Case Resizing

[Jason8691]

I have a question for the experienced reloaders. New brass, does it need to be FL resized before use? Ive read both sides of the story, but want to hear from you guys here. I only ask, because I was wondering if loaded ammo manufacturers do it before they load new brass, or if they roll with whats sent.

[seanhagerty]

With new brass, I just neck size it to make sure the necks didnt get dinged up in shipping.

[scope eye]

Hi when I get new brass I do not like resizing it if I don't have to, so what I do is load them up in the magazine and chamber them, if they cycle fine there you go, just a heads up, cycle them slowly since they do not have a bullet to guide them into the chamber, and so you don't dent the tip of the brass.

Tanks Dean

[Jason8691]

Cool thank you, I have the little Lee Loaders for my .308 and .44 mag and wanted to know before I spent money on new brass. Waynesville? Im from Washington, Mo originally.

[Jason8691]

Thanks Scope

[seanhagerty]

Washington??? Near Hermann?

Sean

[Jason8691]

Washington??? Near Hermann?

Sean

Yep thats the one. Ill be up there in a few weeks, finally retired from the Army and am takin a vacation!

[bigedp51]

Full length resize all new cases, they were shipped, bumped, dropped, shaken and resizing will realign everything before you chamber it. You can't be in that big of a hurry that your can't take this simple step to ensure case alignment in your chamber.

[Jason8691]

Full length resize all new cases, they were shipped, bumped, dropped, shaken and resizing will realign everything before you chamber it. You can't be in that big of a hurry that your can't take this simple step to ensure case alignment in your chamber.

Im not in a hurry, I just wanted to know what kind of advice you all had on it-Id just never seen a damaged one in a bag. I was just wondering if a company like Winchester does a FL size before they load, or they just load and ship.

[Westcliffe01]

You will need to check the length also and what I do is find the shortest then trim all to that length (provided it is in spec). Then chamfer inside and out. Most case mouths from the factory are not perpendicular to the axis. Then you might want to weigh them (now that the length is consistent) to see how uniform the thickness is. If there is a lot of variation, you might want to separate light from heavy. Keep doing this until you get a batch together that is a reasonable size (I like 100-200). That neatly fills some of those 50 round cases and keeps things organized.

If you are after accuracy, everything counts. It also make it easier to verify after loading that a powder charge didn't get skipped somehow.

[acemisser]

You should full size it to be on the safe side...I know a few who did not and they had brass stuck in the chamber..The brass makers even say to resize it....but do as you wish you will anyway....

[Jason8691]

Cool, then FL resize is what I will do! Thanks

[thermaler]

I bought some Nosler custom brass--says right on the box no need to resize--just load and go. Nonetheless, some of the case necks were damaged and a couple needed resizing, and they almost all needed deburring/champhering. This was at more than a buck a case. Even lapua comes packed loose in a box--maybe one day some manufacturer will offer brass held steady like packed factory ammo?

[Elkbane]

Jason,
I actually get straighter necks on new brass, and more consistent neck tension by running it over an expander (like K&M) rather than F/L resizing. Then I check length, inside and outside chamfer the cases and load for fireforming.

Without having expanded sidewalls (from firing) on new cases to center the case in the die, sometimes small burrs on the neck or uneven neck surface from lack of trimming can make the neck enter the die a little crooked and the F/L sized case (actually you are only sizing the neck) will come out with greater than desired runout. By using an expander, you get straighter cases and it sets the neck I/D exactly the same, without subjecting the case neck to the "size down then expand" work cycle.

ELkbane

[ShowMeShooter]

Cool thank you, I have the little Lee Loaders for my .308 and .44 mag and wanted to know before I spent money on new brass. Waynesville? Im from Washington, Mo originally.

I've resized all the new brass I've bought in the past.

I went to grade school in Union...Central MO now though.

[CharlieNC]

Size, trim length as necessary, de-bur primer hole, chamfer neck. Also take numerous measurements so when something goes wrong up the road you will have reference values for diagnosis; this is esp true for headspace with a comparator since this is a relative vs an absolute value.

[jibben]

I have seen to many that are no longer round! At least hit them with the expander to make them round again.

[scope eye]

Nothing a boat tail won't fix, LOL

Dean