Re-Sizing New Brass?

[Ninety Caliber]

Getting ready to load some 45-70 with NEW RP brass. Is it necessary to run them through the re-sizing die?

[Alan in GA]

Probably so for uniforming the neck area for uniform bullet hold. New brass comes pretty sloppy in rounds that I've purchased it in.

[NSB]

Brass doesn't come out of the press to the exact dimensions spec'd out for reloading. It varies and may be close but probably not exact. As stated, the biggest problem would probably be neck tension. It's not much extra work, so if it were me I wouldn't skip that step and end up with problematic ammo. Also, OAL will be effected since sizing increases the length of the case.

[Sensai]

It's probably overkill, but I size and trim all my new brass before first use. The sizing not only standardizes the diameter and neck tension, it also irons out any minor dents of the case mouth from shipping and handling. The trimming sets a standard case length for all of the cases. It makes the crimping much more standard, and cases like the 45ACP and 9mm have a standard headspace. I kinda like knowing where my start point really is. :smile:

[Walter Laich]

size, trim if needed, and chamfer mouth

walt

[Dale in Louisiana]

Yeppers! You might get away with NOT sizing, but you can find things a bit wonky, too. I had abad experience recently trying to bypass that step with some new .303 Brit brass.

dale in Louisiana

[country gent]

I aways size full length any new or once fired brass I purchase. It makes the case mouths round and cases truer to form. Shipping and handling imparts alot of dents dings and such on the brass that thie first sizing irons out. After being fireformed to my rifles it depends on the rifle if it gets sized again neck sized or full length sized. But first time is full length sized to get everything at the same starting point. Trim case mouths square and to length or a few thousandths below. deburr inside and out. If you want uniform primer pockets. All this is done before the first loading. On military once fired brass primer crimps are swaged out before first loading also.

[Wayne Smith]

You have a bag of new brass without any neck dents right at the mouth??! I only remember some Starline brass that came that way. I always resize to get these out and make the mouths round.

['74 sharps]

Just broke out some new Starline 45-70 brass and after checking a few to make sure they would chamber in my Sharps, primed, flared the mouth, and loaded. Case length was spot on, and flaring took care of any dents or out of round issues.

[M Hicks]

I always full length size any brass that has not been fired in my firearms before loading them. Mostly for many of the reasons already mentioned. Round out the case mouths, remove the battery of the ever so gentle shipping services we have and to make sure they are consistent. Consistencey is the big one. Pretty much one of the main reasons I load my own to begin with.

[W.R.Buchanan]

I have some questions for all of you who do this.

Do you think factory ammo that is loaded with new cases gets sized before they are loaded?

Or when producing millions upon millions of rounds each day, where one more operation would definitely add up to significant losses, do you NOT think that ammo factories would specify that their brass be made to specific dimensions so they could eliminate that operation and all of the problems that go along with it, like lubing the cases or running them thru an expensive carbide die that will wear out daily?

Have you ever seen die marks on a Factory Load?

New cases,,, are new. If they are made by someone good (and pretty much everyone is good enough nowadays) then they are made to a specification which probably is ready to load.

I have boxes of new cases in .44 Special and .45-70 made by Star-line. I have checked many and they are all plus or minus .002 of being the same. Most are identical.

I have several boxes of Winchester .44 Magnum brass I bought in 1978. They are all within .002 of being the same also, and most of those are identical, as well.

I would point out that these cases are sized to load factory style bullets which are pretty much standardized for all calibers.

IF you need something different, like for cast boolits then you'll have to change them. Other wise it is a complete waste of time to size new brass. They call it new for a reason.

The process of making brass cartridge cases has been being done for over 140 years. They got it down to a fine art and the machines they use now are capable of producing the exact same product literally by the millions. Minor tweaks have to be made as dies wear and machine tolerances increase but by and large a case that comes off the line this morning will be identical to the one that comes off at 4PM.

I have heard arguments, Pro and Con on this subject for the entire time I've been reloading ammo.

I have faith in the machines.

My precise measurements have verified my faith and insured that my ammo always works.

YMMV.

Randy

[Lead Fred]

I size everything.

Just did 500 44 mag last weekend.

Now I know those 300 grain love tablets with smack the 200 yard gong

[country gent]

I have recieved brass where thru shipping or in store handling case mouths had definite flats on them and dings. Yes they are sized at the factories from the forming presses which in some cases were new in the 50s and 60s. The damage is very seldom from the manufacturer but ingetting to the store or your door. A few drops things being sat on top of them thrown into hoppers or trucks and you have dings and dents. I ordered lapua 243 win brass for a long range rifle. When the package arrived it was so beat up I refused it didnt bother to open it to see. It literally had tire marks on it. Let UPS make it right.
Im willing to bet that most ammo factories from the forming presses to the loading machines the cases arnt touched by anyone. In the can/food industry the can isnt touched by hands until the store. They run in tracks from machine to achine to filler to cooker to case packer to palletizer. Ill bet the ammo industry is the same other than whats pulled for inspections.

[6bg6ga]

I size everything also. When in doubt do it right...

[Idaho Sharpshooter]

Buchanan,

I FL size everything before I load it. Just measure some of the case lengths on new brass. I have found up to .010" on every brand I have ever purchased, including NORMA and RWS. Want to cry? Measure neck thickness sometime.

The first time you fire a case, it will show any problems. Ever split a case mouth/neck?

[btroj]

I always size first. Why not? Why not do all I can to ensure the ammo is all it can be?

So factory ammo isn't sized first, I don't load to mimic factory ammo. I expect better than that.

[Sensai]

I have had new brass that the flash hole wasn't even there. Perfect primer pocket, but no flash hole. How do you think that I found it? That's right, the decapping pin stopped the travel WHILE SIZING! I also trim to length. If they are all the same length, then where is the brass that's coming off some, but not all, coming from? I'm not telling anybody what to do, but I'll continue sizing and trimming any brass that I haven't used before, old, once fired, or new.

[bakrzdzn]

I got a deal on a box of primed .45 acp brass several years ago, and it makes sense for me, to put it in the first stage of the sdb. Though it may load fine with out going there, following the same steps each time, weather new or 10x fired, muscle memory plays a lot into doing it right.
IMHO
Roy

[ukrifleman]

It's probably overkill, but I size and trim all my new brass before first use. The sizing not only standardizes the diameter and neck tension, it also irons out any minor dents of the case mouth from shipping and handling. The trimming sets a standard case length for all of the cases. It makes the crimping much more standard, and cases like the 45ACP and 9mm have a standard headspace. I kinda like knowing where my start point really is. :smile:

Me too.
ukrifleman

[W.R.Buchanan]

What can I say?

But, I did say YMMV.

I think paying attention trumps lots of work. Reloading is an inherently dangerous hobby, paying attention does kind of rule the day.

If a case needs it then I will, however if it doesn't, I don't.

YMMV

Randy

[MTtimberline]

I treat new brass the same as all my other brass except for the cleaning stage. Keeps everything as you expect it ,standardized,in spec and not overlooked IMO. The only other difference is a note in my records for that lot as having new brass.

[cbrick]

For virgin long range revolver brass I don't size but I do run the expander into them to properly expand & bell for boolits. The expander will perfectly take care of any possible out of round & minor dings from shipping plus expand to proper dimension for boolits. All new brass is sized (for jacketed) as part of the manufacturing. I also check the length & of course trim if it's called for.

Rick

[inspector_17]

I always check brass, at the minimum I trim and chamfer. Some new brass was .010 over. This gives me to opportunity to look over each and every piece of brass, new or "once" fired, to get rid of anything questionable. Want to leave the range with everything I came with. I have had one burst case, that focuses the mind!

[cainttype]

I size (or neck-size) new casings for the previously mentioned reasons. Rounding out damaged mouths will allow you to uniform case length if trimming is required. It's also needed to allow proper chamferring.
Although not every cartridge will require good roll crimps, many heavy recoilers and tube-feeds do (collet-type crimpers are making in-roads here, but roll crimpers are still more commonly encountered). Heavy, consistent crimps are standard for slow burning powders in magnum handgun loads and you will have to have good neck tension and uniform case lengths to consistently roll crimp for proper ignition. Admittedly, I often find case lengths acceptable but old habits die hard.
Since my casings will be reloaded anyway, I figure there's no better way to achieve case neck tension consistently between the first load and every subsequent reload than to size new necks.

[josper]

I always treat new brass the same as fired brass. Start clipping corners and it gets to be a bad habit.

[dudel]

I do. Amazed to find new brass with no flash hole! Some with hanging chad in the flash hole. Some also get a bit out of round, though the Dillon powder dump station takes care of those. It's all about consistency, so I size new brass. I also chamfer the new brass, to make boolit seating easier. I'll check length as well with a quicky Lyman metal template thingie.

[Aunegl]

Yep, I resize new brass, check lengths, trim and chamfer. That's SOP for me.

[LabGuy]

I have only purchased new brass for 45 Colt and 32-20. So far; I size, corn cob polish (to remove case lube), trim, chamfer, de-burr, and load.

[R.Ph. 380]

Why, I NEVER process new brass, and I've been reloading for over a week now. Joe from down the street says this is new brass it's jest been sittin' around a bit, that's why it's kind of wrinkley and dented. He said that the first shot will iron all that out and it'll be good as new.............................hehehe

Bill

[BoolitBullet]

Hey,

I'm new at this so I just asked a couple friends who have been reloading for a while. Here is the response that I got back:

"Some people like to full size virgin brass, but I don't because it's going to get fire formed to your chamber on the first shot anyway. I always at least neck size it so that the neck tension is uniform. If you neck turn, it's best to do on virgin brass. Check the neck tension so that it is .002" to .003". To be thorough, debur the flash holes, trim the overal length, and id/od chamfer the neck. Also, I always take a virgin head space measurement on the brass to see if I have to pump the shoulders back."

[303carbine]

With straight wall cases, I bell them, bottle neck cases get nick sized only.
I have never had to full lenth any cases no matter if they are straight or bottle necked.

[histed]

I've done it both ways with new brass. Some I've resized, some I didn't. Then, a while back, I had a problem with new brass from a major supplier not chambering easily, sometimes not at all. I pulled the bullets, sized the cases, reloaded everything again, and everything went bang as normal. Now I run everything through a sizer. Better safe.

[303carbine]

Before I load any new brass, I neck size and check to see if they fit the rifle, if not, they get full length sized.
No sense in over working the brass.

[Janoosh]

I full length size, trim (if necessary), chamfer inside and out, and de-bur the flash hole. Sometimes this is all the attention the brass needs for awhile, as I neck size or flair only, most of my milsurp brass. Same goes for my 45/70 trapdoor, that brass is cleaned and flaired only.

[mold maker]

I had never used virgin brass before needing 45-70. These were purchased from a major mfg and arrived with deformed mouths. Several were bent to the point that flairing the mouth was impossible. I full length sized them and checked for length.
No more work than it is, I think a trip through the sizing die can't hurt and will start everything out equal.

[WILCO]

There was a time when I didn't full length virgin brass. Now I do for obvious reasons.

[EDG]

Questions like this give your a variable response due to the differences between pistol hand loaders and rifle handloaders. Most pistol brass needs nothing but a trip through theexpander to permit you to seat a bullet.

Rifle brass may have the mouth dented and dinged. Some rifle brass has been tumbled at the factory so long that it produces a peened burr on the edge of the case mouth.
Before loading rifle brass I run an expander through it to round it up. This also forces any peened material to the outside of the case mouth. I have had this peened material form a burr edge .008 tall around the case mouth. Even a deburr tool does not handle this so I will turn this burr off with a piloted turning tool.
I have FL sized a few new rifle cases out of curiosity. None were worth the effort because no case was sized to a significant degree. None of the thousands of new rifle cases I have loaded ever failed to chamber with factory new dimensions. It is a total waste of time to trim new rifle brass. The first time it is fired to stretches diametrally to fit the chamber. When resized the lengths will vary significantly making the previous trimming moot.

[ukrifleman]

I always F/L size new brass then trim to length, to get uniformity of cases.

ukrifleman.

[tward]

Got 300 357 magnum cases, Magtech, sized them all, only a few dents. Next I checked length and they were very uniform, so I went ahead and chamfered them inside and out. Lots of work, you bet! Necessary? But it is a hobby and I enjoy fussing in the reloading room. You pays your money and you take your choice! Tim

[Idaho Sharpshooter]

yes, and I check EVERY loaded round for feed if I am hunting with it.

[WallyM3]

I do size, trim and "bell" new brass. Rifle and pistol. I think my main motive is inspection. I've encountered great variability amongst cartridges in the same lot # in loaded ammo, and in cases amongst the new brass.

I'd post a pick of my reject box, but it went to the recycler a week or so ago. Some odd things get by QC.

[waco]

Always size your brass first. Trim if need be