• This Forum is for adults 18 years of age or over. By continuing to use this Forum you are confirming that you are 18 or older. No content shall be viewed by any person under 18 in California.

How to prep new cases ?

amboy49

I’ve purchased the rifle (Savage 10T), the scope (Vortex 5-25x50), the .223 brass (100 new Lapua), and the dies (Lee Precision 4 Die) and now want to get started finding a good load. I’ll be using my RCBS Rockchucker single stage press - most likely CCI benchrest primers I’ve had for quite some time and 52 gr. Speer match grade bullets I just purchased. I haven’t picked a powder yet. My goal is to achieve 1/2” MOA for non competition bench rest shooting and for a Colorado prairie dog shoot later this year.

So . . . . . . . how do I prep the cases ? It can’t be as simple as using some case lube and running them through the sizing die. Questions I have include what, if anything, do I do to the primer pockets ? Then, to the cases. Measure, weigh, debur and chamfer case mouths, trim ? I’ve never started with new brass before nor have I had a goal of 1/2” MOA so I’d like to do all I can to make the most accurate loads. Once I get the barrel broken in I’ll begin in earnest to get the powder selection narrowed down, but until then I would like to start out correctly prepping the cases . . . . . . and, perhaps thereafter, during the reloading process ? Do I full length or only neck size ? Should I invest in a benchrest specific bullet seating die ? Other tips or suggestions ?

What should I be doing ?

Thanks in advance
 
What's your normal case prep ?

I'd just internal flash hole chamfer, load and shoot.
Lapua are one of the few that have nice clean flash holes (IMO) so you could skip that step.
Get an LCD die set to start with and you may need nothing else.
 
Drop a case in the chamber and see if the bolt closes. If so, load it up and go shooting. It WILL form to the chamber.
If not, full length size and load from there.
Keep it simple. All the extra stuff will come along soon enough.
 
See if they will chamber. If they do, run them into the die just far enough to push the expander ball through the neck to straighten any bent or dinged necks and make them all uniform. Barlow
 
amboy49 said:
Other tips or suggestions ?
Click to expand...

My experience has been that 223 Lapua brass has a much shorter case head to datum length than my rifles headspace. Do you have a way to measure this? So FL sizing is unnecessary for me.

The way the Lapua is packaged I don't tend to find out of round case necks, so I don't run an expander through them.

I do uniform the primer pockets on everything I shoot, but Lapua has the most uniform pockets of everything I load, so this isn't necessary.

I would put a light chamfer on the inside of the case neck to avoid scraping the bullet during seating.

Your bullet of choice probably will not be what you want to use on PD's. So just realize load development needs to be done for both bullets. I assume you are using Speer #1036. I have used thousands of Speer #1035 (actually use the 1000 bulk pack #4708) and they perform extremely well on PD's. Very destructive and not prone to ricochet.
 
amboy49 said:
I’ve purchased the rifle (Savage 10T), the scope (Vortex 5-25x50), the .223 brass (100 new Lapua), and the dies (Lee Precision 4 Die) and now want to get started finding a good load. I’ll be using my RCBS Rockchucker single stage press - most likely CCI benchrest primers I’ve had for quite some time and 52 gr. Speer match grade bullets I just purchased. I haven’t picked a powder yet. My goal is to achieve 1/2” MOA for non competition bench rest shooting and for a Colorado prairie dog shoot later this year.

So . . . . . . . how do I prep the cases ? It can’t be as simple as using some case lube and running them through the sizing die. Questions I have include what, if anything, do I do to the primer pockets ? Then, to the cases. Measure, weigh, debur and chamfer case mouths, trim ? I’ve never started with new brass before nor have I had a goal of 1/2” MOA so I’d like to do all I can to make the most accurate loads. Once I get the barrel broken in I’ll begin in earnest to get the powder selection narrowed down, but until then I would like to start out correctly prepping the cases . . . . . . and, perhaps thereafter, during the reloading process ? Do I full length or only neck size ? Should I invest in a benchrest specific bullet seating die ? Other tips or suggestions ?

What should I be doing ?

Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
I dip the neck in white RCBS dry lube than use a .242 Mandrel on virgin 6 br brass to even out the necks, lightly chamfer, assuming you have a CBTO measurement back off .010 and fire form half your brass on a conservative charge save half for match brass, (Donavan gave me that tip)
Take another CBTO measurement now that your chamber has broke in a little more you should get a solid number to the lands.
my method is to start my ladder test on the lands to establish a benchmark- that's just me.
You'll find your way!
FYI- Forster makes good dies
SPJ
 
but he is shooting a 223 ???


South Prairie jim said:
I dip the neck in white RCBS dry lube than use a .242 Mandrel on virgin 6 br brass to even out the necks, lightly chamfer, assuming you have a CBTO measurement back off .010 and fire form half your brass on a conservative charge save half for match brass, (Donavan gave me that tip)
Take another CBTO measurement now that your chamber has broke in a little more you should get a solid number to the lands.
my method is to start my ladder test on the lands to establish a benchmark- that's just me.
You'll find your way!
FYI- Forster makes good dies
SPJ
Click to expand...
 
weight sort them into two lots.
try 50vmax
2230 8208
i do not pull expander balls thru necks
bushings and expander manrdels
debur/chamfer inside and out.
is this a 9 twist bbl ?
 
new lapua brass usually has very tight necks. i use an expander mandrel to open them up. then i run them through a full length sizing die adjusted to just size the neck. no shoulder bump. i dip the bullets base in imperial dry neck lube before seating. continue to set the die up for just neck sizing until a fired round is tight chambering. means it is fully fireformed. at this point you can start measuring your brass setting up for that 1 to 2 thousandths shoulder bump.

no flash hole uniforming or primer pocket uniforming needed.
 
Brass from the factory is ready to load. So, other than a dented case mouth, there’s no “sizing” needed. If you have a dented case mouth just run the case mouth over the sizing ball in your case sizing die, in your case the collet neck die will do. Chamfer and debur the necks. Prime and charge and seat.

For powder, H322 and IMR 8208XBR would be two top choices. 23 gr H322 shoots 52 gr bullets well in most of my 223 rifles. You’ll need more than 100 rounds to shoot prairie dogs.
 
I'm lazy. First time brass in non-barrel burners, I load and shoot. Bullets and powder are your call. It may take a couple firings on the brass to get consistent accuracy.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Upgrades & Donations

This Forum's expenses are primarily paid by member contributions. You can upgrade your Forum membership in seconds. Gold and Silver members get unlimited FREE classifieds for one year. Gold members can upload custom avatars.


Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.

You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.


To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.

Classified Ads

Forum statistics

Threads
165,001
Messages
2,187,934
Members
78,620
Latest member
Halfdeadhunter

Share This Page

Back
Top