Size first or prime first?

Resize as it decaps and reprime on the downstroke

It never even crossed my mind to prime before all the prep and inspections are finished.

My steps are with once fired brass are; deprime, clean, size, trim to length, champher inside & out at case mouth, tumble to remove sizing lube, inspect & check for crimped primers, swag primer pockets if needed, prime, load powder, & load bullets.
New brass it's good to do a quick clean before you run it through the sizer to protect your sizing die from any grit it may have picked up from the factory.

It’s a moot point if properly using a progressive loader. To do any step out of order, size, decap then prime negates the use of a progressive press for its intended use.

If using single stage equipment the order hardly matters. IMO.

docbrown said:

Size, trim, prime.

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Absolutely, positively. The safest way.

Darth-Vang said:

Do you prime the case first or resize first? Or does it hardly matter at all in that first step?

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I resize first. Tumble - corn/no polish, decap, sort, inspect, tumble - walnut/with polish, resize, then decide if it gets stored - and how it gets stored - or if it gets primed and loaded.

I clean cases, decap/rezsize, flare the neck of a handgun case, then prime.

Many times I’ll set up a bunch of cases this way in plastic Folgers cans, primed and ready for powder and bullet. Then when I get an itch to load, I’ll pull the can with the cases I want to load and get to it .


Stay safe.

Priming a case happens right before adding powder and a bullet. If powder and bullet aren't happening, then priming doesn't happen. I like keeping my primers as a raw material, ready for whichever caliber I'm going to load at he moment.

I do all the brass prepping in batches and store it ready to go.

As always, I remain glad that I learned handloading before the advent of the internet.

.38 Special said:

As always, I remain glad that I learned handloading before the advent of the internet.

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I'll second that.

WeekendReloader said:

. If powder and bullet aren't happening, then priming doesn't happen.

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I am also not a fan of having primed cases sitting around, but I also reload from start to finish, I don't stop somewhere in the middle.

If I have a large lot of once fired brass to process I like to deprime the whole lot, clean batches that fit my vibrator, then do the rest of the mechanical and inspection processes. Since I may load different bullet and powders I then drop to smaller batches for prime, powder and bullet.

Deprime > clean > size > trim > chamfer/deburr/remove crimp if present > brush neck/pocket > clean again > prime > load. That's my process. Perhaps a bit overboard, but I have plenty of chances to handle and inspect each case. As much as I'd like to load and shoot in large amounts, I'm just not there yet.

Phantom 309 said:

Deprime > clean > size > trim > chamfer/deburr/remove crimp if present > brush neck/pocket > clean again > prime > load. That's my process. Perhaps a bit overboard, but I have plenty of chances to handle and inspect each case. As much as I'd like to load and shoot in large amounts, I'm just not there yet.

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It's more important to maintain your quality than increase your volume. You only have 10 fingers 2 hands and 1 face.

So as I have been posting in the "What you doing" thread I am in the middle of reaming and uniforming about 500 LC 223 primer pockets. So in order to do this I deprime first with a universal die. After this I will size this brass and then trim it and then it will go back into the corn cob before being finished loading.

My pistol brass isn't as picky, wet wash, then load it on the progressive, start to finish.

Deprime/size, prepare case (remove crimp if needed, trim, chamfer/deburr neck) then prime. Why is this even a question? To the OP, read at least one reloading manual, Lee's is the one I recommend.

AJC1 said:

It's more important to maintain your quality than increase your volume. You only have 10 fingers 2 hands and 1 face.

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Oh yeah? I know a lot of two-faced so and so’s

WeekendReloader said:

Priming a case happens right before adding powder and a bullet. If powder and bullet aren't happening, then priming doesn't happen. I like keeping my primers as a raw material, ready for whichever caliber I'm going to load at he moment.

I do all the brass prepping in batches and store it ready to go.

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Size/prime batches of 50 or 100 on separate/single stage press as a separate step whether or not I plan to move on. Therefore, usually have a couple hundred primed/sized cases standing by ready to charge w/Uniflow then load on T-7.

I see a few folks who size before tumbling/cleaning. As stated I use a universal to deprime, then clean, then prime etc..

I was taught to clean/tumble before resizing, brass that has not been cleaned (tumbled in my case) could scratch dies or cause brass to bind when resizing. So, question is, for those that size before cleaning/tumbling, are you seeing any issues, scratches on dies, binding etc when reloading pistol?

I also feel resizing and then retrimming really only applies to rifle as you may need to trim after resizing. I have not noticed a lot of growth in straight wall pistol brass even after a few reloads, have others seen growth?

d

Where did the OP go??

webrx said:

have others seen growth?

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I have trimmed a bunch of mixed headstamp 38SP brass that I acquired as used/once fired after seeing a lot of crimp quality issues caused by varying lengths. Once they are trimmed and chamfered, and reloaded, they stay in their 50/box lot quantities so they do not need re-trimmed. Then case mouths are belled, then cases primed, powder, bullet, crimped.

Darth-Vang said:

Still here. Learning from the good folks.

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Mea culpa. My post should have had the usual disclaimer: Don't do what I do. What works for me probably won't work for you or 90% of the known Universe so, don't do me.

On the other hand, sometimes the best lesson is the bad example - and that's me all over!

I am anal when it comes to my rifle brass, but no so much for my pistol brass and shotgun hulls. But regardless of which, I decap first, clean and inspect and then they get put in the Ready To Load containers.

Bob

My sizing die also deprimes so I really wouldn't want to prime first. I clean with walnut, then size and deprime, then clean with corn cob and Franklin brass polish, then prime.