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Leadingall
10-10-2014, 11:34 AM
I'm fairly new to reloading and I've loaded quite a bit of pistol ammo. I'm stocked up on used brass for 223 and I'm about to start reloading for that caliber. Here is the order I anticipate I'll use for case prep...
1) deprime
2) tumble
3) trim (and measure)
4) deburr
6) swage
5) lube
7) reload (resize --> prime --> charge --> seat --> crimp)
8) case gage, inspect

Am I missing anything? Do I have to resize before I trim? I'm using both a worlds finest case trimmer and/or a lymans universal.

thegreatcow
10-10-2014, 11:45 AM
I'm fairly new to reloading and I've loaded quite a bit of pistol ammo. I'm stocked up on used brass for 223 and I'm about to start reloading for that caliber. Here is the order I anticipate I'll use for case prep...
1) deprime
2) tumble
3) trim (and measure)
4) deburr
6) swage
5) lube
7) reload (resize --> prime --> charge --> seat --> crimp)
8) case gage, inspect

Am I missing anything? Do I have to resize before I trim? I'm using both a worlds finest case trimmer and/or a lymans universal.

Personally I would do the resize step before the trimming. The resize process stretches the metal a little and I'd rather do the trimming afterwards to ensure I'm not going to be moving things around. Also a lot of FL resizing dies will deprime the brass anyway so you might as well combine those two steps in one shot. Other than that, that process looks good.

roc_my_tims
10-10-2014, 11:49 AM
I tumble first.
1) so i dont have to get media out of primer pocket individually

2) because im going to clean the pocket when i deburr

I also end up running it in the tumbler a 2nd time anyway to get case lube off.

I guess in my head the first timber is to keep my dies free of dirt and to be able to easily inspect the brass. But ofcourse you dont have to clean before depriming.

*My opinion is worth what it cost

Leadingall
10-10-2014, 11:52 AM
that's what I figured...I use a universal decapper before I tumble and my 223 resizing die decaps too. I was just hoping I could use the same set up to continue decapping my pistol and rifle brass and resize during the reloading process (versus the case prep process). So if I resize and deprime during case prep, then all I have to do on the reloading press is prime, charge, seat and crimp?

lpspinner
10-10-2014, 12:04 PM
My way is a little long, but I can get anal about how my brass looks....

1) Decap with a Lee Universal decapping die

2) If new once fired military brass, then I swage the primer pocket

3) Throw it all into the tumbler for a quick clean. Just enough to get the dirt off the brass. (I hate resizing with dirty brass)

4) Lube and Full length resize.

5) Throw it back in the tumbler for a full polish. (also to remove the lube)

6) Trim, chamfer and deburr if needed

7) On my Dillon....
......* 1st station - Universal decapping die.
.........(Just to punch out any cleaning media) Prime on the downstroke
......* 2nd Station - powder dispensing
......* 3rd station - Bullet seating
......* 4th station - Optional -Lee Factory crimp die.
8) Go shoot your ammo and repeat from step 1. :)

reckoner
10-10-2014, 12:12 PM
As others have said, trim AFTER sizing.

Psychbiker
10-10-2014, 12:21 PM
I universal deprime
Stainless tumble
Size
Trim
Tumble (corn cob)
Hand prime (so far)
Charge
Seat
Done.

Using rcbs xdie so I shouldn't have to trim again for a bit. Problem is I lose my brass and pick up others. Gotta start using a brass catcher.

Leadingall
10-10-2014, 12:22 PM
got it, thanks guys

Jon Road King
10-10-2014, 12:37 PM
Here's my set up (for once-fired brass)...

1. Tumble
2. Lube / Re-size/De-prime on my LnL
3. Swage Primer Pocket
4. Size Primer Pocket
5. Clean Primer Pocket
6. Tumble (to clean off lube)
7. Trim/Chamfer/De-Burr
8. Drop every piece in a case gage (had a bad experience with a CH4D Swager ruining case rims... now I am paranoid)
9. Load

(Skip steps 3 and 4 on Twice and up fired brass...)

Set up on my LnL for loading...

1st station - Lee decapping die (only use this to push out any stray cleaning media that ends up in the flash hole)
1 1/2 Station (upstroke) - Prime
2nd Station - Empty
3rd Station - Powder Drop
4th Station - Bullet Seat / Very light crimp
5th Station - Empty

stphnman20
10-10-2014, 12:44 PM
This is what I do:

Tumble
lube and resize/deprime
Tumble
Trim/deburr/chamfer and clean primer pocket
Load

Simple and easy.

popeye4
10-10-2014, 1:11 PM
that's what I figured...I use a universal decapper before I tumble and my 223 resizing die decaps too. I was just hoping I could use the same set up to continue decapping my pistol and rifle brass and resize during the reloading process (versus the case prep process). So if I resize and deprime during case prep, then all I have to do on the reloading press is prime, charge, seat and crimp?

Resizing IS part of the case prep process. Tumble your brass before resizing, as dirt can scratch both your case and your die. Trim after resizing, as the resizing is what makes the case "grow".

And yes, once you've done the case prep, all you have to do is prime, charge, and seat (crimp if you desire). This is why getting a progressive press for bottleneck rifle cartridges doesn't really save much time. The time consuming case prep process takes place mostly away from the press.

Leadingall
10-11-2014, 6:33 AM
This is what I do:

Tumble
lube and resize/deprime
Tumble
Trim/deburr/chamfer and clean primer pocket
Load

Simple and easy.
This is super clear and easy, thanks

Resizing IS part of the case prep process. Tumble your brass before resizing, as dirt can scratch both your case and your die. Trim after resizing, as the resizing is what makes the case "grow".

And yes, once you've done the case prep, all you have to do is prime, charge, and seat (crimp if you desire). This is why getting a progressive press for bottleneck rifle cartridges doesn't really save much time. The time consuming case prep process takes place mostly away from the press.
I get that resizing is part of case prep, but with pistol its always been done on my reloading progressive during the actual remanufacturing of the cartridge. For my rifle case stuff I want to stick with a single stage for case prep so I think I'll move my resize and deprime to the single stage and run the reloading press as prime, charge, seat, and crimp. Thanks man.

TimRB
10-11-2014, 7:10 AM
What is that #6 step, "swage" all about? I don't do anything like that.

Tim

foxtrotuniformlima
10-11-2014, 7:27 AM
What is that #6 step, "swage" all about? I don't do anything like that.

Tim

It makes the primer pocket uniform. Needed if you are using military brass that had a crimped primer. Not so important if using commercial brass.

foxtrotuniformlima
10-11-2014, 7:30 AM
As for my prep, here is my order:

1. Tumble for about 20 min to clean
2. Lube / Re-size/De-prime
3. Tumble (to clean off lube) again, about 20 min
4. Trim/Chamfer/De-Burr on Gracey Trimmer
5. Tumble for about 4 hours - bright and shinny and remove any brass shavings
6. Load

8mmFMJ
10-11-2014, 7:42 AM
Mines always the same.

Tumble off desert dust.
Lube.
Deprime, resize. (Why tumble here? Just start trimming the dirty oily brass!)
Trim/Chamfer.
Tumble.
Reprime and load up.




Edit: I just read that most of you are tumbling after deprime.....why? The lube from resizing is great for trimming.

8mmFMJ
10-11-2014, 8:03 AM
Maybe this is why all my brass is loaded up and I'm contemplating firing my last factory ammo just so I can reload it :p

I'm just too fast. :D

J-cat
10-11-2014, 8:23 AM
Deprime

Stainless tumble

Square the casehead if necessary

Cut out the crimp

Swage the primer pocket

Size

Stainless tumble again

Measure

Trim to 1.765" if necessary

Debur

Weight sort

Jon Road King
10-11-2014, 8:44 AM
Maybe this is why all my brass is loaded up and I'm contemplating firing my last factory ammo just so I can reload it :p


LOL! I hear that.

bigedp51
10-11-2014, 8:59 AM
Leadingall

Deprime the cases, remove the crimp and check your primer pocket diameter for oversized primer pockets before anything else.

All the factory loaded .223/5.56 cases below in my scrap brass bucket have oversized primer pockets after the first firing. There is no sense in doing all the steps above if you end up with loose primer pockets.

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o254/bigedp51/193natorejects001_zps87560a0a.jpg

Federal is well known for soft brass and the Lake City cases that Federal uses for its XM193 are seconds or rejects that failed military quality control. On top of this the military standards for their cases requires the base of the case be harder than commercial civilian .223 cases.

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o254/bigedp51/193nato001_zpsf7b50cad.jpg

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o254/bigedp51/hardness-a_zps8d54ad66.jpg

After removing the primer crimp I use two pin gauges as GO, NO-GO gauges to check the primer pockets. If the case fails this test nothing more is done to the case and it goes in the scrap brass bucket.

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o254/bigedp51/looseprimer005_zps7fe118e2.jpg

After I seat the primer I check them again using a Lee depriming tool and if the primer can be pushed out of the primer pocket with just finger pressure it is junked.

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o254/bigedp51/looseprimer004_zps1cb656b2.jpg

Below are the results on a AR15 rifle with loose primer pockets and sloppy reloading. The person who posted this picture said the bolt is easy to replace so he doesn't bother checking his primer pockets.

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o254/bigedp51/coltbolt-1_zps146f5233.jpg

I was given three five gallon buckets full of .223/5.56 once fired brass fired by our local police departments. And some of this cheaper practice ammunition are seconds and rejects so check your cases. And the last thing you need is to do a lot of prep work on your cases and then have to toss them in the scrap brass bucket.

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o254/bigedp51/halfdone_zps8557fc4b.jpg

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o254/bigedp51/bucketsofbrass_zps6927af18.jpg

8mmFMJ
10-11-2014, 9:04 AM
Wow big ed. Good post for match grade reloading. But that takes so much time. If the primer goes in too easily I push it out and toss the brass. I've never checked the width if the pocket one time. But I do throw out brass that has loose pockets. I guess it's all in the way the primer feels going in. You have a proper reloading process, I just don't think I could spend my time like that on each case. :D

The lee trimmer setup on a drill takes no time to trim and chamfer, so if I end up trimming a case just to toss it, so be it. That only happens 1 out of 150 or so. Not often enough for me to check em with a gauge.

Good post though.

emptybottle151
10-11-2014, 9:06 AM
I do things weird and I'll probably get yelled at but here is what I do with .223/5.56 brass

First I separate once fired brass from my reloads and each has its own process.

One fired
1) lube
2) Full length resize and deprimed
3) Swage
4) Wet tumble and dry
5) Mesure case length. If its within tolerances I it tossed into the "plinking pile" if its too long it gets trimmed and tossed into the "reload testing pile"
6) trim
Finally the brass is separated by headspace and go through the normal reloading process of primed, charged, seat and crimp.

Reloads are the same minus the swaging.

8mmFMJ
10-11-2014, 9:11 AM
*if I push the primer in and wonder "was there a primer in line?," just to flip it over and see a primer fully seated...Then the brass gets tossed.



Good stuff, good thread. I'm interested to see all the different reloading steps that can be taken to ensure higher quality performance then factory.

Jimi Jah
10-11-2014, 9:31 AM
How do you get local police departments to give you free brass?

jp1911
10-11-2014, 9:45 AM
Can't add anything on process mine is the same as everyone else. Two things I can recommend is a stuck case remover, and have a couple extra deprimer pins on hand. Murphy sometimes shows up at the worst time.

bigedp51
10-11-2014, 10:32 AM
;)Wow big ed. Good post for match grade reloading. But that takes so much time. If the primer goes in too easily I push it out and toss the brass. I've never checked the width if the pocket one time. But I do throw out brass that has loose pockets. I guess it's all in the way the primer feels going in. You have a proper reloading process, I just don't think I could spend my time like that on each case. :D

Good post though.

If you check the primer pocket first, you don't have to seat a primer and then push it back out again. And I do not have or use a progressive press and a softer .223 case fired in a AR15 that is over gassed can and will cause problems and can even cause the primer to fall out completely and jam the trigger group. The military crimped the primers for a reason and reloaders do not recrimp on a bolt that is moving to the rear while there is still pressure in the barrel.

I also load for my two sons AR15 rifles and I don't want dear old Dad blamed for an eroded bolt face. ;) Besides I'm retired with nothing to do and all day to do it. :D

MrElectric03
10-11-2014, 12:11 PM
My method on my xl650:

Lube
Deprime(die is set high so it doesn't size but bushing on the Decap rod straightens the case neck if it's out of round)
Swage
FL size and trim with a dillon RT1200
Station 5 has another size die set high to debut the inside of the case neck.
Tumble(removes any missed brass shavings, dirt, grime, and lube)
Then gets stored and is ready to load.

S&S
10-12-2014, 8:37 AM
My way

Tumble
de-prime/re-size in one step
clean off lube
military crimp remover on primer pocket
pocket cleaner
trim to length with a Lee Case trimmer cutter & lock stud attached to my RCBS case prep center.
de-burr neck on prep center
Ready to load.........about 10 to 15 seconds from crimp remove to de-burr