Let's talk case prep

[K22]

You should distinguish between initial case prep and case prep after shooting.

There is no need to chamfer after initial case prep - only after you trim subsequently.

Here's my procedure for fired cases after shooting:

1. Tumble to clean cases.
2. Lube w/ Imperial Sizing Wax - Full size with a .001 to .002" shoulder bump - spot check shoulder bump with gauge.
3. Wipe cases clean after sizing w/ paper towel.
4. Clean Primer Pockets - check pockets for any residual media stuck in primer hole
5. Check Length - trim if necessary - chamfer after trimming.

On new cases:
1. Check Length - trim if necessary - chamfer after trimming.
2. Chamfer before sizing if not done for trimming - reason - edges on new brass can scare die.
3. Lube - full size with zero cam - to uniform cases but not set the shoulder back*.
4. Wipe cases clean.
5. Debur Flash Hole and Uniform primer pockets.

Assumes cases are dedicated to a specific rifle and not interchanged with other rifles.

* on a new lot of cases I'll spot check in chamber of rifle to verify fit after sizing.

 

[jepp2]

Second, after I have resized I chamfer the mouth and neck then get the lube off by tumbling in media (walnut or corncob).

I always chamfer (when necessary) after any tumbling. Tumbling makes small "dings" in the case mouth (SS pins are the worst) and I want a smooth surface for the bullet to enter the case on to avoid scratches in the jacket.

Without tumbling and trimming not necessary to chamfer case mouths.

 

[L W P]

You're going to get 10,000 different answers to this question.

My process:
Deprime
Wet Tumble
Anneal
Size in an FL bushing die
dry tumble lube off
trim/chamfer
prime
apply dry neck lube
charge
seat

I suspect a more important question is what kind of dies are you using? How much are you working the brass?

Pretty much just like Mike's except I inside mandrel after chamfering for consistent seating tension.

 

[Straightshooter1]

Over some time and listening to various people and trying to get really uniform cases AND do it in a little time as possible, my routine I've put together is:

Initial case prep:

Fire forming
Anneal
Dry Tumble Clean (with rice)
Uniform Pimer Pockets
Deburr flash holes (21st Century Flash Hole Debur Tool)
Neck Sizing (with Lee Collet Neck Sizing Die)
Shoulder Bump only (Forster bump neck sizing die)
Trim, chamfer and deburr (using Giraud Tri Way Trimmer)
Size neck to turner mandrel
Turn Case Necks
Clean lube from inside neck
Final Neck Sizing (with Lee Collet Neck Sizing Die)

After initial prep and subsequent firings:

Uniform Primer Pockets
Anneal
Dry Tumble Clean (with rice)
Neck Sizing (with Lee Collet Neck Sizing Die)
Shoulder Bump only (Forster bump neck sizing die)
Trim, chamfer and deburr (using Giraud Tri Way Trimmer)

The trimmer uses the shoulder as a stop to get the trim length, so that is why shoulder bump to speck is done before trimming. I get uniform case lengths in a very short period of time . . . and they're all uniformly chamfered too.

 

[dgeesaman]

Chamfering every round will not be something I miss! I do understand that it may/is needed after trimming.

I have the chamfer/trim/deburr combination tool, and my brass grows very slowly, so I only deburr or chamfer when necessary. Which isn’t much. The 3 way tool makes life good.

As for headspace, I always return a tight bolt lift case to my box upside down and measure only those. They end up being longest, so no reason to adjust shoulder bump on a couple of random cases in the lot.

David

 

[cw308]

Case prep for competitive shooting , full length is the way I size for benchrest shooting 308 . Knowing your chamber length and resizing the case to the case headspace your looking for . How do you do that ? I know my chamber length and I size with the Redding Competition Shellholders , they have 5 different deck heights I size to .001 - 2 no more or less , I uniform my primer pockets and remove an burrs from the flash hole and make sure all flashholes are the same size , this only has to be done once to each case , then it's trimmed and chamfered every firing . I wet tumble because I didn't like any buildup of carbon inside the case , wet tumbling cases look brand new inside and out . If you are going down the path to compete each bullet should be as exact as possible , once you found the proper headspace and jump or jam . All starts with case prep.

 

[tomswede]

I take fired brass, decap, inspect and tumble clean. If only fired a few times and I'm still not sure what the headspace is, I will measure that and record the longest measurement.

Full length size & wipe the lube off, then another half hour in the tumbler to remove any residual lube. Again, if still trying to determine headspace, measure all. Full length sizing will "grow" the headspace measurement. My current project is .338LM with Lapua brass. Only after the third firing was I able to feel the additional resistance closing the bolt with the longest headspace measured cartridge. Now that the dies have that final adjustment, I will not measure headspace again.

Again only after full length sizing due to that growth do I measure overall case length and trim if needed. It took two firings before I had to trim. I trimmed to .005" below maximum. After the third firing and first trimming I had 10% again over maximum. I don't want to trim every time or even every other time so I will now trim to .010" below maximum. I'll do .015" if I have to. I only chamfer and deburr if I had to trim.

Prime, charge and seat.

Why be so stingy with the trimming? Trim them shorter and the cases will rarely need trimming if sized properly. It also helps to measure the length of the neck, there is usually a fair amount of space available ( I have a Sauer STR that has a chamber that is .039 longer than the supposed max length, can forget about trimming for it)

 

[stifffingers]

I would de-prime before I took any measurements as the fired primer will likely protrude a little from the case. Clean (wipe down outside of case) to keep the crud out of my dies.

Jim

Instead of de-priming the case for measuring, you can also use your hand priming tool to reseat the fired primer totally below the case head.

 

[J F Johannes]

Instead of de-priming the case for measuring, you can also use your hand priming tool to reseat the fired primer totally below the case head.

Okay. For me I de-prime and clean on a separate bench and press on the other side of the shop. My sizing press does not ever come in contact with primer residue, I have scratched too many dies in the past. Gun cleaning is done on another bench also for the same reasons. I only do case prep on clean brass. At least you have realized that the proud primers can cause measurement problems.

Jim

 

[Rsadams]

Some good advice listed here , I don't anneal but one day need to pick up a machine I guess.... The only thing I do different is I trim my brass to the shortest case length in the bunch so it's all uniformed... As others have stated it's how much you want to do other than the basics and what's your purpose... I do alot of work to my rifle brass but I am not a serious competition shooter so it's probably a waste of time , I just figured I might as well...

My biggest improvements seem to come from weight sorting brass and bullets , although it may only improve because I feel better about the rounds and it improves my confidence level... I only do it on my large rifle stuff , I have never done it on small rifle stuff because I shoot iron sights and I can't see them that great anymore... A little experiment will show you how much is needed for your purpose... My rifles shoot as good as I can shoot them and my reloads are way better than factory stuff so that leaves me as the weak link....

 

[Bc'z]

Some good advice listed here , I don't anneal but one day need to pick up a machine I guess.... The only thing I do different is I trim my brass to the shortest case length in the bunch so it's all uniformed... As others have stated it's how much you want to do other than the basics and what's your purpose... I do alot of work to my rifle brass but I am not a serious competition shooter so it's probably a waste of time , I just figured I might as well...

My biggest improvements seem to come from weight sorting brass and bullets , although it may only improve because I feel better about the rounds and it improves my confidence level... I only do it on my large rifle stuff , I have never done it on small rifle stuff because I shoot iron sights and I can't see them that great anymore... A little experiment will show you how much is needed for your purpose... My rifles shoot as good as I can shoot them and my reloads are way better than factory stuff so that leaves me as the weak link....

Get a cordless drill and a socket with a torch.
Practice on some older brass 1st.

 

[Rsadams]

Get a cordless drill and a socket with a torch.
Practice on some older brass 1st.

How do I know when they are hot enough..? Just practice..? I have plenty of junk brass in my recycling bucket...

 

[Straightshooter1]

How do I know when they are hot enough..? Just practice..? I have plenty of junk brass in my recycling bucket...

I use the color method. That is, under subdued/low lighting (so I can see the flame well) I watch for the instant yellow/orange appears in the flame (that's when material is burning off, and you don't want that) and then remove it from the flame at that point. It may take 4 seconds or 6 seconds or whatever, depending on how hot the flame is on the brass, but once I know how long that's what I use for that particular brand of brass.

 

[Bc'z]

How do I know when they are hot enough..? Just practice..? I have plenty of junk brass in my recycling bucket...

Hold torch at a set angle. Same with drill.
Don't spin brass to fast medium speed.
Put brass to the inner blue flame right at neck shoulder junction.
223/556 I count to 6 at a medium count.
260, 6.5 I count to 10.
Your drill trigger speed and torch will vary from mine so you may have to run longer or shorter count.
Do this in a dark room, last nite I did it on back porch by moon light.
Your looking for neck to start to glow red.
NOT CHERRY RED! Just a lite glow
Here's a shot of the brass from last nite
If there's a light on front of drill be sure to cover it with electrical tape

 

[Rsadams]

Nice , I will give it a try... Thanks....

 

[JFrank]

Okay. For me I de-prime and clean on a separate bench and press on the other side of the shop. My sizing press does not ever come in contact with primer residue, I have scratched too many dies in the past. Gun cleaning is done on another bench also for the same reasons. I only do case prep on clean brass. At least you have realized that the proud primers can cause measurement problems.

Jim

Just a question here
How do you scratch a heat treated and case harden Die?

 

[Bc'z]

Just a question here
How do you scratch a heat treated and case harden Die?

Seems like the die would force the contaminants into the softer metal ie brass.

 

[J F Johannes]

Just a question here
How do you scratch a heat treated and case harden Die?

Maybe I should re-phrase this a bit: Something, I don't know for sure, I suspect primer residue or hard carbon, gets embedded in the die and scratches the casings. I have tried some JB on a mop chucked up in a drill to clean-up the dies to no avail. All I know is I cleaned up my act and the problem went away.

Jim

 

[Richard Coody]

Brass Prep?

For what

6ppc short range benchrest
Long range benchrest
PRC
High Power
Palma
Or a myriad of other competitions

Or hunting

Or just someone who wants to go to the range and do a little shooting

All will have different procedures

My benchrest brass is meticulously prepared neck turned, deprimed and wiped.down with ballistol at the range, annealed every firing, sized with custom full length dies, individually wiped down, inspected, measured for trim length ( i seldom trim and when i do it is only half.of the recommended trim length. Do a whole group at a time. Want them all close to the same length) , i use a wilson deprimer pin just to clean out the flash hole. Brush the necks lightly with a nylon brush, do a light chamfer and debur with a hand tool, clean the primer pocket and use a special mandrel to ensure the neck tension i am looking for.

Most everything else i deprime, tumble in corn cob media, anneal every 3 to 5 firings because i have the annealer, size, examine the case while i measure trim length,.punch out the .media in the flash hole with the wilson depriming pin, brush out the necks clean the primer.pockets do a light chamfer and debur and we are.ready for priming

I quit reloading for AR's because they tear up brass so bad.

 

[mikehotel]

deprime,
anneal,
...etc