Brass Prep

[TAS25]

My current brass prep with new lapua brass is as follows:

Expander ball down neck to fix dents, out of round necks
Trim/chamfer
Turn necks
Deburr
Neck size with wilson collet style die (im thinking of changing to a fl bushing die from wilson)
Blow air through flash holes to remove brass shavings
Prime

What am I missing, if anything?

Also what do I need to do with spent cases? I'm thinking FL size, trim/chamfer, clean inside of case necks with a brush, then load

What am I missing here?

 

[horsemen61]

My current brass prep with new lapua brass is as follows:

Expander ball down neck to fix dents, out of round necks
Trim/chamfer
Turn necks
Deburr
Neck size with wilson collet style die (im thinking of changing to a fl bushing die from wilson)
Blow air through flash holes to remove brass shavings
Prime

What am I missing, if anything?

Also what do I need to do with spent cases? I'm thinking FL size, trim/chamfer, clean inside of case necks with a brush, then load

What am I missing here?

Seems right to me but I am a big believer in the FL bushing sizing die especially for bolt guns

 

[JmacD]

I am a big believer in the FL bushing sizing die especially for bolt guns

Me three. Lapua and Peterson has been the best at requiring the least tuning up out of the box. I’ve heard the same of alpha, but I personally haven’t used them. Starline can be surprisingly good sometimes. I ONLY neck size if I’m dealing with an old school “generous” chamber, otherwise it’s FL for me.

 

[507Reloader]

My last process before primer, powder, bullet is trimming. After you full length size your brass it will grow. Depending on the brass mfg., it will grow alot. I've seen 4-8 thousandths. ( Not sure if annealing causes this, I anneal after every firing ) I use a mandrel die after full length sizing for my bolt guns. Then I run them thru my Hendersen trimmer. I get trim and chamfer done at once. Then on to primers, powder and bullets.

 

[Varminterror]

@TAS25 - What is your objective for this ammo? What application are you shooting, competition? What standard for performance are you chasing?

Do you use the Lee Collet Neck sizing die, or L.E. Wilson neck bushing sizing dies?

@moderator: this should be a reloading sub, not rifles.

 

[lightman]

Like Varminterror, I'm curious about the type of rifle and the intended purpose. With new brass I start off with full length resizing it, then trim/deburr, deburr the flash hole and uniform the primer pocket. Yeah, I know that the full length sizing die probably won't touch the shoulder! I'm not a big fan of neck turning for a rifle with a factory chamber. But if your prep works for you I don't think you are missing anything.

 

[Walkalong]

Expander ball down neck to fix dents, out of round necks

Expander balls are evil, especially steel ones, use a mandrel.


On 6MM I use a .262 mandrel on fired cases at the same time I knock out the
primers, gets them mostly round for other steps. I use a .261 after sizing with
a FL bushing die.

 

[TAS25]

My last process before primer, powder, bullet is trimming. After you full length size your brass it will grow. Depending on the brass mfg., it will grow alot. I've seen 4-8 thousandths. ( Not sure if annealing causes this, I anneal after every firing ) I use a mandrel die after full length sizing for my bolt guns. Then I run them thru my Hendersen trimmer. I get trim and chamfer done at once. Then on to primers, powder and bullets.

That makes sense, I was trimming before turning because the neck turner I have indexes off of the neck

 

[TAS25]

@TAS25 - What is your objective for this ammo? What application are you shooting, competition? What standard for performance are you chasing?

Do you use the Lee Collet Neck sizing die, or L.E. Wilson neck bushing sizing dies?

@moderator: this should be a reloading sub, not rifles.

Hunting, also I completely missed that this should be in reloading not rifles!

 

[Walkalong]

Hunting

Neck turning Lapua cases for most applications is unnecessary, and for hunting, IMHO, it's just extra work for no real gain. Short of using in a tight necked chamber, I would not turn them.

 

[TAS25]

Neck turning Lapua cases for most applications is unnecessary, and for hunting, IMHO, it's just extra work for no real gain. Short of using in a tight necked chamber, I would not turn them.

Thats kind of what I was thinking after doing some research

 

[TAS25]

Also a follow up question, with the above process, fl sizing new and fired lapua brass, would fired cases match unfired cases?

 

[Walkalong]

Also a follow up question, with the above process, fl sizing new and fired lapua brass, would fired cases match unfired cases?

Are you asking if you size new Lapua cases and fired by you Lapua cases from the same batch will they be the same? Very, very close, enough not to worry about IMHO.

That's assuming a FL bushing style sizer and following up with an expander mandrel. I make zero claims for anything using a standard steel expander ball.

 

[bfalcon00]

Expander balls are evil, especially steel ones, use a mandrel.
View attachment 1261563

On 6MM I use a .262 mandrel on fired cases at the same time I knock out the
primers, gets them mostly round for other steps. I use a .261 after sizing with
a FL bushing die.

Haha steel expander balls are the devil!!!

 

[TAS25]

Are you asking if you size new Lapua cases and fired by you Lapua cases from the same batch will they be the same? Very, very close, enough not to worry about IMHO.

That's assuming a FL bushing style sizer and following up with an expander mandrel. I make zero claims for anything using a standard steel expander ball.

Would a bushing not be able to set neck tension? I thought that was the whole point of the bushing?

 

[Walkalong]

Would a bushing not be able to set neck tension?

I don't understand what you're asking. I mean I understand that, I don't understand why you are asking that.

 

[TAS25]

I don't understand what you're asking. I mean I understand that, I don't understand why you are asking that.

You said to use a bushing style fl die, and follow with a mandrel. I was under the impression that a bushing took place of the mandrel

 

[AJC1]

You said to use a bushing style fl die, and follow with a mandrel. I was under the impression that a bushing took place of the mandrel

The bushing reduces the neck dimension the minimum amount to set final neck tension with a mandrel. For hunting this exercise might be excessive.
Everyone has their favorite process and I prefer ground forester dies and a mandrel. They all work just depending on how many options you want. I go .003 under a loaded round for the ground die and use 21st century mandrels to set the exact tension I want.
Anything is better than expander balls....
You can use your standard die and the mandrel set with holder die to improve the situation until you finalize your sizing die choice

Caliber Specific Expander Mandrel Kits

Our caliber specific expander mandrels are available in .0005” increments in calibers 22 to 338 and will range from .001” above bullet diameter to at least .003” below bullet diameter depending on caliber. This will allow the reloader to find proper neck tension to fine-tune their loads. The...

21stcenturyinnovation.com

 

[Varminterror]

You said to use a bushing style fl die, and follow with a mandrel. I was under the impression that a bushing took place of the mandrel

Bushing squeezes the outside inward to produce a uniformly round external dimension.

Mandrel expands inside outward to produce a uniformly round internal dimension.

Not the same tools, not doing the same tasks.

Yes, a bushing can be used to set internal dimension if the thickness of the brass is uniform. Since turning necks is generally a waste of time and energy, it is simply easier to size down slightly smaller diameter with a bushing sizer than you ultimately want, then bring the necks back up to desired dimension with a mandrel expander.

 

[lordpaxman]

Since turning necks is generally a waste of time and energy, it is simply easier to size down slightly smaller diameter with a bushing sizer than you ultimately want, then bring the necks back up to desired dimension with a mandrel expander.

Are there best practices wrt to the dimensions for this? And does it change with annealing?

 

[Walkalong]

Annealing keeps it consistent. Without annealing sooner or later we would have to choose a tighter bushing due to brass spring back due to brass hardening.

The less we move the brass the longer that takes, and it's small amounts, but still. As @Varminterror posted, we size the neck with the bushing slightly more than we need overall, then use the mandrel to bring the internal diameter of the necks to what we want. I like to choose a bushing that matches the necks so that my choice of mandrel does at least a tiny bit of work on each case, which will be more consistent than if some of the cases get zero expansion done on them compared to the others. Somewhat trial and error, although we have a real good idea going in, but no one ends up with only one bushing, not to mention trying different brands. This gives us the very consistent seating resistance/neck tension/bullet hold that we want. I have settled on the Short Action Customs bushings, as they do the best job of keeping things straight when we are sizing the necks a lot, and without neck turning we have to size them more.

Some "6MM" bushings.

 

[murf]

pistol reloader have been using expanding mandrels (commonly called an expander die) since before I was born. this case prep step is the best, so throw away your expander ball and embrace the mandrel!

luck,

murf.

ps. too bad die mfgrs don't toss the neck sizing die and replace with a mandrel expander die.

 

[bfalcon00]

You can use your standard die and the mandrel set with holder die to improve the situation until you finalize your sizing die choice

This is what I still do with a lot of my rifles that I have higher end sizing dies for. Works the brass more but I anneal every time.

 

[AJC1]

This is what I still do with a lot of my rifles that I have higher end sizing dies for. Works the brass more but I anneal every time.

Once I started annealing I loose brass to primer pockets before anything else so brass life is primer pocketed limited. No need to chase horses that don't haul the mail.

 

[bfalcon00]

Once I started annealing I loose brass to primer pockets before anything else so brass life is primer pocketed limited. No need to chase horses that don't haul the mail.

Yeah that's been my experience as well. I'm toying with the idea of buying LRP that are known to run big to combat this. I'm afraid I'll be chasing a ghost of I do though.