loads using either the 150 gr Sierra Matchking or the 155 gr Hornady A-Max over a milder dose of 4064.

In summary, I'd have to say that I tend to agree with DeltaHunter, it's probably not worth the extra cost. I certainly haven't been tempted to buy Lapua brass for other cartridges that I load

Cheers, Al

Thanks for the replies guys. I would agree that most of the brass prep and high end tools are wasted on almost any off the shelf rifle. This rifle is built around quality custom components from the butt to the muzzle and already shoots very well so I don't mind buying the best to feed it. I just was running low on brass and have had such good results with Lapua thus far, they seemed like the logical choice. Pricey, yes, but case prep time is worth something too.

Thanks for the info

Gabe