Been a while.....

[Larryswn]

I'm new to reloading and have only loaded brand new cases. I've gone through all 3000 of them so now it's time for step 2........ I'm trying to figure out how to utilize this 5 station press but if I have to measure the The cases after their resized seems I have to do this in 2 steps instead of 1. What am I missing?. I plan to tumble the brass 1st , then deprime,reprime and then resize but after that I have to measure them to make sure they're not too long correct? Doesn't seem like I can do everything in order all the way through to bullet seating. What's the point of 5 stations then?....... Or does it take resizing a couple times before the cases gain too much length. Forgive the stupid questions but it took me a couple years to get through 3000 rounds so I've had to refresh on everything. I just started loading 3 years ago and haven't loaded since..

 

[nettlle]

Welcome. A Dillon 550? What press is it?

 

[bullseye308]

What press, and what caliber are we talking about here. Also you mentioned tumble, deprime, reprime, then resize. You tumble, deprime/resize in one step, then prime. If we are talking about rifle, I prefer to deprime first with a universal depriming die, then tumble, resize, trim, chamfer, then prime and store till ready to load.

I plan to tumble the brass 1st , then deprime,reprime and then resize but after that I have to measure them to make sure they're not too long correct? Doesn't seem like I can do everything in order all the way through to bullet seating. What's the point of 5 stations then?....... Or does it take resizing a couple times before the cases gain too much length.

 

[Blue68f100]

Would help to know what your loading and which press your using, and if AP.

Cleaning brass can be done prior to loading. If wet cleaning I prefer removing the primers with a universal deprimer before cleaning. If using a tumbler (dry) does not matter if primers are in place.

Pistol ammo can be loaded start to finish if straight walled. Some bottle neck brass may require some extra handling.

If your loading rifle, there is a lot of brass prep that needs to take place. Most break it up into 2 runs. 1st run is sizing, trimming, removal of primer crimp in needed. Once this is done the brass is run through again, priming, powder charge, and bullet seating.

 

[AJC1]

If your shooting an auto pistol trimming not required. Shooting rimmed pistol trim once for uniforming and done forever. Rifle strait wall is the same as rimmed pistols just the first time. Bottle neck case rifle check every time.

 

[Hondo 60]

Yup, need to know, what caliber & what press.

If handgun of any kind, heck I haven't trimmed a case (new or not) in over 12 years.

 

[lordpaxman]

I'm trying to figure out how to utilize this 5 station press but if I have to measure the The cases after their resized seems I have to do this in 2 steps instead of 1. What am I missing?

You’re not missing anything. The neck resizing will stretch the case a bit. Depending on how much, and how much the gun changes the neck, depends on how often. If you make sure you keep track of how many times fired, you’ll be able to determine when you need to trim. Good luck.

 

[Larryswn]

What press, and what caliber are we talking about here. Also you mentioned tumble, deprime, reprime, then resize. You tumble, deprime/resize in one step, then prime. If we are talking about rifle, I prefer to deprime first with a universal depriming die, then tumble, resize, trim, chamfer, then prime and store till ready to load.

 

[Larryswn]

I'm remembering how helpful you guys always are! It's a hornerdy progressive press and I'm doing mainly 5.56 I have a little 223 brass but it's mainly 5.56

 

[Larryswn]

What press, and what caliber are we talking about here. Also you mentioned tumble, deprime, reprime, then resize. You tumble, deprime/resize in one step, then prime. If we are talking about rifle, I prefer to deprime first with a universal depriming die, then tumble, resize, trim, chamfer, then prime and store till ready to load.

 

[Larryswn]

On my Hornady progressive press priming happens at the 2nd station. I have a lube die that deprimes so I'm forced to resize after the priming I believe. Can I not do that? Sounds like I have to lube by hand so that my first die is sizing......

 

[AK Hunter]

Most straight walled cases don't need to be trimmed. If you get into the longer straight walled cases like 350 Legend or .30 carbine they do require an occasional trim.

 

[Blue68f100]

On my Hornady progressive press priming happens at the 2nd station. I have a lube die that deprimes so I'm forced to resize after the priming I believe. Can I not do that? Sounds like I have to lube by hand so that my first die is sizing......

The 1st station is the only one setup to handle spent primers. In order for it to work with a lube die you will need to deprimer first. If you wet tumble use a universal depriming die, can also use it if you use use a tumbler type.

 

[Larryswn]

Oh yeah that's right..... Forgive me, I loaded all my 1st rounds 3 years ago and haven't had to do it since. So basically I learned how to do it And never did it again. Thanks for all the help everyone.

 

[Spare Parts]

It's a hornerdy progressive press and I'm doing mainly 5.56 I have a little 223 brass but it's mainly 5.56

5.56 brass prep can be a challenge. The purpose of brass prep is to return the brass to SAAMI spec.

Primer pocket: Since you have already loaded these cases, you may not need to ream/swage the primer pocket. Any 5.56 found "in the wild" likely needs it. If SRPs are occasionally crushed at Station 2, consider reaming the primer pocket.

Resizing: for bolt-action, neck-sizing is likely adequate.
For semi-auto, the brass is stuffed into a [edit: full-length] resizer die, and if you're lucky, you get the case back on the upstroke. If you don't get it back, you'll need a plan to remove the brass from the resizer die. I use a pin punch, hammer, and Bad Language. Much of the Bad Language disappeared from the reloading room when I found a better case lube. I currently use a 1:10 mix of 80W gear oil to iso-Heet - both available at the auto store. [edit: put the cases in a 1-gallon zip-loc, spritz with oil/Heet, tumble, let dry.] I eschew specialized reloading fripperies.

Case neck: as necessary, ream the case neck to allow the projectile to seat without being shaved.

HTH. Good luck.