EABCO.com has a selection of Lapua factory-loaded ammo on sale at super-low prices — about 40% off current retail. These are older supplies of ammo that have been sitting in inventory for a while, so Eabco has cut the price dramatically to move it. Keep in mind that the price of Lapua brass has risen dramatically in the last couple of years, so this loaded ammo has become more attractive. Eabco has the Lapua 6mmBR 77gr HP loaded ammo on sale at $24 for 20 rounds, or $1.20 per finished round. Consider that you may now pay $0.80 per piece of Lapua 6mmBR brass. So, another way to look at it is that this ammo is worth about $16.00 per box… just for the brass.
Special Lapua Ammo Inventory Clearance Sale — Limited Quantities
Eabco tells us: “These are odd lots of loaded ammo in 20-round boxes. Some may not be the most popular bullet weight or style, so the price is much lower than our regular line of Lapua ammo. But this is all first-rate ammunition, made from total Lapua and VihtaVuori components. Quantities are limited. When these lots sell out, we won’t have more.”
810-4316034 – Lapua 6.5×55 Swedish Ammo 100 gr. FMJ (20 rounds) $24
810-4316048 – Lapua 6mm BR Norma Ammo 77 gr. HP (20 rounds) $24
810-4316051 – Lapua .243 Win Ammo 90 gr. FMJ (20 rounds) $24
810-4317183 – Lapua .308 Win Ammo 170 gr. FMJBT (20 rounds) $29
Many Other Bargains at EABCO ‘Garage Sale’
If you are looking for other discount gun parts and reloading accessories, check out EABCO’s ongoing “Garage Sale”. Here you’ll find stuff like scope bases, lens covers, press parts, snaps caps, plus odds and ends. There are even a couple custom rifles for sale along with a Vintage Cessna Airplane. Check out the Garage Sale — you may find something you need for pennies on the dollar.
Lapua recently announced that it is replacing three of its .224-caliber bullet types with new and improved versions. For service rifle shooters, the new GB541 looks like a good choice for short-course events.
55gr Softpoints Replaced with Non-Cannelure E539 Bullet
Two older soft point bullet designs, the 55gr E372 and the 55gr E369, are being replaced by Lapua’s new E539 55gr bullet. The E539 is a multi-purpose NON-cannelure soft point design with a 0.202 G1 BC.
New Higher-BC GB541 Bullet Replaces 69gr GB401
The .224 GB501 69gr Scenar has been replaced by a ballistically superior GB541 69gr Scenar bullet designed especially for long range target shooting. The new GB541 bullet has a 0.341 G1 Ballistic Coefficient and a 0.171 G7. Both numbers were established in field testing using Doppler Radar.
Lapua now offers a FREE ballistics program for modern smart phones that run Java Apps. (Unfortunately, that excludes Apple iPhones and Android OS phones, but Lapua says that the majority of smartphones run Java). The program calculates drift and drop, and it corrects for altitude, temp, air pressure, and shot angle. The Lapua Ballistics App also includes a database of Lapua bullet profiles with ultra-reliable radar-derived Ballistic Coefficients. Sound good? Now go get your smart phone. The program must be downloaded with a mobile phone. Open a web browser in your smart-phone and navigate to www.lapua.com/ballistics and choose the correct version for your phone.
Lapua’s exterior ballistic software for mobile phones is capable of predicting trajectories in real time with extreme accuracy. Using Lapua Ballistics, there is no need for checking tables and calculating cosines for inclination compensation (you still have to input the angle). The program also compensates for the effect of cartridge temperature on muzzle velocity and the effect of atmospheric conditions on the projectile’s trajectory.
Lapua Ballistics is based on precise Doppler Radar measurements of actual bullet drag — professional data available only for Lapua bullets. Lapua Ballistics can be installed on all smartphones supporting basic Java (Java MIDP 2.0). NOTE: Apple iPhone and Android platforms do not support Java ME.
The new, 9th Edition of the Vihtavuori Reloading Guide has been released. The complete Reloading Guide can be downloaded for FREE as a PDF (Adobe Acrobat) file. The rifle reloading data has been expanded and revised with more powder selections for existing bullets. The load data for .243 Winchester has been revised extensively, and there is new caliber data for 6mm Remington, 6.5×55 Swedish and 6.5×55 SKAN. Load info for the .260 Remington, 6.5×55 Swedish, 30-06, and 45/70 has also been expanded in the 9th Edition of the VV Reloading Guide.
The 9th Edition includes updated loading data for the following cartridge types:
Centerfire Handgun
.45 ACP
Centerfire Rifle
6mm Remington
.243 Winchester
.260 Remington
6.5×55 Swedish (Modern Action)
6.5×55 SKAN (Modern Action)
.30-06 Springfield
.45-70 Government
Error Correction: In the hard-copy, USA-printed version of the 9th Ed. Vihtavuori Reloading Guide, there is an error on page 25 concerning modern 6.5×55 loads. The data is correct in the PDF version of the Reloading Guide (linked above). CLICK HERE to download print version correction.
You’ve probably heard by now, but this is big news, so it bears repeating. Lapua has started production of .260 Remington cartridge brass. Lapua hopes to deliver the first shipments to the USA by late March, 2011. This is a very positive development for hunters, high power shooters, and tactical shooters. With the latest generation of powders (including Reloder 17), the .260 Remington is a potent cartridge with the 140gr-class bullets, and it hammers with the Lapua Scenar 123s or Berger 130s, and H4350-speed powders. In the video below, Kevin Thomas, Lapua’s USA Marketing Manager, provides more specifics about the .260 brass, and Lapua’s other new-for-2011 products.
On the bullet front, Lapua is proudly rolling out its new “L” series of projectiles, starting with the 6mm 105gr Scenar and then expanding to the whole Scenar match bullet line. NOTE: These are NOT new bullet designs — Lapua is not changing the bullet shapes, weights, or internal construction. So you’ll be getting the same bullets, only with tighter tolerances, and improved quality control.
Lapua has tightened its production tolerances for the L series of bullets. Lapua claims that the L series of bullets will be more uniform in weight, with improved concentricity. Length from base of bullet to ogive will be held to very tight tolerances. Apart from the notations on the box, the new Lapua L bullets will be marked with an “L” crest stamped on the bullet heel. Lapua claims this tiny stamp will not affect accuracy nor reduce the bullet’s ballistic coefficient.
Lapua explains: “We have set out to tighten all measures and requirements, including our already famous quality control standards.” Scenar L bullets will exhibit: “closer weight tolerances, tighter jacket wall concentricity standards, and greater uniformity in every dimension, starting from the gilding metal cup, lead wire and jacket forming, ending up to core-jacket assembly, boat tail pressing and tipping.”
Testing the Scenar Ls for Uniformity
Are the new Scenar “L” series bullets actually more uniform than previous Scenars (which were really very, very good)? Based on my quick test of 20 sample bullets pulled at random from a box, I would say the 105gr Scenar Ls are some of the most uniform factory bullets ever. Adam Braverman gave me a box of the new 105gr Scenar “L” bullets. I randomly chose twenty (20) bullets, and measured them base to ogive using a Hornady comparator. With the exception of one bullet, everything was pretty much “dead on”. I listed two at 0.7125″, but they were awfully close to the others. Basically, except for the one bullet measuring 0.711″, they were all the same within the practical resolution of my calipers. Very impressive indeed.
All Bullets within One-Tenth of Grain
Next I checked for weight uniformity. I weighed each of the 20 bullets twice, using a calibrated RCBS ChargeMaster scale. NOTE: This is NOT a lab quality scale. The 0.1 grain total spread among the bullets is within the scale’s range of error. But I did weigh each bullet at least twice, and the ones that were one-tenth of a grain light I weighed four times. Three bullets out of the twenty measured 105.2 grains. All the rest were 105.3 grains. Remarkable.
Here is great news for high-power shooters, tactical competitors, and hunters. Lapua will be producing .260 Remington brass starting in 2011. The official announcement will be made at SHOT Show 2011 in Las Vegas, and brass should start arriving in early spring. With Lapua’s introduction of .260 Rem brass, precision shooters now have a “no-brainer” first choice for cartridge brass in this popular chambering. No longer will you have to sort and cull (and re-sort) Rem-brand .260 brass. And you won’t have to fool around necking-up .243 brass or necking down .308 brass, with the problems that come with case-reforming operations.
The .260 Rem offers ballistics similar to the 6.5×55 with a cartridge size that fits short actions. For long range, the .260 Rem works great with 120gr to 142gr bullets, making it highly suitable for both hunting and target shooting. Here is what Lapua says about its new brass:
The .260 Rem was used to stunning effect at Camp Perry to win the 2010 Championships setting an incredible new national record in the process. .260 shooters have hammered their way into the winner’s circles of a wide variety of competitive disciplines, a real testament to the capability of this outstanding cartridge.
The .260 isn’t just a target round. It has also shown itself to be a fine performer in the field for medium game. Effectively duplicating the ballistic performance of the time-honored 6.5×55, the .260 has already developed a well-earned reputation for dependable stopping power on deer, antelope and similar game. Given the tremendous selection of bullets for every conceivable application, the 260 is an extraordinarily versatile cartridge. With such a solid history already established in such a short time, Lapua is proud to add the .260 to our line of premier components for the handloader.
[Editor’s Comment: I shot the .260 Rem extensively for 3 years, testing many powder/bullet/primer combinations. I tried both Remington-brand brass (very inconsistent), and necked-up Lapua and Norma .243 brass. If you want a reliable, accurate “go-to” load for the new Lapua .260 brass, I recommend Lapua 123gr Scenars with Hodgdon H4350 powder, running at about 2950 fps. Both Fed 210M and CCI large rifle primers work well. If you run the ballistics, you’ll find you give up little or nothing shooting the 123s vs. the 140gr class bullets because you can achieve significantly higher velocities with the lighter bullets, when using most powders. If you simply MUST shoot the 140s, try Reloder 17 to get higher velocities.]
A while back, Forum member Andy (aka GrayMist) did an interesting test, with five (5) different types of .243 Winchester Brass. He collected Federal, Lapua, Remington, and two different lots of Winchester-brand brass. Then he selected ten (10) cases at random from each brand and measured their weights. To ascertain case capacity, three (3) cases from each brand/lot that were closest to the average weight for that brand/lot were selected. The results were surprising: there was less than one (1) grain capacity difference between all the cases, even with a 14.7 grain maximum difference in case weight!
Measuring Procedures
The cases were sized in a Redding body die then primed with a spent primer. All were weighed before and after filling them with distilled water. The capacity shown is an average of all three (3) cases from that lot and represents grains of water. Note, I tested two lots of Winchester brass. Lot A was purchased in 1999. Lot B was from factory .243 ammo. There is a rather large disparity in case weight between the two lots.
Brand
Federal
Lapua
Remington
Winchester A
Winchester B
Capacity
53.9
54.4
53.7
54.8
54.8
Aver. Weight
173.28
173.13
165.34
158.58
166.44
SD¹
0.46
0.39
0.17
0.58
0.42
Range²
1.70
1.10
0.40
1.80
1.40
% of Avg.³
0.98%
0.64%
0.24%
1.14%
0.84%
1) Standard Deviation in grains.
2) Range is the difference in weight between the heaviest and lightest cases in the test.
3) Case range weight divided by the average weight.
What the Numbers Mean … And Some Speculations
Andy observes: “It certainly seems there is a huge difference in case weight between Winchester lot A and any other brand of 243 tested. What is also surprising is that there was less than one (1) grain capacity difference between all the cases, even with a 14.7 grain difference in case weight!
Should one be wary of trying the same loads that were initially tested in the light weight Winchester brass even though the capacity difference is small? I have had some interesting results with one brand brass that I cannot pass on yet, except to say I sent that company a sample of the lot I have been using. The Remington brass weight range was very low. These were taken from a box of once-fired factory ammo. I will have to acquire some more and measure it.”
Results of Larger Lapua Sample
In a previous session Andy weighed all 100 Lapua cases he had on hand. His measurements showed a total variation of 2.1 grains, with the weight range being 172.5 to 174.6 grains. That is a 1.2 percent spread. The most that came in at the same weight were 11 cases at 173.5 grains.
Robert Whitley sampled a recent lot of Lapua 6mmBR brass and found that the neck-walls are marginally thinner, resulting in a very slightly smaller loaded neck diameter. Here is Robert’s report….
For the last few years the different boxes of Lapua 6mmBR Norma brass I have purchased (four different lots) have yielded brass with necks that measured around .269″ – .2695″ loaded. While this worked out very well in a variety of applications, sometimes I had to neck-turn that brass because it was a little too tight for an application or chamber I had. I recently received some of the latest “blue box” Lapua 6mm BR Norma brass (Lot # P00487801) and this latest lot of 6BR brass measures right around .268″ loaded (with popular 6mm bullet types). While some may bemoan the smaller neck diameter of this latest brass lot, for others, this can be a buying an opportunity to resolve an existing clearance issue with a “no neck turn” chamber. For example, if you have a .271″ “no neck-turn” type chamber, this may help resolve clearance issues that arose with other batches of brass. Or, for those who need to turn their necks to fit a tighter chamber, this new lot of 6mmBR brass has about .001″ – .0015″ less metal to remove, making the turning process that much easier.
This lot of brass (Lot # P00487801) was obtained from Graf & Sons. Since the batches of Lapua 6mmBR Norma brass that come into this country typically sell out quickly, if this .268″-loaded-neck brass is of interest to you, get some soon as it may go fast. While in years past I tried to keep my neck clearance very close to the chamber neck diameter, as time passes, I am now finding that in some situations a little more neck clearance can help remedy an accuracy or consistency issue. A certain amount of clearance is clearly needed for the proper accuracy and consistency of ammunition, but in some situations a tight neck clearance is not optimum and may be more detrimental then beneficial. We tinker with everything else with our loads and rifles, why not neck clearance? — Robert Whitley
Editor’s NOTE: If you need some new 6BR brass, but your existing cases have no-turn necks which are .269″+ loaded, you may want to segregate the newer .268-necked brass. Segregating the new brass will allow you to use a a slightly smaller diameter bushing to maintain the same amount of grip on the bullet (as before). Other than this minor change in neck diameter with this lot of brass, this Lapua 6mm BR Norma brass is essentially the identical product as it has been all along.
Visit Robert Whitley’s 6mmAR.com website for more information on Grendel-based cartridges, and his 6mmHOT.com site for info on the 6mmBR Improved Dasher, 6-6.5×47, and 6.5×47.
Lapua’s new 22-250 brass has finally started to arrive on dealers’ shelves. Forum member William P. (aka “Heath”) just got two boxes of the new brass. Both boxes have the same lot number. Heath was kind enough to sort the brass and report his findings.
Based on Heath’s 200-count sample, we can say this new brass is very, very consistent in weight. The total weight spread (delta) for 200 cases was just 1.4 grains! And the vast majority, 83%, were within 0.7 grains in weight (160.3 – 161.0). For the varminter, sorting may be superfluous. Once again, Lapua has produced a superb new product, and we love the new, blue plastic boxes.
FYI, you 6mm shooters should know that the Lapua 22-250 brass can be made into quality 6XC brass. And it’s even easier to create a 6-250 wildcat. In May, Robert Whitley explained how he created a tack-driving 6-250 Wildcat from the new Lapua 22-250 brass.
Lapua developed the 6.5×47 Lapua cartridge for International 300m competition. Lapua wanted a cartridge that could match the “pure accuracy” of the 6mmBR, but with even better ballistics and good barrel life. The 6.5x47L is now really coming into its own. In the hands of NBRSA long-range Hall of Famer Don Nielson, the 6.5x47L has won two NBRSA 600-yard Nationals convincingly. The cartridge is winning Varmint Silhouette matches, and Tactical competitors are finding the cartridge delivers great accuracy with much less recoil than a .308 — plus it feeds well from magazines. With advanced powders such as Alliant’s Reloder 17, the 6.5x47L can deliver surprising velocities, even with the heavy 139-142 grain bullets, though we still think the 130-grainers may be optimal for the cartridge. Don Nielson used Berger 130gr bullets “right out of the box” to win the NBRSA 600-yard Nationals, setting records in the process. In addition to its paper-punching abilities, the 6.5×47 Lapua is a capable hunting cartridge, delivering velocities that approach a .260 Remington with 120-130 grain projectiles. Considering all this — is the 6.5×47 Lapua the next, great do-it-all cartridge — a chambering that can win a benchrest match one weekend and harvest a whitetail the next?
6.5×47 Lapua Is a Hot Topic on Our Forum
In our AccurateShooter Forum, there has been a thread discussing whether the 6.5x47L or 6mmBR is better for the 600-yard game. Forum member Lloyd (aka “1Shot”) wrote:
How many years have the 6BR and its variants been in existence as opposed to the 6.5x47L? I pose this question to you because we all know that with time and experience, comes knowledge. In a short period of time, (relatively speaking) the 6.5x47L has made great strides. I’ll make a bet that the 6.5x47L will outshoot the 6BR within the same time frame of its existence. It will just take time and shooters like Sam Hall to bring this cartridge to its full potential.”
Responding to Lloyd’s post, British gun writer Laurie Holland analyzed the present and possible future of the 6.5x47L cartridge. Laurie makes some very interesting points, considering the role the 6.5x47L may play in F-class competition, and in 300 to 600-yard benchrest. Laurie’s post is worth a read….
Laurie Holland Talks About the 6.5×47 Lapua
“Lloyd, you may well be right on this. There is that intangible something issue though that sees one cartridge become ‘great’ in a shooting field, while others that should theoretically compete somehow never quite get there. The example that comes to mind is the PPC in short range BR of course[.] The PPC outshoots similar rivals, and we don’t know why. At the moment, the 6BR and BRX/Dasher variants look like they may be getting to the same point in 300 to 600-yard BR type competition. That’s not to say they won’t be pushed out of the top spot by something better, or even matched by a rival, but it looks like it won’t happen quickly or soon.
One thing people often forget is that BR can see 5 shots rattled off in under 30 seconds while the wind conditions hold. F-Class or any other form of deliberate, marked-target shooting is different because of the enforced gap between shots. This is particularly so on our side of the Atlantic (or north of the 49th Parallel). Unlike your F-Class, Fullbore, Palma, CLRP etc. shooting, we British Commonwealth types are squadded two to a target (sometimes up to four in local shoots) and there is therefore a minimum three or so minutes between taking each shot by an individual shooter. Fairly typically, I shot in a club 600-yard F-Class comp last Sunday and found myself with two others on ‘my’ target. Throw in one of them missing with both sighters and the resulting delays while the RO had to be asked for the target to be pulled and checked and people looking for his subsequent fall of shot and it took around 70-75 minutes to get through 2 sighters and 20 score shots. So each shot is virtually a new start so far as the wind-call goes.
The 6.5X47L likely gives a significant benefit even at 600 yards over the 6mmBR thanks to the external ballistics improvements in such a scenario. What has to be seen is how it stands up in national level competition against the big sevens since that’s the competition in F-Open. Until this year, all national GB F-Class Association rounds were shot over a mixture of 800, 900, 1000-yard matches with the emphasis on the 1000. The 6.5X47L can’t hack it against 180gr 7mm Berger VLDs at 3,200 fps in these conditions (nor could the US F-Class Team’s 6.5-284 Norma in last summer’s F-Class World Championship at Bisley). Club / regional level may turn out different with a bigger mix of ranges (distances) in a season’s programme. And (here’s the killer) — the 7mmWSM brigade can’t afford to shoot say 15 such matches in a season given the barrel life issue. 15 matches is 300-330 shots, or 50% of barrel life. So they enter one or two matches only for practice, checking sight-settings etc. Unless you do your own gunsmithing, barrel replacement by a top gunsmith with a Bartlein or Krieger tube is an expensive job here — a bit over £700 all in which is $1,000 + in translation[.]
So, accurate and ballistically-efficient smaller cartridges that give long barrel life have a bright future in European and British Commonwealth shooting, and I think the 6.5X47L is going to be a key player in this role. Also, as in the USA, many people want a multi-purpose longarm, and this cartridge is an excellent long-range fox/crow round and ideal for most of our deer species too.
To go back to the very original question in this thread, if I were having a multi-discipline target shooting single-shot rifle built for club / regional competition shooting, I’d stick to 6BR or variants if it were primarily for 600-yard or shorter range competitions, but I’d go for 6.5X47L if there were 800 to 1,000-yard matches in the mix. If it were for F-Class at national level, I’d have neither, but stick to .308W in the F/TR division which I shoot now. — Laurie, York, England”
EABCO.com has a selection of Lapua factory-loaded ammo on sale at super-low prices — about 40% off current retail. These are older supplies of ammo that have been sitting in inventory for a while, so Eabco has cut the price dramatically to move it. Keep in mind that the price of Lapua brass has risen dramatically in the last couple of years, so this loaded ammo has become more attractive. Eabco has the Lapua 6mmBR 77gr HP loaded ammo on sale at $24 for 20 rounds, or $1.20 per finished round. Consider that you may now pay $0.80 per piece of Lapua 6mmBR brass. So, another way to look at it is that this ammo is worth about $16.00 per box… just for the brass.
Lapua recently announced that it is replacing three of its .224-caliber bullet types with new and improved versions. For service rifle shooters, the new GB541 looks like a good choice for short-course events.
Lapua now offers a FREE ballistics program for modern smart phones that run Java Apps. (Unfortunately, that excludes Apple iPhones and Android OS phones, but Lapua says that the majority of smartphones run Java). The program calculates drift and drop, and it corrects for altitude, temp, air pressure, and shot angle. The Lapua Ballistics App also includes a database of Lapua bullet profiles with ultra-reliable radar-derived Ballistic Coefficients. Sound good? Now go get your smart phone. The program must be downloaded with a mobile phone. Open a web browser in your smart-phone and navigate to 
On the bullet front, Lapua is proudly rolling out its new “L” series of projectiles, starting with the 6mm 105gr Scenar and then expanding to the whole Scenar match bullet line. NOTE: These are NOT new bullet designs — Lapua is not changing the bullet shapes, weights, or internal construction. So you’ll be getting the same bullets, only with tighter tolerances, and improved quality control.
Testing the Scenar Ls for Uniformity
Here is great news for high-power shooters, tactical competitors, and hunters. 
What the Numbers Mean
This lot of brass (Lot # P00487801) was obtained from 
Lapua developed the 6.5×47 Lapua cartridge for International 300m competition. Lapua wanted a cartridge that could match the “pure accuracy” of the 6mmBR, but with even better ballistics and good barrel life. The 6.5x47L is now really coming into its own. In the hands of NBRSA long-range Hall of Famer Don Nielson, the 6.5x47L has won two NBRSA 600-yard Nationals convincingly. The cartridge is winning Varmint Silhouette matches, and Tactical competitors are finding the cartridge delivers great accuracy with much less recoil than a .308 — plus it feeds well from magazines. With advanced powders such as Alliant’s Reloder 17, the 6.5x47L can deliver surprising velocities, even with the heavy 139-142 grain bullets, though we still think the 130-grainers may be optimal for the cartridge. Don Nielson used Berger 130gr bullets “right out of the box” to win the NBRSA 600-yard Nationals, setting records in the process. In addition to its paper-punching abilities, the 6.5×47 Lapua is a capable hunting cartridge, delivering velocities that approach a .260 Remington with 120-130 grain projectiles. Considering all this — is the 6.5×47 Lapua the next, great do-it-all cartridge — a chambering that can win a benchrest match one weekend and harvest a whitetail the next?
Laurie Holland Talks About the 6.5×47 Lapua
