Curiosity

[Idaho Mule]

I am just curious about how others go about re-loading. No specific caliber/cartridge, just in general, your order of case treatment from "empty" case until you have a freshly re-loaded round ready to go. I will list my order, and am open to hear critique.
1. de-cap using Lee Universal d-capping die, I brush primer pocket clean at this point, and....
2.toss them into my polisher (Frankford Arsenal vibratory), then sift and clean out flash holes...
3. run through appropriate sizing die (full length or otherwise, depending on victim)....
4.trim to length, I use LEE's length gage method, I adjust these to fit my needs but they work quite well....
5.size case, sometimes this can vary from full length to neck sizing only to some things more complicated.... (belling)...
5.prime....
6.charge with powder (hopefully a charge that is compatible with one of my powder measures)....
7.seat bullet, or boolit to correct OAL....
8.crimp, if needed
9.polish off with a semi-clean rag and visually inspect, before storing in appropriate box.....
10.fill out load manual, and load label for "new" box of ammo.....
Just curious to see if others do it close to the way I do it. As said before, I am open to critique to see if I can improve on anything, other people look through different eyes and may see something I don't. Thanks. JW

[PhantomRider64]

I do it basically the same way. If the brass is very dirty,,,I load my .45 Colts with BP sometimes I will clean with walnut then polish with corn cob.

[Dave W.]

Sounds like you are doing fine.

I use a Dillon 550 progressive so the procedure is a little different.
For straight wall pistol cases:
1. Sort by caliber, primer hole size and finish.
2. Run through the tumbler.
3. Consult a couple different reloading manuals to get the powder charge and OAL for the bullet weight.
4. Set up the press with the correct dies, primers, bullets and power.
5. Using one case (one station at a time), adjust the power charge, bullet seating depth and crimp.
6. The first several rounds will get checked at each station to make sure the adjustments are correct. Getting the powder adjusted may take several tries.
7. Load up several hundred rounds. About every hundredth one will double check the powder charge.
8. Clean and inspect each round, put in a box and label it with the load particulars.

For rifle cartridges there is more case prep;
Remove the primer and either neck size or full length size.
Trim to length.
Tumble.
Clean the primer pocket and inspect each case.
After that the steps are pretty much the same as with pistol cases except that each power charge is weighed individually.

Last, but not least, have fun shooting them!

[MyFlatline]

I de-cap and put in the wet tumbler, 99% of the time the pockets are clean. For rifle I size and trim, not so much on pistol. Hand prime as I sit in front of the computer, load 1 round at a time. RCBS Charge Master dispensing, I flare the mouth, then charge the case ( in a loading block), seat the bullet and crimp. I use the Lee turret with the auto advance disconnected. So far it works and no chance of a double charge.

[hornet112]

I skip the universal de-capper and re-size and de-prime in one step. Then off to the tumbler walnut then corncob and back to finish reloading.

[NoZombies]

It depends on caliber and purpose. Blasting ammo for subguns goes through the SS pins and then the dillon. Match grade rifle ammo is substantially more involved, anything in between will get the requisite amount of effort required to produce the results I'm looking for.

[smoked turkey]

I do basically the same way as you have listed with exception of case trimming. I measure case length and try to get a length that is below max that has a large number of cases. The longer cases go into a container with a note "needs trimming". Confession time. I must admit that I am not one that enjoys the case trimming process. As such I put it off if I can. I am a stickler for nice clean cases with the primer pockets cleaned. I know that uniform length cases are a part of making good ammunition. I need to place a higher priority of trimming all cases to uniform length. Maybe that would be a good new year's resolution for me?

[country gent]

I load a lot of bpcr rounds and for them here is what I do
Brass goes into jug of lemi shine dish soap water as fired, during a match its after the string is done
when I get home a hot water rinse 3-4 times to get most of the crud and soap out.
deprime with a hand tool
Scrap primer pockets
let dry
clean in vibratory with corn cobs and a small amount of Iosso brass polish and nu finish
Anneal if necessary
A light repolish if annealed
prime
charge cases with appropriate Black Powder
add wads as needed
compress charge
Hand seat bullets onto wads
size to set neck tension around bullets
wipe bullets to remove any excess lube

[Walter Laich]

another method:

remove the tool head and primer assembly on my Dillon SDB (all of 7 screws)--replace tool head with one that only has depriming pin

run cases through (only have to put them in--they rotate out and into bin)

wet tumble with SS chips (for me faster than SS pins)

lay on towel which is on wire rack that is 4" off ground till dry (or overnight if no Sun)

reassemble press and off to races

[MT Gianni]

Rifle, deprime and inspect. If dirty they get tumbled, if not set with the rest of that group if hunting loads. 223 get thrown in the 5 gallon bucket. Resize and prime, fill and seat. Generally done on the Rockchucker.

Pistol are looked at the same if dirty tumbled and inspected. On the Lee turret they are resized, deprimed and primed, next station bells and charges, third seats a bullet and last is usually empty. If I am using non lee dies I use a Lyman M die for step two and charge from a Lyman 1200 digital powder system. I empty the pan, hit next on the scale and it is ready before the next time I need powder.
I run cases by a length gauge for caliber and trim the long ones.
I have a couple of sets of labels from an old estate I bought with date, bullet, powder, primer, and a comment section I put the lube and hardness in. They are so old the box doesn't have a zip code in the address but they work fine.

[brewer12345]

Mostly working with pistol caliber stuff these days. I wet tumble without the pins, then decap/resize/reprime. I flare the brass and chuck it in a bin. I try to keep the brass bins full for my primary calibers (practically speaking at the moment, 38 special is my primary object of affection). Once the bins are as full as I can get them, they await my whims. Want to try a different powder or charge on a given boolit? They are waiting. Want to try a new boolit? Ditto. Want to fill an ammo can after emptying one at the range? Ditto.

I am about to start working with .30-06. I will start by piling up a bin of prepped brass. Main difference will be to deprime before tumbling and trim to length as necessary.

[OS OK]

2.toss them into my polisher (Frankford Arsenal vibratory), then sift and clean out flash holes...
Thanks. JW

Pet stores sell a ground walnut for 'Lizard bedding' that is too small to stick in the flash holes and it really cleans the primer pockets...good stuff and way cheaper too.

[earlmck]

1) If bottle neck cartridges needing F.L. sizing I spray on lube (Hornady One-shot, or homemade version thereof).
2) Size/deprime
3) Bell/prime, place in loading block
4) Charge w/powder
5) Visually inspect powder level under good light
6) Seat/crimp boolit
7) Wipe w/paper towel and inspect and place in cartridge box
8) Enter load data in my loading book.

I tumble in soapy water if they got muddy or dirty on last shooting session, but not as a normal thing.
I trim rifle cases when they get too long -- so maybe twice in the life of a normal case? For this I like the Lee Quick-Trim with the turning done with cordless drill.
I haven't cleaned a primer pocket in 40 years (been loading over 50 years, so yeah, I did at one time think that was something to do).

[fcvan]

I am so retentive about keeping my press and dies clean I deprime with a small Lee Reloader press. 30+ years ago, Midway had a special where if you bought dies, you could get the press for $10, but it is still a bargain today. Anyway, hot soapy wash with Dawn, it cuts grease! (and vegetable oil) If loading bottle necked brass, I put the brass in a container with a screw on lid such as the larger cashew container. Add a dribble of vegetable oil and shake vigorously to apply an even coat. While sizing I am only handling the brass with my left so I get oil on my fingers. Every fifth or so piece I wipe my finger across the case mouth to apply lube for the expander ball and it doesn't take much. When done, hot soapy wash followed by soapy wash with lemon juice, maybe a table spoon per 1/2 gallon. I let that sit for 5 minutes, longer if the brass is really tarnished. I strain but don't dry the brass as it is going straight to the tumbler. The media is lizard bed walnut with 2 tablespoons of Turtle Zip Wash as it shines and seals the pores of the brass to prevent future oxidization. By leaving the brass wet, it reactivates the Zip Wash. And, what does wood fiber do when it gets wet? It expands. Over time, the media gets smooth from working against the brass. The wet brass reactivates the media as well. The media I have been using for the past 5 years (yes, he said 5 years) is still going strong because once it is really sooty, even after all the brass baths, get placed in a small zippered burlap bag that some brand of rice comes in. I take the bag to the sink, put some Dawn in it and rinse the heck out of the media until the water runs clear. I zip the bag shut and hang it on a fence post in the sun. Oh, those bags have a handle. Once the bag/media is dry I set it aside as the second bag of media that has already gone through the cleaning cycle goes into the tumbler. All of the other usual things as have been stated before are accomplished and everyone develops their own style and habits. Amusing anecdote, back in the 1970s when dad was teaching us boys to reload, we used steel dies and only wiped the lube off the cases. Nothing ever got washed and the brass turned darker and darker. Dad used to say that brass showed experience, like the Uki (Japanese belt for the Gi) started out white and turned darker from the oils of the hands until it turned black, signifying your experience level.

[Cherokee]

First thing I do is clean my brass in the polisher with corncob material
Then size & de-prime, clean primer pocket
Trim case to length (better done here because sizing tends to lengthen the case)
Expand as necessary for jacketed or cast bullets
Store until needed, then
Prime with Lee hand tool
Select load from my reloading records of proven loads (or several manuals if trying something new)
Set up my press according to what I'm gona load (RCBS, CH 4X or Dillon 650)
Load the ammo
Store in ammo boxes with labels

[mdi]

I like to quickly inspect my brass then toss it in the tumbler.
Then size/decap (I haven't found any need/benefit to scrub primer pockets).
For my rifle rounds I'll measure and trim if necessary (I too use the Lee system; gauge and cutter)then chamfer/deburr.
For my handgun ammo I'll flare/M die the case.
Prime. Most of the time I'll stop here and bag the prepped brass for later when I either need some ammo or have a load too try. In my ammo cabinet there are several hundred primed and ready cases.
When I have determined a load, I'll charge all my cases and look inside to check for powder.
Seat bullet. I still like to seat and crimp separately after 30+ years.
Crimp and if semi-auto ammo I'll plunk test.
Box/bag 'em up and enter load in my computer...

Last four steps done in one setting and inspection is done between each step.

OMG!!! I just saw 5,000 posts! I'm becoming a forum freak, computer jockey, arm chair expert...

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

It depends on caliber and purpose. Blasting ammo for subguns goes through the SS pins and then the dillon. Match grade rifle ammo is substantially more involved, anything in between will get the requisite amount of effort required to produce the results I'm looking for.

+1
it varies from caliber to caliber and sometimes from boolit to boolit.

One other thing I will add, I always sort by Headstamp, even 9mm. When doing that, especially with range brass, you'd be surprised how many imperfections you can find.

[reddog81]

For pistol ammo I rinse with the brass warm water, wait for them to dry, and then reload on a Hornady LNL. Hornady LNL is a progressive press - 1st stage resizes & deprimes, then seat new primer, 2nd die expands case, 3rd station drops the powder, 4 station seats the bullet, 5th station might have a crimp die.

For rifle cases I trim to uniform length before the first reload and about every 5th reload there after otherwise the process is similar. I'm not concerned with pretty looking brass.

[robg]

Size decap ,sonic clean then polish in tumbler .trim if rifle brass ,expand if loading lead ,prime .
Box up till ready to load .add powder seat boolits then Lee factory crimp ,box up and label .
Shoot and repeat.

[Tazman1602]

I was just talking about this kind of thing with the contractor and his young helper who are finishing up my new reloading/casting shop above the garage we've built. Last weekend I was finally able to get into my new shop and setup the first press that's going there --- don't get to thinking I'm some rich boy, I've been reloading and casting and building rifles for 30 years and at long last my wonderful wife of almost 37 years and I have a place inside to park our trucks and not have to scrape 3 feet of snow off of them when we have to go somewhere.

My contractor is also one of my best friends, former Marine, and the single person i know whom I can talk guns and ballistics with on my level. Our new friend the young guy (ok, 35 or so, young to me...) has been suckered by us into getting into reloading on the premise he will save money by doing so.....uh-huh, I can hear you all laughing now.

Our young friend had a question "Art can you tell me why if you were reloading 308's on the new 550, a cartridge you seem to know real well, then WHY do you have three loading manuals, one beam scale and one digital scale, and two sets of calipers out?"

My answer was simply "Safety". I NEVER EVER load ammo without checking at least two load manuals and verify my charges three times before I go on a run.

ALL of the suggestions I've heard are great, but I have grown accustomed to all my fingers and have grown fond of them over my 60 years of life -- I hope this post helps some young reloader to retain all of his digits as long as I have.

CHECK, DOUBLE CHECK, THEN CHECK AGAIN!

Regards,

Art

PS - What ya' think of my new shop?