Guys I've been using remington brass in my 22br I thought I had it reamed for that brass but today I tried a lapua brass and my bolt closes no problem so is it safe then to use lapua brass i'm fairly new to this so i need your help I have a no neck turn chamber they measure .255 after fireing Thank You
22br chamber question
- Thread starter stratboy
- Start date
There are a couple of things you can do to verify the fit of the brass in your chamber. If you have a tool to measure from the shoulder to the base of the case you can compare one of your sized remington cases to an unfired Lapua case. I would also measure a few fired Remington cases to have another data point.
You could also put a strip of Scotch transparent tape on several of the lapua cases and see if you can feel it when closing the bolt. You really need to remove the firing pin assy when doing this. Keep adding tape until you can lightly feel the case when closing the bolt. Each layer adds app .0025 to the case length. Put the strip of tape on the case and trim off the edges with a single edge razor blade or hobby knife so you have a nice round shim.
If one strip of tape is all that is needed to feel the cases then you can safe to fireform a few and then measure the body of the case to see if there is any abnormal expansion when compared to the unfired cases.
If you need more tape then you need to fireform using your favorite method
You could also put a strip of Scotch transparent tape on several of the lapua cases and see if you can feel it when closing the bolt. You really need to remove the firing pin assy when doing this. Keep adding tape until you can lightly feel the case when closing the bolt. Each layer adds app .0025 to the case length. Put the strip of tape on the case and trim off the edges with a single edge razor blade or hobby knife so you have a nice round shim.
If one strip of tape is all that is needed to feel the cases then you can safe to fireform a few and then measure the body of the case to see if there is any abnormal expansion when compared to the unfired cases.
If you need more tape then you need to fireform using your favorite method
Better to KNOW than to assume when dealing with guns. If the bolt won't close on one piece of tape then you KNOW that there is not excessive headspace. If on the other hand it takes several layers of tape to be able to feel the case then you KNOW you need to fireform with reduced loads. Your assumption about your chamber only being for Remington brass has been shown to be erroneous so an assumption that the Lapua brass fits fine could also be wrong. Better safe than sorry when dealing with the headspace of the rifle and cartridge.
Firstly you HAVE to remove the firing pin assy and the ejector. If you are not going to do this then you are on your own.
With the FP and ejector removed put the bolt back in the receiver and cycle the bolt a few times with no case in the chamber. The bolt should open and close with absolutely no resistance. Now put in a sized Remington case. Depending on the adjustment of your sizing die you may be able to feel that there is a tiny bit of resistance when closing the bolt or you may feel nothing at all just like when there is no case in the chamber. Now put in a fired but not resized Remington case. The bolt should not want to close and you should not force it.
Now that you are starting to develop a little feel you can start with the Lapua brass. Try several of the new Lapua cases in the chamber. If you can barely feel that they are there then this is good and indicates a nice fit. If you feel nothing when closing the bolt then you can start adding the tape to the back. If one layer of tape can be felt in the bolt then all is well and you can proceed with loading and shooting the brass. If it takes 2 or more layers then you need to fireform to make the brass fit your chamber. There are several ways to do this; long seated bullets and reduced loads or lubed cases and reduced loads or ????
With the FP and ejector removed put the bolt back in the receiver and cycle the bolt a few times with no case in the chamber. The bolt should open and close with absolutely no resistance. Now put in a sized Remington case. Depending on the adjustment of your sizing die you may be able to feel that there is a tiny bit of resistance when closing the bolt or you may feel nothing at all just like when there is no case in the chamber. Now put in a fired but not resized Remington case. The bolt should not want to close and you should not force it.
Now that you are starting to develop a little feel you can start with the Lapua brass. Try several of the new Lapua cases in the chamber. If you can barely feel that they are there then this is good and indicates a nice fit. If you feel nothing when closing the bolt then you can start adding the tape to the back. If one layer of tape can be felt in the bolt then all is well and you can proceed with loading and shooting the brass. If it takes 2 or more layers then you need to fireform to make the brass fit your chamber. There are several ways to do this; long seated bullets and reduced loads or lubed cases and reduced loads or ????
Mike Bryant
Active member
There's no safety problem shooting Remington brass in a chamber cut for Lapua brass. The Lapua brass has run about .004" larger in diameter. The Remington brass will swell out to fit the chamber and may get a bulge on one side which won't happen in a chamber that matches the brass. FWIW, I haven't used anything but a reamer that will fit Lapua brass for BR's in years. The larger reamer gives you the option of shooting either Lapua brass or Remington brass. The smaller chamber ties you to Remington brass and doesn't give you the option of using Lapua brass.
E
ehkempf
Guest
I have a question as to what a no turn neck should measure chamber wise. The reason for this is as I am having Jimmy Hart (Hart Barrels) rebarrel a rifle of mine to 22 BR and he is doing it as a .254 ( that is based on .013 + .013 + .224, giving .004 for clearance) is that enough as I see from this post that his seems to be .255?
Thanks,
Ed
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Mike Bryant
Active member
.254" is my no turn .22 BR reamer. .255" just gives more clearance.
E
ehkempf
Guest
Thanks Mike for the quick response, makes me feel better getting other opinions or facts.
Ed