brass and dies questions

[thomis]

When you buy new, unfired, unprimed brass, are you supposed to resize it before loading it, even though it's never been fired?

I bought some Hornady match unfired, unprimed brass. In the product reviews section on the website where I purchased the brass, someone mentioned doing this. I never knew that was necessary.

Regarding dies...do they need maintenance of any kind? Can they wear out? I know the decapper pins can break and need replaced occasionally and the decapping rod can bend, but the resizing dies themselves, can they wear out?

I'm asking because I have some old Lyman dies from the early 70's that after reloading some .243 and .308 cartridges, the bullets are fitting tight in the chamber. They are not too long, as I have checked the case lengths.

Thanks-

 

[MtnCreek]

I re-size new brass. Out of round necks are not uncommon.

Not sure about your dies. Are the bullets fitting tight in the case mouth or are the loaded cartridges fitting tight in the rifle's chamber?

 

[rcmodel]

the bullets are fitting tight in the chamber.

The bullets?
Or the loaded rounds?

I imagine you haven't adjusted the sizing die down enough to push the case shoulder back where it came from.

Screw it in a little more until the press "bumps over" at the top of the ram travel without a case in it.

rc

 

[murf]

fwiw,

minimum prep on new brass is full length resize, check length (trim all if one is over length, or all anyway to get them all the same length), chamfer the case mouth (inside and outside), check the primer pocket (visual) for irregularities, and make sure the flash hole is not out-of-round, or obstructed.

may sound overboard, but you only have to do all of it once. after that, they are treated as fired cases and are checked as such.

make sure your dies are clean and not rusted on the inside. all dies wear with use, but usually not enough to make them unusable.


murf

 

[res7s]

I treat all "new to me" brass the same. Until it isn't "new to me" there is no way of knowing it's condition or meets SAAMI specs.

 

[NeuseRvrRat]

it's very humid in the summer here in NC, so if i don't anticipate using a set of dies again for a while, i'll oil them with CLP before putting them away. be sure to wipe out excess lube when you break them out again. as with all your reloading equipment, you should clean and inspect them regularly, especially if you're resizing brass that's a little on the dirty side.

 

[James2]

I think it will take a lot of use to wear out a set of dies. Yes, it is possible. For maintenance I just wipe them out good with a cotton rag on a wooden dowell. Here the humidity is low so I haven't had to worry much about them rusting in storage. If you do have high humidity, it may be good to put a light coating of oil on them before storage, then wipe them out before use.

What RC said about the sizing. Screw the die in until the shell holder hits it, then you are full length sizing.

I resize new rifle brass, but have just belled and loaded new pistol brass.

 

[thomis]

Are the bullets fitting tight in the case mouth or are the loaded cartridges fitting tight in the rifle's chamber?

Yes, sorry, i meant cartridge is tight in the chamber not bullet.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

I size even new brass. I bought some .45 Colt Winchester brass brand new from Cabela's and you could drop a bullet in the case and it would go out of sight. Now I don't even try. I just run em through the sizer.

 

[MtnCreek]

Yes, sorry, i meant cartridge is tight in the chamber not bullet.

I think the advice RC gave will solve that. If it doesn't, try backing out the seating die 1 to 2 turns (it might be crimping/overcrimping).

 

[gamestalker]

I always resize and check trim too lengths on new brass, and my findings have supported the extra time to do it.

 

[ranger335v]

"...resizing dies themselves, can they wear out?"

Can they wear out? Yeah. I've read that it should take something like a quarter million rounds to wear a steel die so it won't size to SAAMI specifications any more; carbide is supposed to quadruple that.

If you wear a sizer out it won't cost a lot to buy a new one.

 

[bergmen]

It depends. On bottle necked rifle brass I always do a full length resize since my dies are set up for the headspace of the particular rifle I am loading for. Also, the necks will not be uniform in size or shape.

On straight walled pistol/revolver brass, often I only need to expand because they are slightly undersize. Expanding properly shapes the brass also, if it is dinged or bent slightly. About 80% of the new pistol/revolver brass I get can be processed in this manner. Others do require full resizing since they are slightly oversize.

Dan

 

[helotaxi]

I neck size new rifle brass and trim/chamfer/deburr. New pistol brass I treat just like once-fired except I don't have a bunch of primers to dispose of.