[moooose102]

i just purchased a couple of bags of brand new winchester reloading brass for my 300 win mag and 223. since all i have ever loaded in the past was previously fired brass, i have a question. the brass seems quite slippery, and my question is this. is this a resizing lubricant? i know i need to run a resizing die over them prior to loading them, i need to know if i need to lube the cases or if this is a factory lubricant that was meant for this purpose. actually, i just thought of an second question, do i need to clean these with some kind of solvent prior to loading them? if this is a lubricant, will this affect the powder inside the brass? thanks, d.s.

[cdrt]

I would lube them before trying to size. Whatever is on the cases, is probably not enough to properly lube them. I don't think you need to clean them inside, but you could check by running a q-tip or something inside the case and see what comes out.

[moosehunt]

One additional thing that needs to be done with new brass, at least with most brands, is to debur the flash hole on the inside. This is important because most have the holes punched, but a few, Norma being one, are drilled and deburring is not necessary.

[rcmodel]

I tend to think inside deburring the flash-hole is optional.

Do it if you want too, but the world isn't going to come to an end if you don't.

I don't even own a flash-hole deburring tool, and have never deburred a flash hole in my life, and my loads seem to shoot pretty darn well.

New brass should be at least neck sized.
It usually has a few dinged necks and such from transportation.
And I would for sure lube them lightly before doing it.

You should also inside chamfer the necks to get rid of any sharp edges that might scrape a bullet during seating.

Probably whatever factory lube is still on them will get wiped off during handling during those two operations.

rcmodel

[moosehunt]

Oh, I know deburring the flash hole isn't necessary, but since I started doing it, I am pretty satisfied that at least the first loading is better. Certainly after it's been fired twice, and usually just once, the gain is gone. And it depends on the lot. Name the manufacturer, it doesn't matter, I've had lots that had a bunch of big burrs, other lots with virtually none.

Also, I have several times found that the new brass needed trimming, consequently I always go through that. Admittedly, lots of times it doesn't need it, but I've found enough times that it did for me to go ahead and check 'em all.

[moooose102]

well, i did clean the flash holes, kind of unconventionalyy though. i simply used a drill bit and gave it 3 turns by hand, it definitly does remove at least some of the burr. i full length sized them (and yes, i did lube them), chamfered in and outside of the case necks, checked for trim length. to my suprise about 1/4 of them were very close to max length. one thing that really suprized me though, was the difference in the primer pockets. how some were very tight, and some were much looser. i always assumed this was due to pressures from previous firings. most were middle of the road, and i don't feel uncomfortable about any of them. it was just suprising to have so much varience in new brass. when i was done, with case prep, i washed them in HOT soapy water and rinsed them 5 times and dried them in the oven. thanks for the advise guys. d.s.

[Doug b]

Mr. Moooose102 what you felt on the casings was probably jewelers rouge from the factory polish.A few min. in the tumbler or a quick wipe with a cotton cloth would have been enough to remove it if you felt the need.Drying in the oven has the potential to change the temper,a hair dryer set on a cooler setting with a watchful eye may be better and save electrics.

[moosehunt]

Certainly a good point about the oven. Your brass should never get too hot to hold in your bare mits, otherwise you risk altering metal integrity. Of course we're not referring to the neck and annealling here, but the entire case.

[moooose102]

i pre-heated the oven to 250 degrees f., turned it off, then put the brass in untill it was cold, i can't imagine it got hot enough to do any harm at these temps, could it? all i was attempting to do was dry out the water, which boils @ 212 f. and actually, the reason i washed it was to make sure i got rid of all the case sizing lube and BRASS PARTICLES FROM DEBURRING/CHAMFERING.

[moosehunt]

No, I'd say you're fine. 250F might be pushing it if the brass got that hot, but you turned it off first--good move. In the summer, I just set 'em in the sun (now that's rocket science, ain't it), in the winter I set 'em on the stove cause it's always going anyway, but check them often and when they start getting slightly less than comfortable to hold, I'd guess maybeso 125F, I take 'em off.