Military brass, better to swage or ream?
- Thread starter Cdamen
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- big sky country
Reaming tends to remove material. Swaging shouldn't.
If you plan on weighing your brass for sorting it's something to think about.
I am buying myself a dillon dillon super swage as I have a ton of 223 crimped brass.
If you plan on weighing your brass for sorting it's something to think about.
I am buying myself a dillon dillon super swage as I have a ton of 223 crimped brass.
What do you mean by better?
For my m14, I use a bunch of korean brass that I reamed with the lee reamer. They work great.
One of the batches of brass I have for my bolt gun is factory crimped lapua 308 that was crimped. I reamed these with the lee reamer. They work great.
If I was doing a large batch, I'd try the dillon super swager as well. I know the RBCS swager doesn't work though. At least not for me.
For my m14, I use a bunch of korean brass that I reamed with the lee reamer. They work great.
One of the batches of brass I have for my bolt gun is factory crimped lapua 308 that was crimped. I reamed these with the lee reamer. They work great.
If I was doing a large batch, I'd try the dillon super swager as well. I know the RBCS swager doesn't work though. At least not for me.
There probably is no real difference between the two methods. I found that for a few cases (a box of 20 perhaps), the reaming method worked well enough. For more cases, my RCBS swager has always worked well. I can process hundreds of cases without difficulty.
I am curious as to why the RCBS swager does not work for you.
I am curious as to why the RCBS swager does not work for you.
I have the RCBS swaging tool. Didn't work that well for me. Now I just put a chamfering tool in a little lathe, as a stationary power head, and cut the residual crimp away. Fast and easy.
I have heard the dillon tool is the best way to go.
I try to avoid crimped primers.
Weighing IVI 7.62 brass? IVI?
I have heard the dillon tool is the best way to go.
I try to avoid crimped primers.
Weighing IVI 7.62 brass? IVI?
I just finished swaging about 1000 .233 this afternoon with my Dillon super swage. It took maybe two hours once I got a rhythym going. It worked pretty slick.
Before this I had used an RCBS case prep center to ream 1000 .223. It took for friggin' ever and was a miserable experience. For me, the Dillon is well worth the $100. Plus the thing should last forever.
My vote would be to swage. I don't think reaming has any advantage, but that's just me.
Before this I had used an RCBS case prep center to ream 1000 .223. It took for friggin' ever and was a miserable experience. For me, the Dillon is well worth the $100. Plus the thing should last forever.
My vote would be to swage. I don't think reaming has any advantage, but that's just me.
The life of the primer pocket is set as a combination of the brass quality and how hot your loads are - swaging / reaming makes no difference.
Click here for a comprehensive look at removing primer crimps.
I have and use the Dillon Super Swage. It is far from the "creme dela creme", and I'd also argue about how fast it is in comparison to reaming with a chucked reamer in a drill.
If you are looking at a large amount of brass, already have a cordless drill, the cheapest, easiest, and arguably fastest method is reaming with a good cutter in a drill.
If you are looking at a large amount of brass, already have a cordless drill, the cheapest, easiest, and arguably fastest method is reaming with a good cutter in a drill.
I purchased a 50$ Carbide reamer from Mac Tools, chucked it in an electric drill, It will remove the crimps as fast as I can pull the trigger on the drill, takes less than a second, a bit pricey for just a bit, but it has done more cases than I would wish to count over the years.. Mostly 9mm and .223, no issues...
My new $97.00 Lyman Case Prep Express came with reamers, S&L, and I have a Forster trimmer jig ($60.00) for my drill press. These are great tools for processing heaps of IVI and FC brass quickly. With these tools and a bag of 735 surplus powder, you're in the plinking & 3 gun business to stay. LD accuracy ? Now thats a whole other voodoo. For volume you have many options, most of which are suitable as long as they involve electricity.
