Skipping the re-throating step

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twinhairdryers

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Has anyone ever skipped one of the 3 steps using the Lee presses for 9mm luger or 45ACP? I'm talking about primer removal/sizing, then expand throat, then powder and bullet set - removing the throat expansion step? I tried this with a handfull of 45acp and 9mm luger, just doing a chamfer with a rotary tool and not opening the case mouth and it seemed to work fine.

anyone else ever try doing this, or see any big issue with it for non-new brass?:eek:
 
I don't skip the expansion step. I have seen people post where they have skipped expanding.
 
I put my chamfer cutter on a drill

I spun my chamfer tool off of the handle, and put it into my drill chuck. works very well, fast, just a couple seconds of spin on each throat and no burrs left at all. i can do 50 rounds in about 3 minutes, all good clean throat angles. I had the old school wooden chamfer rotary blade. works good. thought about putting it in a press and just running 2 seconds down on a casing or so....... hmmm

i'll let you know if my no die #2, chamfer only shells work at all or not. just hoping for no overpressure due to stupidity (i'm prone to that at times). :)
 
A few thoughts

  • When I was a kid (dinosaurs roamed the earth) RCBS and others made 2-die pistol sets. There was no case mouth expander. Now they make 3-die and 4-die sets, no one makes 2-die any more. A lesson to learn from this. I still use my ancient 2-die set for 380auto but only with fmj bullets, and I accept a crushed case once in a while. But that case tension sure holds a bullet! And the cases last longer without splitting because the case mouth doesn't work harden so quickly.
  • Case mouth chamfer may be done by hand with one or two 360-degree turns of the tool. You are not beveling the case mouth, just removing the lip left by trimming the case (don't even chamfer if you're not trimming). If you're using a motor for 2 seconds, you're in danger zone. Probably equal danger zone if you're using a countersink tool of some sort. One suspects that you'll lose too much metal in a critical area.
  • Lee powder-through expander dies are made to charge powder in the same step as expanding the case mouth. Are you using a single stage press? Your case funnel (RCBS or Lyman or Lee) fits inside the aluminum adjusting nut on top of the die. When you run the ram to the top to expand the case, you drop the powder right there. No extra step, because you were going to stop and charge the case anyway. You 'skip' a step because two actions are combined into one. That's why they call it the "powder through expanding die".
 
I don't think taking short cuts on processing brass and then assembling ammunition with it is a good idea at all. More bad thoughts than good when I think about it.

LGB
 
with the Lee set you have to use the expander/powder fill die anyway unless you are useing a dispenser, I use the expander for a slight bell and a dipper to charge all pistol rounds I load. seems the bell would help to center the slug in the neck.
 
I dont trim my pistol brass, and certainly dont bell the mouth. So far havent seen any difference with my 9mm ammo.
I do load my ammo on a single stage though.
 
I don't use an expander unless I need to. I don't load unplated lead but I suspicion that you might need to for that. Been at it for years, keeps the brass better longer.
 
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