More New Reloader Questions

[DrSpaceJam]

I've been saving my brass pretty much since I started shooting since I knew I'd want to get into reloading someday, and I've been trickling the supplies into my home over time. For the last day or so I've finally started taking action using a Lee Hand Press to start reloading my .38 Special and .357 Magnum cases. I've got a Lyman reloading manual that I've read a dozen times and I've scoured the internet, but I still have a few questions. I've been writing them down as I encountered them so here goes everything all at once.

1) In the Lyman manual, it states that you should keep your brass separated into lots and everything, but it also mentions separating them by brand. This means I have separate baggies for Federal, Remington and so on. My question is, is this necessary? It's all going to be fired the same amount--once, at this point. If I lump all my different brands of casing together, does this make a difference? I don't understand where this advice comes from, if somebody can explain it I'd appreciate it.

2) Everything was going well until I got to the measurement and trimming phase. I find that virtually all of my casings are below the Trim-To length suggested. Is this ok? There's tons of discussion in the manual about avoiding going over the limit, obviously, but when I'm below is it significant in any way? This is all once-fired brass I've fired from my own pistol and lever carbine.]

I guess 2a) Where can I find minimum safe OAL data?

3) How 'clean' is clean? I use a Turbo Tumbler with the corn cob media. I ran a bunch of .38s through the tumbler for about two hours and they came out spotless, but my .357 cases in some cases still look pretty rancid after two hours. The wear on them isn't exactly wiping off, either. Will some of this staining just accumulate? I'm not worried about having pretty brass, I just don't want to mess up my dies.

4) When I use the Expanding Die, how visible should the mouth flaring be? I've read that for some people, the flaring isn't even visible. My flare is pronounced, but I'd thought I followed the instructions all properly. It looks very small, just on the mouth of the casing, but I can definitely see it. I'm paranoid that I'll wreck up all this brass I've accumulated. Sure, I'm probably being paranoid, but then some reassurance wouldn't hurt. Will I only really know if I've set the die properly when I actually seat some bullets and see how it goes?

5) How do I clean my hand press? The ram that collects the primer is getting pretty dirty on the inside and I can't think of some obvious way to get the gunk out.

Thanks for any help. I know this forum gets tons of new reloaders asking questions that have probably been asked a dozen times before, so I try the search, but I can't find a good combination of terms t get appropriate responses on this.

 

[FLSTFO2]

#1 The reason you separate brass by brand is because of case volume, A case with larger volume won't have as much perssure as a case with lower volume with the same charge of powder. This is more of a issue when reloading for accuracy, not so much for pistols as long as you load isn't at max in the larger volume case as this will put the lower volume case of max.

#2 A lot of reloaders find the shortest case and trim all the cases to that length,again this is for accuracy . your brass will stretch when you run it through the dies so check it after its been resized as long as its below max oal your good to go. min oal isn't much of a concern .

#3 If your brass is stained you can soak it in CLR to make it shiny. dirt on the case can damage your dies but shiny brass is not a must.I clean mine every 3-4 rounds otherwise I just wipe it of and resize it then run a brush in the neck.

#4 not sure, Iv'e never reloaded pistol brass. I've expanded rifle cases from 6.5mm to 7mm and 6mm to 6.5mm and never had a problem.

#5 compressed air.

 

[glycerin]

Most handgun brass shortens(magnums may differ). Consistency of crimp may require trimming, but not often. Sorting by length, not brand might be better. For rimmed case seat appropriate bullet to the crimp groove(not COAL). For rimless(like 9mm and .45acp), use coal in book for a bullet very similar in weight and style, make up a dummy to test for proper chambering in barrel, short enough to fit in mag. Flaring(increase of mouth) shouldn't need to be more than .005, to allow smooth entry of lead bullet.

 

[hk33ka1]

For most pistol loading and plinking with rifle you can mix them all in if loading minimum loads. If working up to maximum or for best accuracy in rifle you want all things the same including brass brands and lots.

Straight walled cases like most pistol and rifle rounds like .45-70 don't usually grow in length and sometimes they actually get a bit shorter. Basically no one trims pistol brass, just shoot reload repeat. Case length has nothing to do with overall cartridge length. Set the seating die up to seat to the length in the manual or pretty close and it will be fine.

You don't even have to tumble brass, but when you do and there are stains this is perfectly ok. You won't wreck dies with reasonably clean brass. Some people wipe it off or wash them and let them dry. There are more fancy and expensive cleaning methods but they don't make the ammo shoot any better, although some people now suddenly think they will ruin there dies without it. 40 years ago no one had tumblers and they still made great ammo without wrecking their equipment.

There should be enough flare to start seating the bullet. Usually for pistol a nice taper crimp will remove that after seating.

You probably don't need to clean the primer residue (contains lead) from inside the Lee ram, but if you did brake parts cleaner would likely do it. Make sure to oil the outside of the ram a little after if it gets wiped dry.

 

[jeff270]

I got bored one day and weighed my bucket of .38 brass
The weight difference between brands was pretty big.
I adjust the case expander just enough to hold the bullet in place and square.

 

[New Camper]

I've been saving my brass pretty much since I started shooting since I knew I'd want to get into reloading someday, and I've been trickling the supplies into my home over time. For the last day or so I've finally started taking action using a Lee Hand Press to start reloading my .38 Special and .357 Magnum cases. I've got a Lyman reloading manual that I've read a dozen times and I've scoured the internet, but I still have a few questions. I've been writing them down as I encountered them so here goes everything all at once.

1) In the Lyman manual, it states that you should keep your brass separated into lots and everything, but it also mentions separating them by brand. This means I have separate baggies for Federal, Remington and so on. My question is, is this necessary? It's all going to be fired the same amount--once, at this point. If I lump all my different brands of casing together, does this make a difference? I don't understand where this advice comes from, if somebody can explain it I'd appreciate it.

I like to keep mine sorted as well, especially with rifle as my expectations and desire is toward five shot groups under 1 moa: With handgun, the OCD part of me likes everything to be the same, but because I am not a pistol marksman, I will not be fussy about cases until I am an excellent shot (read accuracy desires from rifle comment) I reload for 9mm(although it is hardly worthwhile considering the small savings) but 357mag, 45acp and especially 44mag the savings are great from reloading. I use Lee trimmers for these and the two magnums usually need trimming everytime to satisfy that hint of OCD, but they would probably be fine if I skipped a reload: I must add here that usually cases are crimped, with the 45acp having a small taper crimp, while the other two are roll crimped usually heavier - case length will become more important because the longer the case is in a batch of proper length cases, the longer case will have a heavier crimp which will retain the bullet longer after powder ignition which will drastically increase chamber pressure. Be safe, trim all to same length so the crimp die can do it's job consistently. Conversely, if no crimp is used with heavy recoiling gun, bullets may not be retained in the correct position: If you shoot especially tube fed guns, you will realize the importance. Reloading manuals will list a range of powder weights for a certain bullet weight and style in a given caliber: Generally, this considers that the case will be crimped correctly but they are the authority so mind their instructions.

2) Everything was going well until I got to the measurement and trimming phase. I find that virtually all of my casings are below the Trim-To length suggested. Is this ok? There's tons of discussion in the manual about avoiding going over the limit, obviously, but when I'm below is it significant in any way? This is all once-fired brass I've fired from my own pistol and lever carbine.]

the above touches on that: Incorrectly trimmed brass will be crimped to differing degrees: If they are all short but the same length, it is nothing to worry about because the crimp die can be adjusted for that, but if they are too short, a rimless semi-auto may not headspace on the case mouth and the firing pin will not be able to strike the primer properly. I wouldn't be worried with a rimmed case like the 357/38, because you can adjusted the crimp die the few thousandths deeper to effectively crimp the neck.

I guess 2a) Where can I find minimum safe OAL data?

reloading manuals

3) How 'clean' is clean? I use a Turbo Tumbler with the corn cob media. I ran a bunch of .38s through the tumbler for about two hours and they came out spotless, but my .357 cases in some cases still look pretty rancid after two hours. The wear on them isn't exactly wiping off, either. Will some of this staining just accumulate? I'm not worried about having pretty brass, I just don't want to mess up my dies.

brass tarnishes, and polishing/cleaning does remove tiny film of brass. If you are indifferent to appearance, only make the brass clean so they do not introduce abrasive matter into the reloading die: A scratched die will scratch every case it resizes and wear the brass prematurely.

4) When I use the Expanding Die, how visible should the mouth flaring be? I've read that for some people, the flaring isn't even visible. My flare is pronounced, but I'd thought I followed the instructions all properly. It looks very small, just on the mouth of the casing, but I can definitely see it. I'm paranoid that I'll wreck up all this brass I've accumulated. Sure, I'm probably being paranoid, but then some reassurance wouldn't hurt. Will I only really know if I've set the die properly when I actually seat some bullets and see how it goes?

only expand the case mouth enough so you can get the bullet base into it far enough that it stays: flaring further only stretches the brass more, which will weaken the mouth, and lengthen the brass. This shortens brass life, and you may end up splitting the brass, which relegates the case to the scrap bin.

5) How do I clean my hand press? The ram that collects the primer is getting pretty dirty on the inside and I can't think of some obvious way to get the gunk out.

My RCBS rock chucker builds up junk, mostly carbon during decapping: I usually decap before case cleaning, so the primer pockets are cleaned as well, but I do wipe off the brass and brush out the neck, oil case body and inside of neck - my ultrasonic cleaner removes this so powder contamination is not an issue. Rockchucker is easily disassembled by pulling a couple c-clips facilitating dirt removal and reapplication of dry silicone lube.

I may have forgotten a point somewhere on the case length topic, so I encourage you to listen to more experienced reloaders who hopefully will point out my shortcomings through their own experiences relative to your questions.
Thanks for any help. I know this forum gets tons of new reloaders asking questions that have probably been asked a dozen times before, so I try the search, but I can't find a good combination of terms t get appropriate responses on this.[/QUOTE]

 

[DrSpaceJam]

Wow, thanks everyone. Tons of useful information here, I appreciate it.

I just want to be clear on the case timming thing. If my cases are all at or under the trim-to length, I shouldn't be trimming them below that to uniform standard, should I? I understand that you want to trim them to be uniform for the crimping, but will trimming call my cases below Trim-To Length to be uniform with the shortest case be necessary?

Thanks again. Still digesting some of this stuff.

 

[New Camper]

Wow, thanks everyone. Tons of useful information here, I appreciate it.

I just want to be clear on the case timming thing. If my cases are all at or under the trim-to length, I shouldn't be trimming them below that to uniform standard, should I? I understand that you want to trim them to be uniform for the crimping, but will trimming call my cases below Trim-To Length to be uniform with the shortest case be necessary?

Thanks again. Still digesting some of this stuff.

I wouldn't bother trimming them unless they are too long. Unless you are able to put bullet after bullet through the same hole with your revolver(38/357 so I presume it's a revolver), I'd let them eventually "stretch" out to standard length. When I trim my revolver cases, if the cutter on my Lee trimmer doesn't take any brass off, I reload it with the rest and don't worry about the few thousandths the case has yet to stretch: They do stretch eventually, and faster with heavy loads; but this pales in comparison to stretching in a rifle case. The shortest cases won't crimp as much, and the only adverse effect I can think of is the delay after powder ignition until the bullet becomes "uncrimped" and leaves the case is shorter: This produces less pressure which results in less velocity ... not perfectly consistent grouping, but unless you are an accomplished marksman you won't be able to notice the difference in your groupings.

 

[tigger]

I am oc as well, but not a pistol marksman by any means. Some say I go overboard with my case prep but I do like square and even cases. I have two "batches" those that are to trim length and those that are under. I use the uneven ones for bulk practice loads, for practicing technique such as breathing, trigger pull, stance and such. You know when you make a mistake a micro second after the shot is fired. I save the to length and even ones for target, when I am benchmarking myself with wc bullets. These get the best of everything as I do not want an ammo related flier!