Starting to reload rifle brass????

[rubberdown]

I've been reloading 9mm and .45acp pistol ammo for a while now, and have been saving my Norinco .223 rifle brass and have a press on the way for it. I'll be using a Lee Pro 1000 (I personally like these little presses) with the 3 dies, and wondering what will be different between pistol and rifle ammo reloading.

Do I have to "swage" this Norinco brass?
If so, is this a step that only needs to be done the first time, or does it have to be done every time I reload it?
Should I deprime and size it all first and then measure the brass over all length?

I understand reloading rifle ammo is a much more time consuming process than pistol reloading, I just dont want to mess it up LOL, I want to do it right the first time, and will buy the necessary tools to do it with your help

 

[supernova]

If it is crimped then yes, you will have to swage it before trying to prime it. It is a major PITA to chamfer the primer pockets and that sometimes doesn't do it no matter how deep you go. 5.56 brass may be much longer than .223 so trimming after sizing would be very smart especially because the pro1000 uses an RGB die set with roll crimp seating die. FWIW Ive had some Win 5.56 brass stretch to as much as 1.780" after sizing, before trimming. That's a full 20 thou longer than SAAMI .223 max trim length. If you haven't done any rifle reloading yet I would suggest buying a single stage to practice each step with before trying to run off a batch in a progressive. Use the RGB dies for the pro100 and get a feel for reloading the .223 then set up your progressive.

 

[coreyd]

RD... you will have to swage the brass the first time, after that you're good to go. Once you get the Lee Pro, pull the dies out of it and do a few through a single stage so that you get the feel for each step. It's a little bit different when you're dealing with necked cases that stretch as they are shot. Another thing you want is a case gage too. It will save you a lot of grief. I have a Dillon 1050 with a 1200 trimmer on the way for doing my 223. It swages on one of the stages and the trimmer goes into another stage and it should roll out 1k cartridges an hour if everything is running smooth.