reloading factory new brass

J

Jetman

CGN Regular
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
Location
MB
have few hundred nosler factory new unfired brass .
for best accuracy results should i be loading once fired brass and sizing properly ?

i do not want to waste expensive components and not see good results.
would rather load once with cheaper alternatives and then dial it in after if that is better.
 
While I have NO experience with Nosler brass, I have found any new brass I obtain requires some trimming and de-burring before I load it.
 
If you are shooting a factory rifle with a factory chamber, I doubt very much that you would be able to tell the accuracy difference between new brass and 10 times fired brass. Or new brass and fire formed/once fired brass.
I run all new brass including Lapua through the resizer and trim to length before loading it.
 
OP: Could you clarify on what you mean by "sizing properly"?

For new unfired brass, as mentioned above, you should chamfer and deburr the neck opening. This makes a HUGE difference in seating consistency.

The neck tension, if not expanded, will likely be quite tight on new brass. If you have a neck expander die and mandrel (generally 1 thou smaller than the bullet diameter), I recommend expanding the neck to attempt to equalize the neck tension between cases. The new brass is squeaky clean so you will need a lube for inside the neck when expanding: I recommend graphite dry lube (no cleaning required). If you don't have graphite dry lube, you can use Lee case lube and mop out after, no cleaning required (it won't chemically interact with powder once its dry). If you use an oil based lube you will have to clean it out with soap and warm water, or tumble in a medium.

If you don't have a neck expander die and mandrel, then go ahead and fireform the brass since you have to do that anyway. You will manage neck tension in subsequent firings based on however you do it (bushings, full length sizing dies, neck sizing dies, expanders, etc). I doubt that you will have your loads "dialed in" for optimum accuracy the very first loading without experimenting across several powder loads, seating depths, bullet types, and neck tension adjustments with different bushings, or neck sizing dies and expanders.....unless you have used Nosler brass before and have already done all that experimental load work up and have a favourite load established.......in which case you already know what to do. :)
 
Rifle brass I chamfer and neck size, sometimes trim to uniform length. Pistol brass I just load it, if a case mouth is bent out of shape it gets run through a sizer.
 
The case should be run through a sizing die adjusted up a bit, so it just sizes most of the neck. The expander will set the neck tension to a value similar to future reloads, so that the initial shot is similar to those that follow.

After sizing and neck expanding, the neck mouth will be nice and round, so you can champfer it.

If the flash hole is punched (not drilled, like Lapua) you should run a drill bit down inside the case to kiss the flash hole and remove the flashing. Based on my lab experiment, this makes for a significant improvement in velocity and pressure ES and SD.
 
Ganderite said:
The case should be run through a sizing die adjusted up a bit, so it just sizes most of the neck. The expander will set the neck tension to a value similar to future reloads, so that the initial shot is similar to those that follow.

After sizing and neck expanding, the neck mouth will be nice and round, so you can champfer it.

If the flash hole is punched (not drilled, like Lapua) you should run a drill bit down inside the case to kiss the flash hole and remove the flashing. Based on my lab experiment, this makes for a significant improvement in velocity and pressure ES and SD.
Click to expand...

The only thing I would add to the above is this is a great time to also get the case lengths trimmed to uniform lengths and mouths trued square right after sizing, when they tend to have wavy case mouths and varying neck neck lengths.
 
Some of these recommendations make a lot of sense, assuming the OP is loading for a precision rifle or something similar.

If you are loading FMJ fodder for a plinker, (as an example) like making bulk .223, you may want to consider dispensing with some of the steps designed to uniform the cases for more precise ammunition.
 
I have years reloading Nosler brass. To say the least, it is a wonderful brass. I've experienced accuracy a trifle better after the initial shooting. It also depends what your discipline is with that brass: hunting or target shooting?
 
for some reason it did not click in my head to just resize it when new.. guess that would be better then leaving as is.

they are hunting rounds . but that is not more then 5 shots a year.. more like 1-3 actually hunting .... so i like to get best results as possible when shooting at targets.

i have realized that if you are a good shot , that your results are more based on quality rounds then the actual shooter.
 
Jetman said:
for some reason it did not click in my head to just resize it when new.. guess that would be better then leaving as is.

they are hunting rounds . but that is not more then 5 shots a year.. more like 1-3 actually hunting .... so i like to get best results as possible when shooting at targets.

i have realized that if you are a good shot , that your results are more based on quality rounds then the actual shooter.
Click to expand...

I never resize new Nosler brass. The brass is deburred, champered, flash holes drilled, trimmed and they weigh within 1 grain of each other. This is a true custom brass, similar to Lapua and Peterson.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom