Case Prep

AJCrowley

AJCrowley

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I'm sure that there are different schools of thought on this, but my assumption was that the process of preparing your brass was:

a) Deprime
b) Clean primer pocket
c) Trim if needed, them chamfer and deburr
d) Tumble brass
e) Reload

However, the fact that my press deprimes, resizes, and reprimes on the same stroke, has got me asking myself if it's necessary to do this each time, or if generally speaking it's ok to just put a spent cartridge in the press and reload it (assuming it doesn't require trimming), only going through the above process every X times you reuse the cartridge.

Any wiser and more experienced reloaders care to share their thoughts on this?

Thanks.
 
a) Deprime
b) Clean primer pocket
c) Trim if needed, them chamfer and deburr
d) Tumble brass
e) Reload
Click to expand...
This is how I do it, especially for accuracy in a rifle load.. For mass re-loading of pistol ammo, I will sometimes skip the cleaning of the primer pocket and use the press mounted primer seating , but other then that, you do it the same way I re-load.
 
Well I can tell you I only do a & e. I look over the brass well but I don't usually clean the primer pocket, tumble or resize. I only reload pistol, resizing is more important for rifle I assume.
 
Thats how I did my last +3000 rounds
a) Tumble brass
b) Deprime
c) Resize
d) Trim if needed, them chamfer and deburr (rifle only)
e) Clean primer pocket (rifle only)
f) Prime & Reload

I clean the bass first hate to get media in a de prime flash hole. It's also easier on dies when brass are clean
 
He said---"However, the fact that my press deprimes, resizes, and reprimes on the same stroke, has got me asking myself if it's necessary to do this each time, or if generally speaking it's ok to just put a spent cartridge in the press and reload it (assuming it doesn't require trimming), only going through the above process every X times you reuse the cartridge."

Just reload your empty shell. Don't get all hung up on this exact length bit. The only reason to trim is if the brass grows to the extent that it may squeeze the bullet by being forced into the smaller part of the chamber. I reloaded for something like twenty years, or more, by only checking the brass length by comparing it to a new factory cartridge. When it appeared a bit longer than the cartridge, I would trim it. During this time period I won quite a number of shooting awards, using my handloaded ammunition.
There will be people on here who will say for accuracy you must trim the case to the exact length, to the thousandth. MAYBE, a top quality bench rest shooter could prove this. But anytime the rifle is held in standard shooting positions, like most cometitions, it will make absilutely no difference.
 
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