Need to resize new brass?

I've been told to !always! resize new brass. And I buy pretty much exclusively Starline brass.

Very often new brass is just about perfect, no resizing necessary.

But...

It shouldn't surprise me, the bad handling brass gets from the shipping dock to your doorstep.
Stepped on. Neck bent. Abused. Nicked case mouth. Wet. Contaminated. Or just plain bad.
Now, Starline is way better than most. But the UPS man still steps on the package.
It's not the point of manufacture that worries me. It's the trip to the wholesaler/retailer to my door. Brutal.

So I resize them all. Because my ammo is really good. Despite the best (or worst) efforts of UPS and the rest of them.

brewer12345 said:

This may be a dumb question, but if I buy factory new brass, say Starline 44 mag, do I need to resize it?

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Did you measure it? I always do a full resize on new brass. Then again I generally I do a full resize on brass out of pretty much all my guns, with the exception of most of my bolt actions.
Even if the brass is new, it doesn't mean its the correctly sized from the factory. Also, I've noticed dings and folds in the case mouth and along the neck right out of the bag that I like to smooth out as well.

Did it come in a bag? Resize it. Did it come in a box where each case is in its individual little cocoon, like loaded ammo? Eh, I'd probable resize it anyway, just to be sure.

Not only do I resize it, I tumble it too. New brass is sticky in the dies otherwise.

From Starline FAQ

Generally speaking, Starline cases require no resizing prior to loading. Due to variances in diameter of different bullet types, it is a good practice to size the case only as far down as the bullet seating depth. When full length sizing is required, it will be noted in the box with the brass. The only Starline cases requiring full length sizing prior to loading are the .454 Casull, .458 SOCOM, and sometimes the .45 Colt(Depending on the bullet diameter to be used).

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Treat the new brass same as the old brass: clean, resize (or at least neck size), and trim to a standard overall length.

I always resize. I havent tumbled, and since I wet tumble with pins I dont know if it would help, but those new Starline cases are sticky in the die!

Russellc

Not only do I resize but I also run a neck brush through it and lightly chamfer the mouth. Some new brass is pretty sharp at the mouth and can scrape the bullet as it's being seated.

The only new rifle brass I have not ever sized prior to loading has been Lapua brass. All others get FL sizing. Depending which mfg once you inspect the brass you have have some rejects. I was teaching my neighbor how to hand load and he bought some new brass for his 223R. Found 2 pieces where the brass had lamination at the base. He was going to toss them, I told him to contact the mfg. The mfg QC person wanted to inspect the brass so he mailed them in. About 5 days letter he gets a email thanking him and sent him another 100 for his effort.

For pistol brass you need to inspect them as a minimum. Like already said the shippers handling the package can be very hard on them. Most of the damage would be the in the mouths/neck area.

With new bottleneck rifle brass I use a dedicated neck expanding mandrel (NOT the expanding plug in a sizing die.) to iron out dents and uniform the neck ID to correct dimension. Also check length for cases to case uniformity and trim if necessary and then chamfer. But FIRST of all with every new lot of brass I, or the people I work with, spot check cases for head squareness. If squareness is out of spec the entire lot is rejected and returned. Also, as a matter of curiosity, how many who claim they run new brass through a full length sizing die have actually made a casting of the die and checked and confirmed its dimensions?

Offfhand said:

Also, as a matter of curiosity, how many who claim they run new brass through a full length sizing die have actually made a casting of the die and checked and confirmed its dimensions?

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I haven't and maybe I'm missing something, but why should I when I can measure the brass that comes out of the die?

absolutely.

I treat new brass the same as I treat used brass maybe not necessary but don't want any problems. I have heard it's a good practice to resize new pistol brass as sometimes rough handling can get it slightly out of round.

Years ago I did not resize new brass BUT after getting a number of cases stuck going into the chamber ---now I resize & clean & polish all new brass

"...Very often new brass is just about perfect..." Nope. New brass is never anywhere near perfect. All new brass requires checking for length, trimming/chamfering and deburring as require(highly unlikely any need though) and FL resizing(no neck sizing only at all. That's only for cases fired out of that particular rifle's chamber). Bottle necked cases require chamfering the inside of the case mouths anyway.

Sunray wrote:
...if I buy factory new brass, say Starline 44 mag, do I need to resize it?

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Here's a link to what Starline has to say about the subject: https://www.starlinebrass.com/faqs/

And while I don't want to dispute people who know a whole lot more about brass than I ever will, I always resize any brass that I haven't already resized "out of an abundance of caution". As I see it, there's no point getting an FTF or bullet set back trying to save the time that goes into resizing. And while I know that each trip through the re-sizer die does work the brass, 1) if the brass is already resized, it's not receiving that much cold work, and 2) all of my brass gets "lost in the weeds" long before it experiences failures due to cold working.

tcoz said:

Not only do I resize but I also run a neck brush through it and lightly chamfer the mouth. Some new brass is pretty sharp at the mouth and can scrape the bullet as it's being seated.

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Yup, especially on rifle brass and non boat tail bullets. Couple of twists with a Lyman VLD (very low drag) chamfer tool.

Russellc

Carl N. Brown said:

Treat the new brass same as the old brass: clean, resize (or at least neck size), and trim to a standard overall length.

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Amen - Winchester brass was the worst for me with needing to be trimmed right from the get go, .223 and 7.62x39mm.

I agree with the other guys. while i havent found any cases that were dangerous, alot of the are dented, and/or a little long. I use the same steps for new brass as old, sans the cleaning.

These are also good reasons why I don't feel it's wise to buy primed brass. You might save a few pennies over priming it yourself but I don't like the idea of prepping already primed brass.

I just bought some Starline .45-70 brass and it was definitely reduced a few thousandths by my (RCBS) sizing die.

If you look at the big commercial reloading machines the major ammo manufacturers use there's always a sizing station early in the process, and they're using new brass. I think resizing new brass makes a lot of sense.

Captaingyro said:

If you look at the big commercial reloading machines the major ammo manufacturers use there's always a sizing station early in the process, and they're using new brass.

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This statement contradicts itself, new brass isn't reloaded, as reloading occurs after brass has been previously used. Perhaps the poser is referring to commercial reloaders like Black Hills and others who do of course have a sizing operation for recycled brass before reloading. As to main ammo manufacturers, I've seen many thousands of rounds loaded at Federal, Remington and Winchester, plus some European firms, and the cases are loaded as they come from the shops where the brass cases are drawn and formed.