ronemus
Gold $$ Contributor
To prep new brass I lube (Imperial wax), size (Hornady New Dimension dies with expander), neck turn (Gracey Neck Shaver), size (the shaver alters neck diameter), tumble in cob, trim/chamfer (Gracey Trimmer with Giraud blade), primer pocket uniform (Sinclair), debur flash hole (RCBS), and select a 0.5 gr range of case weight (see below) for long range; the rest are used for short range.
With fired brass I tumble in walnut, lube, size, tumble in cob, uniform (to clean the pocket), and trim/chamfer. Since I use the expander when sizing, any donut will be moved to the outside. If a donut is visible or the necks have thickened from repeated sizing, I add a pass through the shaver. Neck turning goes much smoother with the sizing lube left on the case; much less heat is generated and the cut is smoother. I lube the outside of the case with my fingers and inside the neck with a cotton swab.
I try to use power tools when possible and minimize handling to make processing go faster. For instance, I use a FL sizing die and decap at the same time, seeing no advantage in using 2 or 3 steps to accomplish the same thing. Similarly, the Gracey Trimmer does the inside and outside chamfers while trimming, so 2 steps are eliminated; the Dillon would actually be much slower since the chamfers would still have to be done. At one time I had the trimmer and shaver set up side by side and used them back to back, but found that the shaver worked better with the lube on, but the trimmer got fouled relatively quickly, even when tilted back ~30 degrees.
I try to have ~4000 cases fully prepped at the start of the season so I can defer processing until Winter sets in. I tumble the fired brass in walnut when I get back from the range, then set it aside until free time is available; in the meantime, I spend as much time shooting as possible.
I did an experiment several years ago to determine just how much effect brass weight has on .223 loads. I used WW brass (sized, trimmed and deburred, primer pockets uniformed, flash holes deburred, and neck turned) , WSR primers, charges of RL-15 or N-550 powder weighed to 0.1 gr, and 75 gr A-Max bullets. Using the lightest and heaviest cases (sorted from 1000 once-fired I had on hand), I had two lots of 10 cases with a 3 gr difference in weight. The average muzzle velocity difference was 16 fps, just a bit more than the 12 fps due to 0.1 gr of powder. I choose to sort 0.5 gr lots of .223 brass for my long range loads, but the effect will only matter at 800-1000 yards - the vertical displacement on the target from such a small velocity change is negligible at shorter distances. Unless you control all other sources of variation, the effect of brass weight is negligible. I also shoot .284, and because the brass is twice as heavy I batch in 1 gr lots.
With fired brass I tumble in walnut, lube, size, tumble in cob, uniform (to clean the pocket), and trim/chamfer. Since I use the expander when sizing, any donut will be moved to the outside. If a donut is visible or the necks have thickened from repeated sizing, I add a pass through the shaver. Neck turning goes much smoother with the sizing lube left on the case; much less heat is generated and the cut is smoother. I lube the outside of the case with my fingers and inside the neck with a cotton swab.
I try to use power tools when possible and minimize handling to make processing go faster. For instance, I use a FL sizing die and decap at the same time, seeing no advantage in using 2 or 3 steps to accomplish the same thing. Similarly, the Gracey Trimmer does the inside and outside chamfers while trimming, so 2 steps are eliminated; the Dillon would actually be much slower since the chamfers would still have to be done. At one time I had the trimmer and shaver set up side by side and used them back to back, but found that the shaver worked better with the lube on, but the trimmer got fouled relatively quickly, even when tilted back ~30 degrees.
I try to have ~4000 cases fully prepped at the start of the season so I can defer processing until Winter sets in. I tumble the fired brass in walnut when I get back from the range, then set it aside until free time is available; in the meantime, I spend as much time shooting as possible.
I did an experiment several years ago to determine just how much effect brass weight has on .223 loads. I used WW brass (sized, trimmed and deburred, primer pockets uniformed, flash holes deburred, and neck turned) , WSR primers, charges of RL-15 or N-550 powder weighed to 0.1 gr, and 75 gr A-Max bullets. Using the lightest and heaviest cases (sorted from 1000 once-fired I had on hand), I had two lots of 10 cases with a 3 gr difference in weight. The average muzzle velocity difference was 16 fps, just a bit more than the 12 fps due to 0.1 gr of powder. I choose to sort 0.5 gr lots of .223 brass for my long range loads, but the effect will only matter at 800-1000 yards - the vertical displacement on the target from such a small velocity change is negligible at shorter distances. Unless you control all other sources of variation, the effect of brass weight is negligible. I also shoot .284, and because the brass is twice as heavy I batch in 1 gr lots.
