Let me see if I have this right...

[CmdrSlander]

I'm new to reloading and I'm trying to figure out if I have everything straight. I'll list my steps correct me as necessary:

(Note, these are my steps with what I can afford/have on hand, they may not be the optimal steps, but I just want to make sure I don't blow my rifle up and that I am not missing any important steps. Only correct grave errors or problems with the order of the procedure. And in case I am gravely in error, don't panic, I haven't loaded anything yet!)

Slander's steps for reloading .223 Remington on his Lee Classic Turret Press:

-Acquire brass
-Deprime w/ Lee Universal deprimer/decapper
-Tumble/Clean (I may be doing this with soap and water and air drying until I can afford a tumbler)
-Inspect flash hole and primer pocket, clean as necessary
-Measure case length with calipers, compare with acceptable case length, trim with with Lee case trimmer if necessary.
-Chamfer/Deburr
-Go over to the reloading press, put shell in shell holder
-Size
-Place primer
-Prime
-Charge
-Seat bullet
-Crimp

DONE!

Have I screwed up anywhere? Am I missing anything?

 

[James2]

For the most part too big of a fuss is made about cleaning the brass. If the brass has been lying on the ground, you want to check for spider nests or junk in the brass. Otherwise not much to worry about. Yes, brass will tarnish, but that in no way affects its usefulness. You can wipe them with a rag if there is soot on them.

You can begin by lubing the brass then sizing it which will also decap it. Do all of the batch, then inspect and prime them. Now they are ready for powder. I suggest using a loading board and drop powder in enough to fill the board, then take the board under the light so you can look into each one and make sure the powder level is the same in all. This is a safety measure against double charges or no powder. Now sit the board by the press and make sure no other brass is within reach, now seat the bullets. The seating die will crimp them too if that is desired.

It is ok to check the brass length, but if this is the first time they have been reloaded, you won't need to trim.

 

[esheato]

You're also supposed to trim (and the requisite chamfer/debur) after sizing, not before. Also, I've never crimped a 223 in my life. Odds are you won't need to either, but if you do, it's usually part of the seating step. Looking at the seat die, the die body imparts crimp whereas the seating stem determines seat depth. Refer to your manual and you should be good to go.

Lastly, inspecting primer pockets and flash holes is required in my process as I tumble after sizing, and the crushed walnut tends to lodge in the flash hole once the primer has been removed. If I were cleaning with liquid, and it was 223, I wouldn't even bother inspecting them. If you can successfully decap, you can load them again. The only possible issue you could run into is a Berdan primer and you wouldn't be able to decap that anyway.

 

[Reefinmike]

tumble(or clean using soap/water/vinegar/salt method), lube cases then size and deprime. then trim, chamfer and deburr. in my experience, 90% of once fired 223 brass needs to be trimmed with the exception of FC brass which tends to be 1.745". you also need to swage out the primer crimp on mil brass, mainly FC or lc brass. Using moderate loads, I have found that only 10% of the brass needs to be trimmed after firing, so I measure each case and trim those that are needing it. 1.760 or under stays as is, anything over gets trimmed.

 

[gamestalker]

I don't know if you forgot to mention it, but you do need to measure your powder charge. If your using a volmetric measure I would strongly recomend checking your charges with a scale.

When resizing, use an acceptable method by which to determine head space. It can be don't by coloring the shoulder with a sharpie after resizing and then chambering the round and looking for contact marks on the shoulder. Excessive head space will shorten case life significantly.

And just for the sake of avoiding head aches, don't bother crimping unless you are loading for a tubular magazine, or, your experiencing bullet set back issues. crimping rifle cartridges (bottle neck) isn't necessary.

Seating the bullets to a published OAL for that particular bullet will be fine, just make sure it isn't jamming into the lands.

Have fun!

GS

 

[Hondo 60]

You're also supposed to trim (and the requisite chamfer/debur) after sizing, not before.

Brass will grow as you resize.
So yes, measure & trim AFTER you've resized them.

 

[rcmodel]

You can skip several steps by cleaning the sand & grit off, then just sizing & depriming in the first step with the sizing die.

You do not need a Lee Universal deprime to tumble, size & deprime.

Then inspect for cracked case mouths, which will be your most common worn out brass defect.

Then remove the military primer crimp which you have too, then clean the primer pockets if you want too.

You have to measure, trim if necessary, chamfer & deburr AFTER sizing.

It does no good a tall before sizing.
And length will be wrong if you trim before resizing.

Then tumble polish again & load.

No need to crimp if you did everything else right.
It just leads to premature case mouth cracks if you choose to do so.

rc

 

[blue32]

I know its already been mentioned but be sure to LUBE your cases BEFORE inserting into a sizing die. Then you REMOVE the lube (paper towel works well enough). I typically toss 100 cases in a ziplock bag and give it a 1.5-2 second spray with Hornady One Shot. I then toss the brass around in the bag to get every one coated and let it sit for a minute to let it dry. A quick squirt of lube in the sizing die doesn't hurt either. Look on youtube for videos about lubing brass. The key is a little goes a long way.