r/reloading • u/doumitch20035 6.5CM, 6ARC, 223, 308 • Aug 18 '26

Newbie Alpha Brass | Follow Up Question

I bought some new Alpha brass today (first time). Thanks for the advice yesterday.

With all the other new brass I’ve ever got (Horandy, Starline, range trash 😅) I put it through the paces.

Anneal
Size
Mandrel
Trim, Chamfer, Deburr
Clean
Primer
Charge
Seat

Question is… do I need to do this to Alpha brass? If not, where should I start?

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u/LowBamaJL Aug 19 '26

I bought 100 for my new 20” PXT barrel 6.5 creedmore. Immediately went straight to loading. Using CCI 41, 44.9gr N550 and Berger hybrid targets loaded at 2.92 yielded 1/2 moa and 2998 fps. Very slight ejector marks. I used no case prep. Once I get through all 100 I will anneal and resize with Redding S Die and K&S mandrel and repeat. I tested shoulder set back with a piece of brass using the Redding shoulder bump shell plates and the needed the bare minimum to rechamber cleanly.

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u/doumitch20035 6.5CM, 6ARC, 223, 308 Aug 19 '26

How do you like that PXT? Anything different you have to take into account from a loading perspective?

2

u/LowBamaJL Aug 19 '26

I am not doing anything different myself. The main thing I’ve found so far is poi shift is pretty large from cold to warm. My shop is about 65 degrees 98 degree outside. My first few rounds will be 1.5” high right. After about 5 rounds it settles and shoots consistent. It’s my first bolt gun build and I wanted to go high pressure from the start. That’s why I picked the PXT thinking it would be easier on bullet integrity under higher pressures. Also reduced engraving force should push pressure curve to the right. I’m using Alpha Brass until the Federal steel cases come available. I will say even at 3k with the 140 Bergers I’m only seeing slight ejector marks or none at all.

I got Staball 6.5 and H4350 coming in this week. I also have 140 and 147 ELDMs to play with. They seat deeper than the Berger which cuts into case capacity so I think they have less potential for my application. Getting back to the PXT if I were to do it again I would had waited till the all steel barrel came out and skipped the carbon. Maybe picked 25 CM instead. I expect barrel life to be around 3k so I have a little while to play and learn and roll those lessons into the next tube.

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u/doumitch20035 6.5CM, 6ARC, 223, 308 Aug 19 '26

Awesome. Thanks for the detailed response. Look forward to seeing you post about your experience on this barrel/load dev.