Size unfired brass???

Ironing out dents is one thing but, that's the same brass that manufacturer uses to make loaded cartriges.
I'ts allready sized.
 
I always do with new brass. Some say it's not needed but I figure for the effort it takes and the peace of mind it is worth while.
 
I used to load new brass straight from the bag but one bag of particularly bad Winchester brass ended with me having to pull a pile of rounds that wouldn't chamber. I now test chamber all new brass in the rifle I'm loading it for; only takes a few minutes to do a bag of 50. I've only bought Winchester, Remington, and Federal brass as new unfired brass and have only had to resize Winchester out of the bag. Winchester bags are also sometimes one case short where as Remington have always had at least one extra case if not two or three extra.
 
In the vast majority of cases, brand new rifle brass is minimum spec and doesn't even touch the sides of a reloading die.(except the necks) You can run them through without lube, just to round out the necks. Its hard to chamfer a square neck.

In the end, you have the guys that don't size their new brass, and those that think they are sizeing their new brass but really aren't. (except for the necks) Sometimes they argue about it. Then there's the neck only guys who are doing the same as the FL guys.
 
I just went to reload both .223 and some 44 special brass last week. When I went to put the bullet in the .223, I could push it in with my fingers, and the 44 sp dropped right in. So from now on I resize. As was said it doesn't take much, but I want the extra bullet tension especially for the AR.
 
Good info guys, thank you. Such value in experience. I really appreciate the opportunity to share in the knowledge of others, makes the learning curve much smoother!
 
Always full length your brass to remove any dents, creases and to bring to SAMMI specks, weather new or used. The Nosler and Lapua brass that I use is a custom brass and I always run it through the full length die, debur the flash hole and chamfer the necks. You could also seperate the heavy from lighter brass for consistant reloading.
 
Dogleg said:
In the vast majority of cases, brand new rifle brass is minimum spec and doesn't even touch the sides of a reloading die.(except the necks) You can run them through without lube, just to round out the necks. Its hard to chamfer a square neck.

In the end, you have the guys that don't size their new brass, and those that think they are sizeing their new brass but really aren't. (except for the necks) Sometimes they argue about it. Then there's the neck only guys who are doing the same as the FL guys.
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You can add to this that all brass wears out, and the usual way is for the necks to crack. The necks crack from being sized down, then expanded as the sizing button is pulled through.
Thus, if you get 20 reloads from the casese, you lost 5% of the brass life by sizing.
If you average ten reloads, you have just taken 10% away from the life of your brass, by needlessly sizing it.
As has been pointed out, it is the same brass the factory loads their loaded rounds in, so what makes you think yours needs resizing?
 
Wouldn't annealing every so often prevent this Bruce? My reloading experience is minuscule in comparison to yours but I find primer pockets expanding to be the reason I end up tossing brass.
 
My brother came over to reload some new 222 winchester brass and u could push a bullet into the case with your fingers. Almost like it was once fired. So i would deffinetely size it.
 
07blackwater said:
Wouldn't annealing every so often prevent this Bruce? My reloading experience is minuscule in comparison to yours but I find primer pockets expanding to be the reason I end up tossing brass.
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Expanding primer pockets is a common cause of brass cases wearing out.
However, it is heavy loading that gradually stretch them. I've loaded on the heavy side with a 270 W. and some would be discarded because of expanding pockets.
For years my favourite load with a 30-06 and 180 grain bullets, which I also used in competetive shooting, was 50 grains of Norma 203. When I later got a chronograph, I found the bullets were actually making the 2700 fps they were supposed to make. Norma reloading charts are extremely accurate on the velocities they give.
I used both Norma and Dominion brass and they went something like 20 reloadings, without the primer pockets expanding.
And yes, annealing will certainly extend the life the necks will go, without cracking.
 
H4831 said:
Expanding primer pockets is a common cause of brass cases wearing out.
However, it is heavy loading that gradually stretch them. I've loaded on the heavy side with a 270 W. and some would be discarded because of expanding pockets.
For years my favourite load with a 30-06 and 180 grain bullets, which I also used in competetive shooting, was 50 grains of Norma 203. When I later got a chronograph, I found the bullets were actually making the 2700 fps they were supposed to make. Norma reloading charts are extremely accurate on the velocities they give.
I used both Norma and Dominion brass and they went something like 20 reloadings, without the primer pockets expanding.
And yes, annealing will certainly extend the life the necks will go, without cracking.
Click to expand...

Since I've replaced my .270 with a 7mm for moose hunting I've started loading my .270 fairly light to introduce my son into hunting.

I've found a load with 130's @ 2850 fps that seems accurate with minimal recoil. I'm sure the primer pockets won't expand with that load! I chrono all my loads BTW. Anyway, I'm side tracking the thread. I just like picking your brain!
 
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