Lets Reload some Ammo!

[the old grind]

I will crush a primer now and then on mine as well. I got so I always look at the primer bar as it comes back out to make sure the primer is sitting correctly in the cup. Being smooth on the handle certainly helps.

On pistol brass I use a four cutter counter sink bit to take care of crimped primers. I am thinking about getting a swage for my ,223/5.56 range brass as a lot of it is military brass. Haven't started reloading those yet but getting closer.

I bought 'reloaded' Ammo whose primer crimps had been removed by chamfering. (UltraMax .223 in LC brass, IIRC) I was concerned about pri-pockets having lower sides, and whether they would firmly hold successive primers securely. When cases get near the end of their useful life the tell is often that the case heads/pri-pockets will stretch just enuf not to hold primers firmly. This becomes a problem with semi-autos if primers fall out on extraction and get into the action.

I set up a single stage press with Lee's Ram Prime and found that my RCBS trigger pull scale registered within its normal range at the end of the handle when seating. New, uncrimped brass took 6-8 lbs force, and chamfered pull-downs more in the 4-5 lb range. A mil crimp need only be removed once, but I'm one that fusses a bit much over the details of case uniformity. Consistent seating pressure is one way I monitor the condition of a batch of brass.

Make what you will of all that, but I came away wanting to remove the crimp another way. There are pocket reamers that will scour the excess, but one has to be sure proper pocket depth isn't fudged when setting them up. A swaging tool, not everyone's cup of tea btw, has become my choice for tweaking mil pockets for predictable dimensions when seating.

btw: a big +1 on cleaning brass 'wet' with the SS pins. It's fast & quiet, the mix is cheap, there's no dust, and nothing gets 'icky' if the setup is shelved for long periods, even with the pins left wet. All of my vibrating and ultrasonic cleaning gear has been gathering dust since I made the switch, and any brass or copper items can be shined up with this gear in 2 lb batches. (I go by weight vs count, and storage-tarnished plumbing fittings are easily refreshed for that new look.)

 

[k0ua]

Here is another way to deal with military crimped primer pockets.

Dillon Precision: Reloaders, Reloading Equipment, Bullet Reloading, Bullet Reloaders

 

[k0ua]

I am happy to see this thread has evolved into a discussion of reloading techniques, tips and tricks and equipment. Keep 'em coming. :thumbsup:

James K0UA

 

[charlz]

Make what you will of all that, but I came away wanting to remove the crimp another way. There are pocket reamers that will scour the excess, but one has to be sure proper pocket depth isn't fudged when setting them up. A swaging tool, not everyone's cup of tea btw, has become my choice for tweaking mil pockets for predictable dimensions when seating.

Yeah I was looking at the Dillon Super Swage and came across reference on using the Lyman system instead. With the Lyman being on sale for Black Friday they are about the same price but the Lyman obviously does so much more than just fix the primer pockets. Still on the fence.

btw: a big +1 on cleaning brass 'wet' with the SS pins. It's fast & quiet, the mix is cheap, there's no dust, and nothing gets 'icky' if the setup is shelved for long periods, even with the pins left wet. All of my vibrating and ultrasonic cleaning gear has been gathering dust since I made the switch, and any brass or copper items can be shined up with this gear in 2 lb batches. (I go by weight vs count, and storage-tarnished plumbing fittings are easily refreshed for that new look.)

I tinkered a bit with SS pins using an older rock polisher. Problem is I found an older Dillon 2000 vibratory cleaner at a garage sale for $5. The SS pin tumbler does maybe 200 brass at a time, I can dump 2000 in the vibratory cleaner. Unless I somehow get my hands on a high-capacity rock tumbler I think I will stick with the vibratory cleaner as it just takes too long. I might still use SS for certain rifle brass but not for pistol or at least not every time.

 

[dodge man]

I broke off my decapper in the process also. I'm not sure if I hit a military piece of brass or not. Luckily the Dillon dies came with a spare. I also got a couple of 308's mixed in with my 30-06. I guess the stuff is in the ground and you pick it up as yours.

I know in the other thread I talked about the fact I've never trimmed brass. Until this weekend the only rifle I've reloaded was 223. This last weekend was the first time I've reloaded 30-06. None of it needed trimmed and it was all once fired. I put a few rounds through my Garand just to make sure I had good loads. I can tell by checking the twice fired brass it will without a doubt need trimmed. I checked a bunch of my 223 brass and found that it really was still under the point where it needed trimmed.Some of it has been fired several times also. I'm guessing the larger rifle stuff is just a lot harder on brass. I'll have to pick up a trimmer before I reload my 30-06 again.

 

[dodge man]

I have a question for others. I just bought a 380 ACP pistol. Is 380 worth reloading?

 

[Scott85]

I have a question for others. I just bought a 380 ACP pistol. Is 380 worth reloading?

Do you shoot a lot or plan to shoot a lot? I don't see where you can go wrong reloading anything if you already have everything minus the 380 dies.

 

[dodge man]

I plan on shooting at least a few hundred rounds a year for practice. I thought it was going to be hard to even find the ammo for it, but the local Walmart had quite a bit of it in stock.

 

[Scott85]

I plan on shooting at least a few hundred rounds a year for practice. I thought it was going to be hard to even find the ammo for it, but the local Walmart had quite a bit of it in stock.

I'm going to say it isn't worth it. Maybe a thousand rounds a year it would be but not a couple hundred.

 

[Soundguy]

I have a question for others. I just bought a 380 ACP pistol. Is 380 worth reloading?

3 die set is 28 bucks from lee.

I look at it like this. if you don't shoot in volume.. you won't save much by reloading due to buying projectiles in small quantities. however.. the nice thing is you can play with what projectiles you use, and what COAL / where you seat the projectile.

IE.. some factory loads and bullet types don't always feed good in the small semi auto's like 32 and 380 acp. by using the projectile you want and playing with the seating depth.. you might make a gun more reliable.

Some feedramps don't like hollow point.. some don't like the truncated fmj.. etc.. etc. you can pick and choose if you reload.

Lastly. on your garand. remember.. as a semi- she will be harder on your brass.. and be more picky about wanting fl resizing.. and keep pressure in mind for long op rod life.