Question on pre-primed brass

Buzznrose

Buzznrose

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I have around 140 primed .357 mag brass I got from a friend. The brass was his uncles (he passed in 2008). He loaded on a single stage Redding. I do not know how he primed cases.

I was thinking of loading it soon.

Right now, my Dillon 550C is set up for large primers and I’m not really wanting to swap it back to small primers…but will if needed.

So a couple questions…

1. I’m unsure if this brass need to be resized? Is there an easy way to tell? Is it as simple as checking it in the cylinder of my revolver?

2. If I need to resize, will the empty large primer tool be an issue? I really don’t see how it would as long as I don’t press the handle forward to the “seat primer” position.

Probably stuff I should already know and think I am probably good but just want to make sure.
Thanks!

Have a safe Memorial Day and remember those military and first responders who died serving us both home and overseas.
 
Since you’re using a progressive press, assumedly with the usual sizing die in station one, why not just pull the decapping pin and size the brass whether it needs it or not? It won’t add any strokes to the process after the first case. It works for me when I load pre-primed pistol brass. ymmv
 
higgite said:
Since you’re using a progressive press, assumedly with the usual sizing die in station one, why not just pull the decapping pin and size the brass whether it needs it or not? It won’t add any strokes to the process after the first case. It works for me when I load pre-primed pistol brass. ymmv
Click to expand...
That’s what I’d do regardless of press type—pull pin, resize all, then expand all. Just one is faster than other.
 
I have purchased a bunch of primed "pulled" brass pistol and rifle. Recently acquired pulled primed 300 Win Mag brass. Unlike pistol brass where you can remove the decapping spindle, with rifle brass I simply have to raise the spindle far enough above the primer, that I still expand the case neck, but don't knock out the primer.

Primed pistol brass is easy. I would be very surprised that it was not sized before it was primed, but it hurts nothing to size again and bell the case mouth.
 
Slamfire said:
I have purchased a bunch of primed "pulled" brass pistol and rifle. Recently acquired pulled primed 300 Win Mag brass. Unlike pistol brass where you can remove the decapping spindle, with rifle brass I simply have to raise the spindle far enough above the primer, that I still expand the case neck, but don't knock out the primer.

Primed pistol brass is easy. I would be very surprised that it was not sized before it was primed, but it hurts nothing to size again and bell the case mouth.
Click to expand...
Yeah, you’re right.
 
Slamfire said:
I would be very surprised that it was not sized before it was primed
Click to expand...

Nobody would decap and prime brass before it was sized. If you have a case gauge you could check, but I'd assume that was the case.

I just take out the locator pin on on station 2 and slip the primed cases in from the side and proceed from there. To me, its not that big of a deal.
 
Laphroaig said:
Nobody would decap and prime brass before it was sized. If you have a case gauge you could check, but I'd assume that was the case.

I just take out the locator pin on on station 2 and slip the primed cases in from the side and proceed from there. To me, it’s not that big of a deal.
Click to expand...
As the old saying goes, nobody and everybody are people I trust least of all.

Here’s my argument for resizing & expanding every unknown primed case vs just relying on a gauge—When I pull bullets from my own 45acp rounds, most cases will drop freely into and out of my Wilson & Hornady gauges.

They then may or may not have enough flair to accept seating a new bullet but seldom have what I believe is adequate tension to hold it securely.
 
CQB45ACP said:
As the old saying goes, nobody and everybody are people I trust least of all.

Here’s my argument for resizing & expanding every unknown primed case vs just relying on a gauge—When I pull bullets from my own 45acp rounds, most cases will drop freely into and out of my Wilson & Hornady gauges.

They then may or may not have enough flair to accept seating a new bullet but seldom have what I believe is adequate tension to hold it securely.
Click to expand...

Pre primed rifle cases: Full length resize and trim. You never know if the previous owner was into neck sizing, nor whether he understood the importance of keeping the case neck out of the throat. Stupid stuff that will cause difficult extraction in a revolver, will absolutely create fireworks in a rifle.!

I don't shoot the 65 Kpsia revolver rounds, like 454 Casull, but rounds operating at those pressures, everything has to be perfect: there is no margin of error.
 
Laphroaig said:
Nobody would decap and prime brass before it was sized. If you have a case gauge you could check, but I'd assume that was the case.

I just take out the locator pin on on station 2 and slip the primed cases in from the side and proceed from there. To me, its not that big of a deal.
Click to expand...
I thought about this first. Thanks!
 
Laphroaig said:
Nobody would decap and prime brass before it was sized.
Click to expand...
You're probably right about decapping and priming. Pulled brass with primers intact is a different story, but that's neither here nor there in this case. But pulling the decap pin and feeding brass into station 1, as normal on a progressive press like the OP's, doesn't alter one's normal reloading process, so why not? And you wouldn't have to post on a reloading forum looking for opinions whether to size or not size. You would have no doubts that it was sized. ;)
 
Buzznrose said:
I’m unsure if this brass need to be resized? Is there an easy way to tell?
Click to expand...

Size a couple and compare the OD of the cases that you sized vs. the primed brass. Is it within 0.001? Load a few more and check the neck tension. Solid, then GTG.

My reply to your OP was intended to save you the time and effort with an operation that most probably isn't necessary. But correct, you should verify to be sure they aren't pulled rounds.
 
I think I would measure some cases to see if they had been resized. But, it's no big deal to pull the decapping pin and run a few through the sizing die. If cases have been resized, the effort will be much less than unsized, fired brass, and double checking is, for me at least, part of safe reloading...
 
In my experience a bullet will fall into a fired unsized case with no resistance. Try one and see. It doesn't make sense that the cases would be primed without sizing. On the other hand, what you may have is brass that the bullet has been pulled. You may have to expand the case mouth to use them. I would do as others suggest, remove your decapping rod and start over.
 
Thanks for all the insight. I guess I was overthinking the primer cup but a non issue.

Also, I don’t deprime when I load. I personally deprime cases after the first wet tumble using a single stage press and universal decapping die.

But thinking back, I suspect the guy who owned the machine used his sizing die to deprime and sized the case at the same time.
 
Buzznrose said:
I suspect the guy who owned the machine used his sizing die to deprime and sized the case at the same time.
Click to expand...
Why risk it? There is no problem running brass through a sizing die a second time... but there would be possible repercussions if it was decapped with a Universal decapping die and pre-primed.

Laphroaig said:
Nobody would decap and prime brass before it was sized. If you have a case gauge you could check, but I'd assume that was the case.
Click to expand...
Don't assume that. Lots of people pre-prime handgun brass. When I had a single 550 I left it set up for LPP and hand primed the 9/38... then loaded as normal on the 550 with no decapping pin. Much faster and less hassle than swapping over the primer set up from small to large. I know many others that do/did the same.

JMO, but not worth the risk for a couple hundred pcs.
 
fired brass will almost always accept a bullet easily unless there is something wrong with the gun.
Sized brass will not.

No real need to resize if already done.

Trim lengths can be dangerous in rifles and necks get dented so i always fully reprocess rifle brass regardless of condition.
I've had several pull down with cases beyond maximum.

I would personally just take the decapper out and run them through a sizer again to simplify the process, if possible.
 
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