Having trouble seating small rifle primers (tried Wolf and CCI) in new 223Lapua brass using Lee hand primer tool.

Pockets are nice and tight, as they should be, but after the primer is seated the small rebate or lip of the case is getting stuck in the shellholder. I'm using the right shellholder.

Anyone else run into this? I'm thinking the shellhonder might be outa spec? Any other ideas?

Yeah, I don't know if it's the shell holder or just the close specs of the small case. I just jiggle it around and go with it. Kinda rotating the case as you take it out of the shell holder sort of helps.

Thanks. I'm just concerned about FUBARin the brass. Love Lapua but it aint cheap. Never had it like this w. 308 and 30-06.

Found out the culprit was indeed the #4 Lee shelholder for the hand press. Used a friends #4 and life is good.

I now have 50 rounds 223 Lapua brass primed and ready for powder and buletts -- brand new PacNor barrel in 223AI waiting to be shot!!!!!

quote:

Originally posted by BISCUT:
Found out the culprit was indeed the #4 Lee shelholder for the hand press. Used a friends #4 and life is good.

I now have 50 rounds 223 Lapua brass primed and ready for powder and buletts -- brand new PacNor barrel in 223AI waiting to be shot!!!!!

I think Lapua is a s good as it gets of the shelf.
Bummer its so dear

maybe Lapua can divulge some of their handloading and brass prep procedures...

on their web site they make claims that some of their brass has been reloaded at the factory over 300 times...

so if someone could get half that many reloads out of it, it becomes pretty darn cheap..

Mine work just fine / however I'm not hand priming either .

My cases anneal just like factory ones two of these are factory and two are reloads .

Lapua makes GREAT BRASS . Now if no one wants theirs PM and I'll be happy to take it off your hands .

Just because it says Lapua on the headstamp does not mean that it is made in their plant. Unfortunately, when they can't keep up with demand, Lapua is quick to outsource some lots of brass. Apparently,the first to be outsourced is .223 rem. There are many of us who suffered through the great Lapua outsourcing debacle of bitter memory some years ago, who have never gone back to the brand.

Not long ago a lousy run of brass from Lapua in 6BR norma was plaguing 600 and 1000 yard BR shooters. Symptoms were--and are--a very rough surface of the body of the brass after the first firing-- and odd or inconstant diameter of primer pockets. I have several of those 6BR case on hand still. I used to have several of the bad .223 rem cases.....

In the case of the problem originally posted, other reasons certainly could have been the cause. Still, you don't want to automatically assume that the brass is infallible just because it came from Finland.