Lapua Brass

It would seem to me that the most accurate ammo possible along with the best rifle then practice is the correct method, lets go government and call it a comprehensive package, or start with good equipment everything else is your fault.;)
 
It's irrefutable that better equpment and ammo will steepen the shooter's learning curve by reducing the noise that blurs cause and effect in technique. But if the shooter is waiting to acquire better equipment before he competes then there is no learning curve at all. More trigger time, especially in competion, is more better.

Greg
 
Good equipment

I always carry something along that has known results so if I'm not getting what I expect from a rifle I can do a reality check with what I know works and then go back to the drawing board or pack it in and try another day. A little success can be a great morale booster. nhk
 
Julian while I agree a rookie doesn't need to get caught up in an equipment race there's no reason for them to go to the line with inferior ammo. As others have stated, if someone gets one of those WTF did THAT come from shots you'll know it wasn't the ammo. I'll ask my scorer if they saw a condition I missed and then go from there.

Concerning Winchester brass, I've found it to be .002" a side thinner than Lapua in the neck. That means it will have to be sized down more, especially in a factory barrel with a large neck. You'll work harden the necks quicker plus induce more bullet run-out if your not carefull. YMMV...
 
Al, I am not suggesting someone use inferior ammunition, because it a waste of time and dangerous. Using accurate ammunition is paramount in shooting accurately. What I am proposing is for new shooters to worry less about their ammunition and more about their shooting technique.

I liked your comment about, "WTF" shots, we all get them with time. Most are attributable to shooter error, but if they are directly attributable to ammunition, you need to re-load better or buy something different.

My post is more related to new shooters or guys starting off, and want to try F-Class shooting.

julian
 
Here's an article you may find pertinent: http://riflemansjournal.blogspot.com/2010/01/cartridges-lapua-small-primer-308.html.

In it German Salazar reports he still prefers Winchester large primer 308 brass to the Lapua small primer brass. German is one of the top long range shooters in this country. I would bet that if you worked up your best load for long range with Winchester and Lapua brass you could not tell a significant benefit from the Lapua. I'm not knocking Lapua, I use it and love it, but I still say people often spend more time, money, and effort on things that don't matter than they should. I think it is important to set some priorities. I'm all for shooting the best of everything you can afford if it makes a difference. In reality I spend way more on things that don't matter than I should. Maybe that's my point. I'm pretty certain that in my F class TR in 308 off a bipod I could not tell the difference between carefully prepped and load tested Winchester brass vs the same with Lapua. I bet you couldn't either. For some circumstances I would never consider anything other than Lapua brass. 1000 yard 308 TR is not one of them. 600 to 1000 yard 308 out of my M1A is a no brainer. I would never even consider using Lapua brass there. The rifle could care less and would trash the brass pronto with no improvement in accuracy or score - just cost.
 
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German A. Salazar is a good writer on technical aspects of shooting. His primer articles are very thorough. The results on the Winchester and Lupua brass indicates, he can't see the difference either.

I suspect (German confirms in article) the variations in the human aspect of shooting prone overwhelm the small technical variations in ammunnition. Which brings you right back to the point of practicing the physical skills of prone shooting instead of searching for a mythical pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.

Shooters talk a lot about searching for a competitve edge with equipment. I don't believe there is a competitive edge other than yourself. It all comes down to how well trained and practiced you are as a marksman that makes a difference. The time you spend on searching for the "Compettitive Edge" is a waste of important time that could better used in training for your next match, rather than adding more variables and unknowns to your shooting.

The good news is it puts us on a equal footing with champion shooters like German, because we can all aspire to reach his level of proficiency in shooting. All it takes is the committment to become a better shooter.

German's statement, " I don't see any magic - not that I expected any" says a lot about how we get over-focused on small details and ignore the big details, namely ourselves, and what our shooting technique contributes to the accuracy question.

Jcummings, good post and excellent article, everyone should read it. You should pin this on the board for the next guy that is in a tizzy about his brass.


Julian
 
Thank you German, that was a great read. I actually just picked up a batch of Winchester 308 brass yesterday for my new Savage 308 project after waffling on this same question. I felt that with careful sorting the extra capacity (and price, and availability) wins for LR shooting.
 
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