How far do you take your brass prep?

finnbear270

Well-Known Member
This may be a bit "Anal" for some, :lol: , How far do you take your efforts in preparing your brass for a reload? IE; Flash holes, neck turning, annealing, special dies, bumping shoulders, etc, some of mine, can you tell which is custom & which is just so! :D
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8)
 
ARRRGRHRHRHRH!!! MY EYES!! MY EYES!!! IT"S LIKE STARING AT THE SUN!!!! ;)

Finn! That's a loaded question! For me it all depends on what I'm loading for.

Some things I always do: Trim. Chamfer/deburr. Clean primer pockets. Brush case necks. I often take #0000 steel wool on the case necks. Usually I keep my brass out of the dirt and keep it in clean storage.

I never tumble my cases unless I'm shooting match and that is never, anymore.~Muir
 
I have found I'm becoming increasingly obsessive about cases, both in terms of uniformity and shine ( :oops: ). In my defence, I have a house full of teenagers, so spending as much time as possible locked in my reloading hut is an antidote to a world of 'Whatever!', 'That is like SO unfair!' and all night Call of Duty gaming sessions undertaken by spotty 15 year old geeks...

I tumble all of my brass, having deprimed without resizing, with non-ammonia polish soaked in the media. I re-size the necks with a Redding neck die offering .002" neck tension and bump the shoulders back by around .003-5" with a Redding shoulder / bump die, then I trim it with a Wilson trimmer (I have case holders for fired and unfired brass), chamfer it at 30 degrees and deburr the outside of the neck. I also ream & clean the primer pocket as well as deburring the flash-hole. After seating the bullet by half pressing, turning through 180 degrees and fully seating, I check and adjust run out on a Forster Co-Ax case jig. I've recently acquired a Sinclair neck turner, so I'll be experimenting with that to see if I can improve on any run-out variations, although the Redding dies are very good.

Tragically, I also tend to polish any lube or finger marks off the finished round with 0000 wire wool, using an old Lee Zip Trim device (although this is usually No.2 son's job).

Result: Shiny, shiny rounds. I have no idea if any of the case prep' makes for more accurate rounds but the fact they are as uniform (and shiny) as I can make them keeps me happy and limits the amount of time I have to shout at the children ;)

Adam.
 
I think I probably fit into the 'anal' category

For previously fired cases I:

1) Tumble in walnut/polishing compound for at least 24 hours - removes dirt/powder residue and shows up any cracks/imperfections
2) Resize/decap
3) Trim
4) Clean primer pocket
5) Tumble again in corncob to remove lube and give a nice shiny lustre
6) Don the cotton gloves to avoid sticky fingerprints :oops:
7) Go through them all poking out the media from the flash hole :rolleyes:
8 ) Reload

For new cases I:

1) Resize
2) Trim
3) Uniform primer pocket
4) Tumble
5) Don the cotton gloves to avoid sticky fingerprints :oops:
6) Go through them all poking out the media from the flash hole :rolleyes:
7) Reload

Does it make any difference to how many deer I shoot? No.
Does it give me a warm fuzzy feeling of satisfaction? Yes. :lol:
 
Adamant said:
I have found I'm becoming increasingly obsessive about cases, both in terms of uniformity and shine ( :oops: ). In my defence, I have a house full of teenagers, so spending as much time as possible locked in my reloading hut is an antidote to a world of 'Whatever!', 'That is like SO unfair!' and all night Call of Duty gaming sessions undertaken by spotty 15 year old geeks...

I tumble all of my brass, having deprimed without resizing, with non-ammonia polish soaked in the media. I re-size the necks with a Redding neck die offering .002" neck tension and bump the shoulders back by around .003-5" with a Redding shoulder / bump die, then I trim it with a Wilson trimmer (I have case holders for fired and unfired brass), chamfer it at 30 degrees and deburr the outside of the neck. I also ream & clean the primer pocket as well as deburring the flash-hole. After seating the bullet by half pressing, turning through 180 degrees and fully seating, I check and adjust run out on a Forster Co-Ax case jig. I've recently acquired a Sinclair neck turner, so I'll be experimenting with that to see if I can improve on any run-out variations, although the Redding dies are very good.

Tragically, I also tend to polish any lube or finger marks off the finished round with 0000 wire wool, using an old Lee Zip Trim device (although this is usually No.2 son's job).

Result: Shiny, shiny rounds. I have no idea if any of the case prep' makes for more accurate rounds but the fact they are as uniform (and shiny) as I can make them keeps me happy and limits the amount of time I have to shout at the children ;)

Adam.
Adam,
The Devil makes work. You seriously need to intersperse all this polishing with a little shooting ;) :lol: :lol: you know? really get interested in stalking etc, have a bit of a break it will do you the world of good.
See you Saturday.
John.
 
how far do you take your brass prep

Adam When I start with 100 cases they are weighed on a digital scale then batched into .003 grain weight groups and kept in separate boxes for reloading. I use lapua cases,when loaded for first fire they run out approx .005", when resized and reloaded they run out under .002".

how long is a piece of string!!

Jim
 
vizslamad said:
Adam,
The Devil makes work. You seriously need to intersperse all this polishing with a little shooting ;) :lol: :lol: you know? really get interested in stalking etc, have a bit of a break it will do you the world of good.
See you Saturday.
John.

Oi you sarky git! I'll have you know that one of those self same super-shiny-and-oh-so-accurate rounds knocked over a very nice Fallow doe from a very respectable 185 yards this evening.

I'm just about to hoik her out of the truck and fire up the chiller (not to mention hose out the gallon of blood I seem to have spread everywhere when gralloching as the light disappeared, trying to hold a torch between my teeth* :oops: ). It's venison for Christmas dinner after all :D :D

I've been practicing for Saturday - I reckon my shots to pheasant ratio is now a stunning one bird per 75 shots :rolleyes: :oops: :oops:

Adam.




Note to self - remember to buy batteries for the three headlamps that were stoed in my truck. Doh!
 
Adamant said:
vizslamad said:
Adam,
The Devil makes work. You seriously need to intersperse all this polishing with a little shooting ;) :lol: :lol: you know? really get interested in stalking etc, have a bit of a break it will do you the world of good.
See you Saturday.
John.

Oi you sarky git! I'll have you know that one of those self same super-shiny-and-oh-so-accurate rounds knocked over a very nice Fallow doe from a very respectable 185 yards this evening.

I'm just about to hoik her out of the truck and fire up the chiller (not to mention hose out the gallon of blood I seem to have spread everywhere when gralloching as the light disappeared, trying to hold a torch between my teeth* :oops: ). It's venison for Christmas dinner after all :D :D

I've been practicing for Saturday - I reckon my shots to pheasant ratio is now a stunning one bird per 75 shots :rolleyes: :oops: :oops:

Adam.




Note to self - remember to buy batteries for the three headlamps that were stoed in my truck. Doh!
Ad, get yourself a head torch! :lol:
 
Sorry Guy's / Gals, Mrs Finnbear is in full flight dressing the tree with all the shiny bits, so it's time to head for the hills(read gunroom)!, yup it happens every year! (read chicken with head cut off!) :lol: So I thought I'd prep the recently discharged, (really must get something for this digestive transit malady), just a few more recruits for filling!
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OOOPSS!, thats her shiny stuff! :)
 
Why don't you hang some of those bright shiny empty cases on the tree! Good talking point for guests and bring a 'oneness' into the Christmas home. Or it could mean that you get banished to the gunroom which may be a result!

Merry Christmas

Bob
 
I shoot a lot down the running moose range useing S&B FMJ .308 .
I save the cases i need for reloading. I full lenght resize, trim and deburr.
The S&B primers seem to leave no crud so the primer pocket is always nice and clean.
I only reload them once and then bin the them.
 
Bob said:
Why don't you hang some of those bright shiny empty cases on the tree! Good talking point for guests and bring a 'oneness' into the Christmas home. Or it could mean that you get banished to the gunroom which may be a result!

Merry Christmas

Bob
LURV this one! 8)
 
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