I bought 500 First Breech new primed brass. What a disaster. Primers literally falling out, and me, only noticing it after loading a hundred a fifty rounds of .223. They were just sliding out. Got my money back, Republic Ammunition has great customer service, but I was still out many, many, hours of work at first trying to make things right, and then just getting the primers out to use again. Threw the whole lot away. Then I bought NEW starline brass, primed it myself, and started to reload (.223) and lo and behold, the neck sizes were messed up on SIX of the first twenty I grabbed. Apparently, after researching it, bullets sliding into the primed and powered brass while trying to seat them is a common thing especially with .223 Starline brass. I never had this problem before. Some were over 30 thousandths too wide, so I get why it was happening. Got some money back from Midway so far, still waiting to hear from where I bought the rest and then Starline itself. What I want to know is, what brass does not have these kinds of problems? It's just not worth my time to try and fix NEW stuff. I would rather pay more, and just be able to load it. Any ideas? Thanks. I buy .308, .223, Grendel, and 6.5 Creedmoor mostly, just to let you know the sizes I'm looking for. I am almost thinking that once fired brass would be a better way to go nowadays. At least you know it worked!
Brass Brass Brass
- Thread starter writerman
- Start date
6.5 forever
Silver $$ Contributor
Lapua on 6.5 CM and .308
On starline brass you should have resized before using. At least check them. They are loose packed so they get beat around. I use Alpha brass in 6BRA and 6.5 creedmoor. Love it. I use once fired in other calibers. Annealing makes a big difference in getting consistent resizing.
hogpatrol
Gold $$ Contributor
Had good results with Top Brass, and no defective ones in the bag.
www.topbrass-inc.com
Brass
Top Brass offers the best value in reloading! Guaranteed once-fired military brass machined and reconditioned to better than new specs for most common handgun and rifle calibers. Wholesale packaging, boxes, and trays for custom-manufactured ammunition.
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Like joshb, I have ALWAYS, size new brass.
For bottle neck cases, I take initial readings of with a bump gauge and caliper. Set my F/L die to zero bump. This uniforms the necks and aligns the necks with the body of the case. I also trim all new cases since I have found, in some lots of most brands, a lack of uniformity in length and a few with slanted openings.
I use only virgin cases to start with and dedicate them to a specific rifle and rotate their use. This prevents a lot of problems with case fit in the rifle chamber.
For bottle neck cases, I take initial readings of with a bump gauge and caliper. Set my F/L die to zero bump. This uniforms the necks and aligns the necks with the body of the case. I also trim all new cases since I have found, in some lots of most brands, a lack of uniformity in length and a few with slanted openings.
I use only virgin cases to start with and dedicate them to a specific rifle and rotate their use. This prevents a lot of problems with case fit in the rifle chamber.
Resizing with my RCBS full length small base die, after taking the primers out, did not work. The neck was still too large. Bullet still dropped into the case. I thought that might work too, but it did not. You always size new brass? Shouldn't the factory make them the correct size to begin with?
Well, even resizing did not work.
I thought sizing the neck with an RCBS small base die would tighten them enough, but since they were 30 thousandths over in some, that did not work. Nothing I could do would work. They were new.
Item 1: I do not understand why your sizing die did not size the neck.
Item 2: My zero-bump method:
I measure the virgin cases with a bump gauge and caliper. I set the die, so it makes firm contact with the shell holder but no cam over. I size the first case and measure it. If it sizes to the same measurement, I size the remaining cases. If it does not, I adjust the die and resize.
I use Skip Shims to make die adjustments, so I do not have to change the lock ring. Depending on how much play there is in your press, there are different ways to make the initial die set up with the shims. For my press, I use the 0.010 shim for the initial set up by adjusting the die to make firm contact with the shell holder but no cam over. This becomes my base line, and I set the lock ring with this shim under it.
I then use the other shims, .008, .007, .006, etc. to increase the amount sizing when necessary. Often, with my press and dies, the .010 or .008 shim produces zero bump with no extrusion. Once cases are fully fire formed, I may have to increase the sizing usually after several firings. I monitor case size with the bump gauge and caliper each time I size a batch of cases.
I always spot check the size case in the rifle chamber with the firing pin assembly remove to verify optimum chambering.
Someone needs to step back and look over their choices on what they are doing. You need to start all over. And find someone else that has been doing this for a while. Let them show you what you need to do.
Looking over your post and all the things you have run into and the guns you blew up, you need to step back before you kill yourself or someone else
Looking over your post and all the things you have run into and the guns you blew up, you need to step back before you kill yourself or someone else
JMayo
Silver $$ Contributor
Bushing dies to get correct necks is what i use.
Or neck sizing dies what some use. . Size 002 under a loaded round is the norm.
your die didn't size the necks. Bigger from factory than others would have been made the same if it did.
You tube can teach you the basics.
Or neck sizing dies what some use. . Size 002 under a loaded round is the norm.
your die didn't size the necks. Bigger from factory than others would have been made the same if it did.
You tube can teach you the basics.
Did you use a Full Length die or a Body die?
A full length die WILL size the neck down to correct SAMMI spec {a bit more than most want here} This is why I am asking to see if you have used the proper die for your problem…
A Body die only sizes the body and bumps the shoulder… You then Neck Size with a seperate die to get the neck to the size you want and best results is to separately run a mandrel into the neck after sizing down the neck without the internal pull through on the de-priming stem, to assure consistent neck tension.
AND, YES, do size and process your new brass… Especially if you have bought it in a “Bulk Bag”.. If you are using a “Gas Gun” in the brush than by all means consider the suggestion that you buy the Salt Lake ex-military brass {you will need to de-crimp the primer pocket} but losing a 22 cent piece of brass is not nearly as painful as a Lapua, Norma, Peterson, Starline ect ect piece of brass….
If really wanting to “shoot and leave” just go for range scrounged brass of mixed varieties and that will be the cheapest avenue of all… Often had for the labour of picking it up, cleaning it, sizing it to a “Load, Shoot & Leave” condition.
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