Processing brass in Bulk

[JC Smith]

3/16" thick?? Mine are 1/4". I bought a package of the new, smaller, 1" lock nuts for just that reason. They were the same thickness (actually even a few thousandths thicker) as the old 1.125 nuts. I thought about trying to mill one down a little but then I saw that Dillon was coming out with the new, milled out tool head so I just waited until they became available. The last Dillon die I bought just recently still has a 1/4" thick lock nut (but of course it's the new 1" size).

[Dianne]

We've just got done building a machine capable of stainless steel media tumbing 18 gallons of brass at one time. We build it to industrial standards. Here is the YouTube video link: http://youtu.be/L3ymnUGzf68
A VFD controls the motor and converts single phase 120 into 3 Phase 240 for the motor. It has a timer, forward/backward control so you can reverse direction, a variable speed control, and emergency off switch.

[383green]

I have a lot of once-fired military .30-06 brass that I've been collecting over many years of shooting surplus ammo through my Garand and M1903, with plans to reload it someday. I have a Dillon RL550B that I've used for some .38 special reloading, and a Hornady Lock-n-Load single-stage. I've decided to finally get around to reloading that .30-06 brass, and I have dies, another toolhead and a caliber conversion kit on the way from Dillon. I don't plan to make match ammo. I'd just like to work up an M2 ball equivalent load for plinking at the range, minus the primer crimp and neck seal. So, I'm considering how to apply the knowledge in this cool thread to the equipment I have.

I figure that my once-fired brass will probably need more attention the first time I reload it, to get rid of the primer pocket crimps and get all of the cases consistent in length, right? I have a Lee decapping die and an RCBS primer pocket swager die. Since my RL550B just has 4 stations, I figure that my routine will be more labor-intensive than OP's deluxe setup, and I'm considering doing all the initial case prep in my single-stage press. I'd like to run the procedure that I come up with by the experts for sanity checking, but I have a couple of basic questions first:

1) Will the Dillon RT1500 trimmer work ok on my single-stage Hornady Lock-n-Load for resizing .30-06 brass? It seems to me that it should, but I'm not positive about that.

2) Is case trimming necessary every single time? Or can I do that less frequently after the first reloading of once-fired surplus brass, assuming I'm re-re-loading my own previously trimmed cases, using a light crimp, and resizing only enough to run the ammo through my own rifles?

[JC Smith]

1) I see no reason why your Dillon trimmer won't work on your single-stage Hornady press for .30-06 but you might consider just setting up another 550B toolhead with your trimmer on it. It's quicker to use than a single stage even if you are only using it to resize and trim. Also it gives you the option of using a lube die.

2) Depending on how much you trim and what type of expander you are using you may not have to trim every time you reload those cases. A couple things you could do to minimize the frequency of trimmimg would be to use a Lyman M die for case neck expanding (it doesn't stretch the case like some expanders will when you pull them back out of the case body) or try using an RCBS X die. You'll have to trim another .010" off the case necks the first time you trim but after that the X die is supposed to keep the cases from "growing" beyond the maximum length. I'm trying it with .223 and so far it is working but I have not reloaded the same cases enough times to say for sure I'll never have to trim again.

[383green]

If I process all of the cases first on one toolhead with a lube die and the trimmer die, then is there any need to re-tumble or re-lube the cases again before I run them through the loading cycle on another toolhead? With only four stations, I don't think I could include a power trimmer in the loading toolhead. I guess I would need to inspect the cases and hand-deburr as needed after the trim cycle. I ordered a Dillon carbide rifle die set. I do not have any sort of case trimmer yet, but trimming referenced to the case head seems like a good idea, particularly for my once-fired military brass.

Edited to add: I still expect that I would decap, tumble and pocket swage the once-fired brass on the single-stage press just once initially, but not as part of my regular reloading cycle.

[ar15barrels]

1) Will the Dillon RT1500 trimmer work ok on my single-stage Hornady Lock-n-Load for resizing .30-06 brass?

2) Is case trimming necessary every single time?

1) Yes, but the dillon trimmer does NOT expand case necks. You will need to do that separately before the cases are ready to have bullets seated in them.

2) No. Only when the cases need it. In my automated process, it's easier to trim them then to measure them. In your single stage method, it's easier to measure them then to trim them.

[ar15barrels]

If I process all of the cases first on one toolhead with a lube die and the trimmer die, then is there any need to re-tumble or re-lube the cases again before I run them through the loading cycle on another toolhead? With only four stations, I don't think I could include a power trimmer in the loading toolhead. I guess I would need to inspect the cases and hand-deburr as needed after the trim cycle. I ordered a Dillon carbide rifle die set. I do not have any sort of case trimmer yet, but trimming referenced to the case head seems like a good idea, particularly for my once-fired military brass.

Edited to add: I still expect that I would decap, tumble and pocket swage the once-fired brass on the single-stage press just once initially, but not as part of my regular reloading cycle.

I re-tumble the cases after trimming for two reasons: first to remove the lube and second to deburr the cases. The tumbling knocks off an brass shavings that might be hanging on to the case mouth.

When the time comes to load them, get an rcbs decapping die and the decapping/expanding stem from an RCBS sizing die and run that in station #1.
That will knock the media out of the flash hole and expand the necks so that they are ready to hold a bullet.

[383green]

Why do you recommend the RCBS deprime die instead of the Dillon deprime/resize die from the 3-die Dillon set? I guess that would eliminate an extra resize cycle if I've already resized the case in the trim die. The first station shouldn't be working the case walls any more since the case is already resized, but lube would still be needed to avoid sticking if I used a regular resize die instead of the deprime die, right?

But if I measure instead of trimming, and presumably only need to trim every few reloading cycles, then I'd think that a regular resizing die would make more sense in station 1.

All of this would be different if I had a progressive with more stations, but I got this RL550B from a friend for a good price, so four stations is what I have.

[JC Smith]

If you use #24 grit, Fine, media (crushed walnut hull from Harbor Freight, sold as "sand" blasting media) it won't get stuck in the flash holes and you don't need to use the decapping die a second time. They also sell the "regular" size media (I think it's #12 grit) for the same price and it's a lot cheaper than the stuff sold as reloading supplies. I've used both and can't tell any difference in polishing performance. Hint: Harbor Freight advertises in American Rifleman magazine and they almost always have a "20% off any one item" coupon in their ads.

[383green]

Here's my first draft of my bulk .30-06 reloading procedure. I'd appreciate critique of it.

Initial processing of once-fired military brass (mostly from Greek surplus M2 ball):

1. Deprime with Lee decapping die on single-stage.
2. Tumble thoroughly, making sure primer pockets are clean.
3. Swage off primer crimp with RCBS swage die on single-stage.
4. Resize and trim on progressive with RCBS lube die and Dillon trimmer. Trim to minimum length.
5. Tumble to deburr case mouth.

Reload cycle on 4-station RL500B progressive:

1. Tumble fired brass (not deprimed).
2. Inspect cases and gage case length. Trim only if past max length.
3. Box lube with Dillon spray.
4. Reload with Dillon 3-die set.
5. Visual inspection, spot-check OAL.

My assumptions, which may be dumb:

1. Plinking ammo to be run through my Garand.
2. M2-equivalent load. Or should I work up a lighter load for better brass life?
3. Trim won't be necessary every time.
4. Light bullet crimp.
5. Using Hornady 150gr FMJBT. I've read that proper OAL will result in crimping south of the cannelure.
6. I can skip primer pocket cleaning, except for cleaning before the initial pocket swage of once-fired military brass.

[JC Smith]

If you've got a spare 550 toolhead put your universal decapping die in it and use the 550 to dacap all that brass. It goes a lot faster than with a single stage. You only have to handle each piece of brass once.

[383green]

If you've got a spare 550 toolhead put your universal decapping die in it and use the 550 to dacap all that brass. It goes a lot faster than with a single stage. You only have to handle each piece of brass once.

Does putting brass in the progressive shell plate and turning it to pop out the deprimed brass really save that much motion vs. putting brass into a single stage and manually removing it after the cycle? My first impression is that it would be uncomfortable to load brass into the RL550B with my left hand (its loading stage is on the right side), so I'd be taking my right hand off the lever to load brass. In contrast, I think that with the single stage I could keep my right hand on the lever and handle the brass with my left hand. I guess I could pull a pin and load brass on the left side of the shell plate.

I should try it a few ways and then order another toolhead if I find that it goes faster in the progressive. I don't have my single stage press mounted just yet. I have an extra Dillon mounting base that I plan to adapt to the Hornady press to put both of my presses at the same height. I'll share a picture in the reloading bench picture thread once I have it all put together, at some point in the unpredictable future.

[JC Smith]

I used to decap on an old Rock Chucker and when I tried it on the 550 it went a lot faster. I didn't time it but I'd say it was twice as fast. It's a lot easier to slide a case into the Dillon shell plate than to snap it into a single stage shell holder and you don't have to manually remove each case and then insert another. You could try a dummy run with just the shellplate and some cases, don't need the toolhead for that. I think you'll find it quite a bit faster.

[383green]

Thanks for the suggestion!

[JC Smith]