Large quantities of Lapua brass, for most of the popular cartridge types, have recently arrived at many vendors including Bruno Shooters Supply, Graf & Sons, and MidwayUSA.
Bruno’s has almost all types of Lapua brass in stock and here are some sample prices: 6mmBR brass for $63.00/100; .308 Win for $55.00/100; 220 Russian for $74.00/100; 6.5×47 for $85.00/100. Note — if you’re thinking about building a tactical rifle, the 6.5×55 brass is just $55 per hundred (same price as .308 Win, but much cheaper than 6.5×47).
Bruno’s also has received large supplies of Berger 6mm 105gr VLD bullets. These have been out of stock for several months. Call (623) 587-7641 for pricing.
Grafs.com has Lapua 6mmBR brass for $69.59/100, 220 Russian for $79.99/100, and 6.5×47 brass for $91.99/100, but those prices include shipping. Grafs has most other varieties of Lapua brass in stock, including 222 Rem, 223 Rem, 243 Win, 6.5×55, 6.5-284, .308 Win, and 338 Lapua Mag.
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In order to provide more content for our site visitors, we are soliciting reader submissions for Gun of the Week (GOTW) articles and technical articles. Even if you’ve never had a story published before, if you have a good idea, we can work with you to put your article online. We can provide an outline and photo/video advice.
Thanks to Nammo Lapua, if you supply a story that we publish, you’ll receive two (2) 100-ct boxes of Lapua brass. In addition, you’ll get an AccurateShooter.com staff T-shirt, two (2) 100-ct boxes of match bullets (your choice of brand), plus other “goodies”.
For a GOTW story, we like to focus on a rifle that: 1) has performed well in competition; OR, 2) displays interesting technical features or components; OR, 3) exhibits outstanding design or craftsmanship. The subject gun can be a match rifle, or it can be a hunting, tactical, or sporting rifle that has some exceptional qualities (such as exhibition-grade wood), or newsworthy technical features (such as a carbon-wrapped barrel). We are also interested in stories about innovative loads or cartridges. For a technical article we are looking for gear reviews, or a story that describes an important reloading process, or important aspect of gunsmithing. For example, we have done technical articles on brass prep, on pillar bedding, and on stock painting.
Lapua Brass and Special Benefits for Writers
If you submit an article that we publish online, you will receive two (2) boxes of Lapua cartridge brass (retail value up to $170.00 — choice subject to availability), an exclusive AccurateShooter.com staff T-shirt, two (2) boxes of match bullets (your choice, .204 to .30 calibers), plus additional benefits to be named later.
For a Gun of the Week story we need a minimum of 1500 words, and we will generally run 8-12 photos, plus one or two short videos (1-2 minutes per video). Good digital photos are essential — we won’t run any story unless sharp, quality digital photos are available.
To submit an idea for a Gun of the Week article, please supply a 100-word summary, and two sharp digital photos, 800×600 pixels or larger. Send your story ideas and digital photos to: mailbox@6mmBR.com. Please put the words “STORY SUBMISSION” in the subject line of your email. Note: if you submit an article, but we determine not to publish it, you won’t get the brass, bullets, or T-shirt. Also, we reserve the right to limit this program to regular reader/contributors (as opposed to manufacturers and professional gun-builders).
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Many Forum members are putting together their first custom or semi-custom precision rifle this season. These folks often ask us, “What kind of accuracy can I expect from my first 6mmBR?” Of course there are no guarantees, but a 6BR with a good custom barrel, good chambering job, and a nice bag-riding stock should be able to shoot well under half-MOA (1/2″ at 100 yards), maybe even approach quarter-MOA. Forum member Eric (aka Exercion) provided this interesting report on his new 6BR:
Love at First Groupby Eric
Well, I took my new stick to the range for the first time today. It features a Savage single shot target action in RBLP configuration, 28″ Broughton 5C barrel, Sharp Shooter Supply Dogtracker stock with adjustable buttplate, and Nightforce scope.
Now, I have never owned a 6mmBR before, but from reading here and seeing them in action I decided to build one. Its main purpose in life is mid-range F-Class shooting, mainly at 600 yards, and if the winds are favorable, at 1,000. (I already have a 6.5 for “normal” conditions.) I am most grateful for all the info here, and especially the load data. I picked Reloder 15 under the 107gr SMKs for my first loads, starting at 29.0 grains, and proceeding in half grain increments to 30.0 grains. Jumped the bullets 0.015″. Ran the Lapua brass through the neck-sizer bushing die, and was concerned at the force needed to pull the expander button through the virgin brass necks but figured this was a once per case deal to round them out for initial loading. When I measured the runout on the loaded rounds, I was appalled as they had more wobble than anything I personally loaded before, but I kept reminding myself that this was the fireform/chronograph/scope and gun trial stage.
Three Shots in 0.335″ Edge to Edge
So off to the range this morning. No wind here at the house, so life was good … until I got to the range and the wind started to blow. So I set up everything, leveled the gun in the bags, leveled the scope to the gun, made sure the bore was in the center of the chronograph and bore-sighted. First couple of rounds were off to the right, so I moved the scope over 5 MOA and fired another shot, hit paper with it, so I shot 2 more and stopped because I couldn’t tell what was happening. A walk down to the hundred yard berm revealed a nice hole that measures 0.335″ at its absolute widest edge to edge! That’s the smallest 3-shot group I’ve ever fired with anything. I am so in love!
SDs Improve with Heavier Charge and Run-out Disappears
I kept going ’til I worked my way through my first 100 rounds.Given the conditions, I was more interested in the chrony numbers than group, (though 20-shot strings yielded nice quarter-sized holes) and found that as my charges got heavier the SD was coming down (the 30 grain load gave me an SD of 9). I can’t wait to see what will happen with some load tinkering, as well as bullet trials (have Bergers, Hornady A-Maxs, and Lapua Scenars waiting for the next trip). Also, as I had hoped, fire-forming “cured” the run-out problem. I ran the fired but un-sized cases over my concentricity tool and saw less than 0.001 runout on the necks now.
Given the many matches won and records set by 6BR Improved cases, both 6 BRX and 6 Dasher varieties, product planners at Nammo Lapua have shown some tentative interest in manufacturing an official 6BR Improved case. This would be something very similar to a 6BRX, with about 41-42 grains of capacity, compared to about 38 grains for the 6BR. The case would be bigger than a 6BR, but smaller than a 6-6.5×47 or 6XC. The case would retain the small primer pocket and small flash hole of the 6BR case. A “bigger BR” would easily drive the 105-108gr 6mm bullets at 2950-3000 fps, where they often seem to shoot the best.
Before you jump out of the chair shouting “Oh Boy!”, keep in mind that Lapua’s interest is very preliminary — the engineers are merely fact-finding. This is just in the “idea stage”. Lapua’s cartridge designers are, however, intrigued by the accuracy and efficiency of the 6BR Improved case. Anything that regularly sets world records is worth considering. And Lapua would like to have a cartridge that will prove superior to the 6XC in international 300m competition.
AccurateShooter.com’s Editors have advocated the production of an “official” 6BR Improved. This wildcat deserves to become standardized. We suggest that it be similar to the 30-degree-shoulder 6BRX, but with a longer neck than a BRX (which loses neck length as the shoulder is moved forward). Existing BRX shooters could simply trim the necks shorter as needed to fit existing chambers. Dasher fans could proceed to “improve” the shoulder to 40 degrees, for their preferred configuration.
Obviously, as with any potential product, the question remains “is there sufficient market demand to justify production set-up and tooling costs?” We think the answer is yes. Not only would a factory 6BR Improved case be popular with Benchrest and across-the-course shooters, but this case would be great for varminters looking for something with more velocity than a 6BR but better barrel life than a 22-250. So, would you be interested in a factory 6BR Improved? Express your views in our Product Poll.
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Asst. Editor Jason Baney recently commenced load testing with our 6-6.5×47 Lapua project rifle. (Built as a dual-caliber, switch-barrel test bed, this gun also has a 6.5×47 barrel). Our goal at this stage is to find basic starting points and max loads for a variety of popular powders. This is important because the 6-6.5×47 is a wildcat cartridge and very little “official” load data is currently available from the powder makers. We initially hope to give our readers a starting point when loading for the 105-108gr class of BT match bullets. Later we’ll work up load points for both heavier and lighter bullets.
Thus far, Jason has tested 6 powders: Alliant Reloder 17, Hodgdon Hybrid 100V, Hodgdon H4350, Norma N204, and Vihtavuori N160 and N550. With these powders, Jason shot ladders with charges in 0.5 grain intervals. All initial testing was done with Berger 105gr VLD bullets. Jason will continue testing next week with other bullets, including 115gr DTAC, 107gr Sierra MK, 105gr Hornady A-Max, 95gr Berger VLD, and 80gr Berger FBHP. He will also try some faster powders (Varget and Reloder 15) with the lighter bullets.
Reloder 17 Very Impressive and H4350 Performed Well
Thus far, the most promising powders, in terms of velocity, accuracy, and vertical dispersion, have been RL17 and H4350. According to Jason, “N204 was also very intriguing, displaying tight vertical, but it showed a lot of horizontal–though it was windy during that testing phase”. Shooting ladder tests at 200 yards, RL17 exhibited very tight vertical over a wide velocity spread, and 4 out of 6 loads went into a 1/2″ group at 200. Max RL17 velocity in our 30″ Bartlein barrel was 3199 fps. H4350 topped out above 3150 fps, but some pressure signs appeared at about 3120 fps. To top 3100 fps with H100V, Jason needed a compressed load. Velocities with N160 were quite slow compared to the other powders, and N550 maxed out at 3095 fps.
CAUTION: Jason was shooting with a 30″ barrel and a strong, custom BAT action. You may not be able to achieve the stated velocities in your barrel. When we’ve completed testing we will publish suggested starting loads for these powders.
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Grafs.com has loaded Lapua 6mmBR ammo in stock. This ammo is expensive (about $36 per box of 20 rounds) but the 6mmBR loaded ammo is really good stuff. We’ve tried it in a half-dozen custom 6BRs. In calm conditions, it has shot between 1/4 and 1/2 MOA. In the USA, this ammo is offered with two bullet weights — 90gr Scenar or 105gr Scenar. Both types of ammo shoot great.
If you own a 6mmBR rifle with a no-turn neck, we recommend purchasing at least one box. Test it through your gun with a chronograph. This will give you a useful benchmark to assess if your barrel runs faster or slower than average. (In a 25.6″ barrel, the 90s are rated at 2950 fps while the 105s are rated at 2790 fps.) You may be surprised at how accurate this stuff can be. It is loaded to be about .025″ off the lands in a .100″ freebore chamber.
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We announced that a new shipment of Lapua cartridge brass is due to arrive within a couple weeks. Both importers, Graf & Sons and Kaltron, have ordered large quantities. However, some cartridge types, including 6mmBR, do not appear to be included in this container.
We’ve checked around, and most everybody seems to be sold out of 6mmBR, 220 Russian, and .308 brass. You may want to check with E. Arthur Brown, www.eabco.com. That company’s shopping cart system is still showing availability of Lapua brass of most types, including 6mmBR. No guaranties however — you may want to call E. Arthur Brown first before placing your order: (320) 834-3000, or for Orders Only, 1-800-950-9088.
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For precision rifle shooters, Lapua brass is about as good as it gets. It is definitely the preferred cartridge brass for short-range benchrest, 600-yard benchrest, and F-Class competition. Jason visited the Lapua booth to find out what new products the Finnish manufacturer will offer in 2009. In the video below, Sales Manager Adam Braverman reviews Lapua’s new offerings.
Lapua Revives .222 Remington Line
The big news is the re-introduction of .222 Remington brass. In late 2008 we revealed that Lapua would resume production of .222 Rem brass, and now we’ve learned that Lapua will be producing .222 Rem loaded ammo as well. Notably, this new .222 Rem brass (and ammo) will be produced “in-house” by Lapua. We expect it will meet the same exacting standards as other Lapua match brass. The .222 brass will be available immediately, and you should soon find it in stock at Grafs.com.
NEW 300gr, .338 Scenar Bullet
Big bore shooters will be pleased to know that Lapua has introduced a new 300gr, .338-caliber Scenar match bullet. When launched from the .338 Lapua Magnum cartridge, the new GB528 300-grainer will stay supersonic past 1500 meters. And even at 1700 meters it still carries over 1000 Joules of energy. You won’t find the 300gr Scenar in a silver cardboard box, however. From now on, Lapua match bullets will arrive in durable blue plastic containers. That’s progress we guess.
New BC Data Available for QuickTARGET
The ballistic coefficient of the new 300-grainers, as well as most other Lapua bullets, can now be inputed directly into the QuickTARGET ballistics program. BC values for Lapua bullets were confirmed with actual “real world” testing using Doppler radar.
No luck this year for .260 Rem and Short Mag Shooters
Despite persistent rumors, we won’t be seeing .260 brass or Short Mag brass from Lapua this season — though Lapua hasn’t ruled this out for some time in the future. Lapua does invite input from shooters, particular on the Short Magnum question. If Lapua feels there is adequate demand, it might (we stress might) consider production of a short mag. The question is “which short magnum?” The WSM family certainly has been more widely adopted thus far, but for match shooters, particularly 7mm shooters, the Remington SAUM may be a more efficient (and potentially more accurate) case. Right now, Lapua is leaning to the WSM, according to our sources.
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Large quantities of Lapua brass, for most of the popular cartridge types, have recently arrived at many vendors including Bruno Shooters Supply, Graf & Sons, and MidwayUSA.
In order to provide more content for our site visitors, we are soliciting reader submissions for Gun of the Week (GOTW) articles and technical articles. Even if you’ve never had a story published before, if you have a good idea, we can work with you to put your article online. We can provide an outline and photo/video advice.
Now, I have never owned a 6mmBR before, but from reading here and seeing them in action I decided to build one. Its main purpose in life is mid-range F-Class shooting, mainly at 600 yards, and if the winds are favorable, at 1,000. (I already have a 6.5 for “normal” conditions.) I am most grateful for all the info here, and especially the load data. I picked Reloder 15 under the 107gr SMKs for my first loads, starting at 29.0 grains, and proceeding in half grain increments to 30.0 grains. Jumped the bullets 0.015″. Ran the Lapua brass through the neck-sizer bushing die, and was concerned at the force needed to pull the expander button through the virgin brass necks but figured this was a once per case deal to round them out for initial loading. When I measured the runout on the loaded rounds, I was appalled as they had more wobble than anything I personally loaded before, but I kept reminding myself that this was the fireform/chronograph/scope and gun trial stage.
Given the many matches won and records set by 6BR Improved cases, both 6 BRX and 6 Dasher varieties, product planners at 
Reloder 17 Very Impressive and H4350 Performed Well
