Got my gear and started sizing brass

[AJC]

Your needs may not require a major cleaning procedure. If you have dedicated brass for the gun and not letting it go into a mud puddle then no major cleaning is required. In a bolt gun a primer pocket scraper and a cloth with alcohol to wipe down the neck gets the job done. I wet tumble brass that I find that may have been laying in the dirt outside for years. In your case heavy duty cleaning for shiny brass may just be extra money for no realized gain.

If your brass is only once fired you should not be to the work hardened point that annealing is really required. When setting your die for bump rotate cases so your not sizing the same case a bunch or that one will be work hardened and act/shoot different than the rest.

 

[leclairk]

I run o-rings and die bushings (Lock-N-Load quick change) and have no concerns about movement. It can allow the die to self align.

What’s the purpose of o-rings?

 

[Fast14riot]

What’s the purpose of o-rings?

They allow the die to float a little, letting it self align and also be able to small adjustments easily without undoing the lock ring, and keeps the die from rotating in the press.

 

[dogdude]

Get Hornady lock rings and O rings.

 

[Webster]

For those who don't already know, this is my first attempt at reloading, so forgive me if I have some stupid questions.

I finally got my press, dies, and other reloading gear. Very exciting. After making initial adjustments, I started practicing with some brass I don't intend to use. A few questions. The first four cases came out varying 0.005" between them, the next 6 were all the same. Is this normal? Seems like maybe with brand new dies that it takes a few before they become consistent. As a side note, I was impressed that 20 random once-fired Norma cases all measured exactly the same from the shoulder bump before sizing.

Next question. I now have the die set to reduce shoulder bump length by 0.002". Does that sound about right for a 6.5 Creedmoor bolt action?

For those who don't already know, this is my first attempt at reloading, so forgive me if I have some stupid questions.

I finally got my press, dies, and other reloading gear. Very exciting. After making initial adjustments, I started practicing with some brass I don't intend to use. A few questions. The first four cases came out varying 0.005" between them, the next 6 were all the same. Is this normal? Seems like maybe with brand new dies that it takes a few before they become consistent. As a side note, I was impressed that 20 random once-fired Norma cases all measured exactly the same from the shoulder bump before sizing.

Next question. I now have the die set to reduce shoulder bump length by 0.002". Does that sound about right for a 6.5 Creedmoor bolt action?

I reloaded successfully for 40 years without a shoulder bump gauge. I now have one. Sounds like you’re on the right track. I have also used the method of adjusting the die down in small increments until the bolt closes easily. If you can easily rechamber a case as it was fired and not resized there is no reason to push the shoulder back.