Loading new brass

I do.

Bulk packed new brass often has flattened case necks etc from bouncing around intransit.

rc

rc is right as usual. New brass is often too long as well out of round. Size, measure, trim if needed to your chamber.

Are you loading rilfe or pistol? Rifle I'd say full length size as the case mouths may be dented from shipping,this is for bottle neck cartridges BTW as they don't have an die that expands the case mouth to seat the bullet. Straight wall cases are a different story,you could probably skip full length sizing but I wouldn't do it and I've been reloading for the better part of 40 yrs.

I always process new brass the same as once fired. They use the boxes for soccer practice in shipping, so they need to be brought back to "new" before loading.

Hope this helps.

Fred

^^^^^ That's what I do. Just because it's new does not mean every thing is the same.

Check to see if it chambers and only size what is damaged, or out of spec', then chamfer-deburr if needed, no need to work it more, it'll wear out soon enough.

I have learned the hard way to run ALL new brass thru a sizing die.

I don't fl size new brass, i do run the expander ball through the neck to true them up.

DM

I full length size new brass and deburr it.

I always resize, trim (bottlenecked rifle), debur, and chamfer.

I neck size it.

I neck size it.

Click to expand...

That may work fine in many cases. (And works the brass less.)

Are you concerned that not full length sizing, you may not accurately be able to gauge trim length?

Most of the new brass that I have used has been winchester and often it is shorter than I really wanted. I Partially FL resize new brass to straighten out the neck and case mouth and then trim that batch to a uniform length. I also check every round to make sure it will chamber.

On the very rare occasion that I use new brass, yes, I fl resize.
I've seen too many cases with mouths that are NOT round.

RugerOldArmy said:

That may work fine in many cases. (And works the brass less.)

Are you concerned that not full length sizing, you may not accurately be able to gauge trim length?

Click to expand...

I guess I should have added that if too long, I trim them.

Yes.

I am in the "yes" crowd. The brass I have bought tends to be beat up from shipping so it needs a good uniforming.

Depends on the quality of brass, laupa never touch it on first reload, new
LC brass good to go, Hornady mostly good,the rest needs work.

I don't know if it's necessary, doubt it. But I always resize and trim, it gets them started out consistently.
GS

Given that everyone I have knowledge of ( brassmakers) suggest FL sizing before use...it can't be a bad thing. I have never bought lapua in unopened containers, and can't attest to their instructions.

Lapua brass is about the best out there, I still FL resize it when ordering new brass. Then chamfer and deburr it, always have any other brass, not going to stop with theirs.

I FL size everything. I haven't caught on to neck sizing yet. I have reloaded an honest 2500-3000 pistol and probably 500-600 rifle rounds so I'm still in the infancy stage. I have never used a L.E. Wilson cartridge gauge or an RCBS mic gauge either. I don't have a concentricity gauge and I don't weigh my brass. I want to take my reloading to the next level some day soon. I plan to purchase a rifle that I hope will get me into bench rest shooting up to 500 yards while waiting for hunting season. To answer your question, what works for me is to FL size every piece of brass I process. New brass, especially revolver pistol hunting ammo, also gets a shave and a haircut as I like to keep them uniform and separated from the rest of the flock. I do get complements on my ammo; "I like that crimp" "nice looking brass" "nice fireball" "very accurate" and I appreciate the fact many people see that I take pride in my work. I wouldn't skip a step to save a little time if in the back of my mind I thought I could have done reasonably better in the final product.

Winnie Brass

Funny one of the posters in this thread mentioned Winchester brass being short...

I just finished a 500-round "put-away" loading project for my M1 Garand; almost all the Winchester virgin brass (same lot) was just shy of my trim-to length. Also, many cases had mouths that weren't "square", if you know what I mean. Not really a problem with the length, as it was very slight and the seating still left the mouth in the cannalure, but still...

Is this production trim just the way it goes these days, from them???