Reloading New Brass

[dradave]

Friends, I have been reloading pistol ammunition for awhile but I am just getting into reloading for rifle, specifically .223. I bought some Lake City NEW brass recently and I have a few questions on the process that I need help with. My rifle of choice is an AR-15 with plans to load 55gn FMJBT bullets with light to medium loads of AA2230.

* The sampled length of the new cases are 1.754”. Do they need trimmed before loading for the first time? If trimming is necessary, what length would I trim to?
* I know the max length of the case is 1.760. After firing the reloaded rounds one or more times, what would be the length of the case where trimming would be necessary if other than the case max length?
* Does the case need trimmed to a specific length before reloading after each firing?
* Considering these reloads are on the light side and with proper care, how many times do you think these cases can be reloaded?

I have the Lee Modern Reloading 2nd edition but I haven't been able to find answers to these questions. I'll pick up the Lymans 49th next week but any help now would be appreciated.

Thanks...

 

[snuffy]

You won't need to trim those cases, UNLESS you are loading ultra precise target rounds.

What I do with new brass is; I back off my FL die about a half turn. Then run the cases in and out, by backing it off, you won't need to lube them. This makes sure the mouth of the case is round. Then I chamfer the inside of the neck. This allows the bullet easy seating WITHOUT scraping the sides of the bullet. Then just load as usual.

After firing them check the length. That is when you might have to trim them. Most manuals have a max case length listed, along with a trim-to-length.

You should get good case life out of those. An AR rifle is hard on brass, dents and scratches are common. But at least 5 loadings before neck splits start to occur.

 

[cfullgraf]

Sizing the neck of new cases is a good idea. It makes sure they are round and will insure the proper neck tension.

I check the length of the cases and trim any that happen to be over length. Chamfering and deburring the case mouth is a good idea.

After firing and resizing the brass is when you need check the length. I trim only the cases that are over the maximum length. This is usually about 25% to 50% of the cases.

Better accuracy is obtained if all the cases are the same length, but I'm not good enough to see the difference.

I also get 5 or so reloadings out of a 223 Rem case in an AR but the limit is usually the primer pockets. The primer pockets get loose and no, I am not bumping the max pressure limit.

 

[Cemetery21]

Good advice above. New mouths can be out of round - partial sizing and deburring will prevent crushing a case mouth on seating. I check length after every firing, after sizing, and only trim those over length.
I use 2230 and X-Terminator - excellent accuracy for prairie dogs.

 

[jerkface11]

I only size new brass if the mouths are out of round. My Lake City stuff all looked good out of the box though.

 

[243winxb]

http://www.6mmbr.com/223Rem.htmlThe correct way is FLRS first, trim to 1.750" Chamfer and Deburring the case mouth, Load. The fast way is, see if the brass chambers in your rifle, if they do, load them. The boatail of the bullet will fix most case mouth out of roundness.

Does the case need trimmed to a specific length before reloading after each firing?

No, when after FLRSing, the case becomes longer than the maximum of 1.760" then you need to trim them back .010" Make note, if you were using an RCBS X Die, brass would be trimmed even shorter to 1.740"

 

[R.W.Dale]

The correct way is FLRS first, trim to 1.750" Chamfer and Deburring the case mouth, Load. The fast way is, see if the brass chambers in your rifle, if they do, load them. The boatail of the bullet will fix most case mouth out of roundness.

This

Save the "real" brass prep for the post fireform load.

IMO it's not the number of firings but the number of sizings that are finite for a particular case. Any sizing you do before shooting that case is one fewer sizing you get out of that case on the tail end of it's lifespan.

 

[Ruger GP100 fan]

What is meant by "primer pockets getting loose",cfullgraf? If you are referring to the primers going in too easy I noticed that the last time I reloaded the same cases for about the 5th or 6th time the primers went in even harder. I'm using the same hand-held pocket reamer each time and have been wanting to find a better way to get the pockets down to bare brass. I shoot purely for accuracy,so if I do start cleaning them out better is it likely that I'll get fewer reloads from the brass to get back more accurate ammo? I've been shooting and reloading for a 22-250 I bought this past summer and am new to both shooting and reloading.

 

[W.E.G.]

The issue with NEW BRASS is the question of UNIFORMITY of length.

Generally, the manufacturers are very good about this.
But there are exceptions.

I like to CHAMFER new brass for use in the AR-15.
Since my chamfering tool (Gracey trimmer) also trims to length, I get the chamfer and the uniformity-check before the brass is put into service.

 

[cfullgraf]

What is meant by "primer pockets getting loose",cfullgraf? If you are referring to the primers going in too easy I noticed that the last time I reloaded the same cases for about the 5th or 6th time the primers went in even harder. I'm using the same hand-held pocket reamer each time and have been wanting to find a better way to get the pockets down to bare brass. I shoot purely for accuracy,so if I do start cleaning them out better is it likely that I'll get fewer reloads from the brass to get back more accurate ammo? I've been shooting and reloading for a 22-250 I bought this past summer and am new to both shooting and reloading.

Over several reloadings in my ARs, the primer pockets get where the primers go in easier than when new. The extreme is there is no tension at all and the primer falls out on its own.

If I clean the primer pocket at all, I only use a brush so I don't enlarge the primer pocket with a reamer or some other kind of pocket cutter.

This happens with all of my ARs including a 204 Ruger and a 17 Remington. Brass life on this basis for me is about 5 or so loadings and then I get concerned that the primer pockets may be too loose.

As long as the primer stays in the pocket, I have not experienced primers blowing out of the pocket upon firing.

I also have a 223 Remington bolt rifle and a 17 Remington bolt rifle and neither of them expand the primer pockets upon firing. Lots of the AR brass gets cycled to the bolt rifles before they need to be tossed. Neck sized bolt cases last a long time. Unfortunately, I generate lots more used AR brass than I consume in the bolt rifles.

 

[Ruger GP100 fan]

Thanks Chuck. Yeah,mine's a bolt and I'm not having that problem.

 

[Grumulkin]

I don't do ANYTHING to new brass other than chamfer the mouth if I'll be reloading flat based bullets.

Another group shot with unscrewed around with new brass.

A 1.5 inch 200 yard group shot with a 460 S&W Encore handgun using new unmeddled with new brass.

Unless you have a lot of time on your hands, you don't need to do anything with new brass with the exception of maybe 1 or 2 cases per hundred in my experience that come pretty deformed.

 

[Pete D.]

New brass? I just load it and shoot it.
For my AR, I bought a factory case of Winchester primed brass. Since it is already primed, it pretty obviously shouldn't be run through a sizing die. Cartridges loaded with that brass shoot quite well. I have shot my best groups of any rifle with that gun, that brass and iron sights (0.5 inch at 100 yards). I am confident that just loading and shooting works well.
Pete

 

[MrOldLude]

W/ new Lake City stuff for my AR also using AA2230, yeah, I don't do much to them.

I neck-size only, because yeah, many of the necks aren't completely round. Also I apply a light chamfer to the inside of the neck. I seat the bullet to the cannelure, which is approximately 2.230" w/ winchester 55gr FMJ. The bullets aren't super accurate, but plenty good w/ irons. (My bolt-gun gets MatchKings)

After firing however, I full-length size, and trim each case.

 

[Walkalong]

Size it, trim it if needed, deburr and chamfer it if you trimmed it. I believe consistent case length is important to accuracy, so if it is for a very accurate gun, I want the cases to be the same. No, it's not going to make a huge difference, but it is just easy to do, so I do it.

It's all a waste of time with 55 Gr FMJ-BT bullets.

Just make sure the cases are not too long, for safety.

 

[A and O]

^^^^Try using sp or hp in economy or if finances allow use vmax bullets.^^^^