Scrumbag Posted September 17, 2020 Report Share Posted September 17, 2020 Well folks, I have decided to take the “brave” (maybe read foolish) step of throwing myself on the collective mercies of the interwebs and asking people to critique my reloading process. So, any advice very welcome. Deprime brass using a Lee Decapping Die Soak decapped brass in soapy water – I find it particularly helps with cleaning out necks and primer pockets where the most “baked-on” carbon is Sonic clean in boiling water with addition of citric acid granules and squirt of washing up liquid Rinse and place in bowl of water with bicarbonate of soda to neutralise Rinse again Air dry after checking mouths and shoulders (generally I find inside of necks clean, sometimes neck needs a quick wipe) Lube using lube pad and a smear on shoulders and inside case mouth Resize Trim to length Chamfer and deburr case mouth as required Wash in warm, soapy water to remove case lube and swarf Rinse and air dry Prime using Hornady hand primer whilst checking primer pockets are clean (find generally I can prime most cases straight off with only having to scrape out the occasional one) Individually weigh charges on a jeweller’s scale (I usually calibrate using the check weights first) Seat bullets and check length using Base to Ogive rather than COAL particularly for plastic tipped / soft point bullets and check every few for consistency Any thoughts on the above, please let me know I have a couple of bits on concern / areas I reckon I could improve on. I tend to get water marks or slightly minerally deposits on the cases and particularly the necks – what’s a good way to stop this I’m using a Lee Turret press. Very convenient for changing calibres quickly but I wonder how consistent particularly the sizing is. Works fine most of the time but given I’m occasionally shooting out to 1,200 I wonder if a single stage press might give more consistent results Case length - I only know my brass isn’t longer than a certain amount. I use a Lee Cutter and length gauge and some doesn’t get trimmed at all so has to be a different length and I guess that’s mainly neck length which I gather can be critical Any advice much appreciated. Scrummy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chikentikka Posted September 17, 2020 Report Share Posted September 17, 2020 that seems alot of washing. i only brush the necks and clean primer pockets and dont actually clean until a couple of firings, if that. have not noted any affects. also only deburr and chamfer the once. the rcbs rockchucker is a solid press if you are looking at changing. just keep it simple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popsbengo Posted September 17, 2020 Report Share Posted September 17, 2020 58 minutes ago, Scrumbag said: I general a sound approach, my comments in red Deprime brass using a Lee Decapping Die. Yes Soak decapped brass in soapy water – I find it particularly helps with cleaning out necks and primer pockets where the most “baked-on” carbon is. Not sure you need to do this Sonic clean in boiling water with addition of citric acid granules and squirt of washing up liquid. Don't need boiling water and it's likely to cook your ultrasonic - I find 50C more than enough and a proprietary Ultra Sonic cleaning agent is better. Citric acid is only really a brightener and useful for really scummy brass. Never use vinegar !! Rinse and place in bowl of water with bicarbonate of soda to neutralise. Not necessary, just one good cold water rinse. Citric acid self passivates Rinse again. see above Air dry after checking mouths and shoulders (generally I find inside of necks clean, sometimes neck needs a quick wipe) OK, I use the plate warming draw 😁 At this point I'd tumble in walnut media to brighten and polish Lube using lube pad and a smear on shoulders and inside case mouth Resize Trim to length. (if needed after checking) Chamfer and deburr case mouth as required Wash in warm, soapy water to remove case lube and swarf I find a wipe is enough Rinse and air dry see above Prime using Hornady hand primer whilst checking primer pockets are clean (find generally I can prime most cases straight off with only having to scrape out the occasional one). Don't overdo the scraping Individually weigh charges on a jeweller’s scale (I usually calibrate using the check weights first). Some small scales are pretty poor however yours may be ok? The critical measure for consistency Seat bullets and check length using Base to Ogive rather than COAL particularly for plastic tipped / soft point bullets and check every few for consistency. Yes but ensure a good seating die that's concentric - I use LE Wilson but Redding & Hornady are good IMHO I tend to get water marks or slightly minerally deposits on the cases and particularly the necks – what’s a good way to stop this. Stop all that washing ! Get a tumbler. I’m using a Lee Turret press. Very convenient for changing calibres quickly but I wonder how consistent particularly the sizing is. Works fine most of the time but given I’m occasionally shooting out to 1,200 I wonder if a single stage press might give more consistent results. No, if the round is sized and gauged ok, what's going to change? You don't mention the dies - probably the most important thing for consistent and controlled accuracy after powder weight. Case length - I only know my brass isn’t longer than a certain amount. I use a Lee Cutter and length gauge and some doesn’t get trimmed at all so has to be a different length and I guess that’s mainly neck length which I gather can be critical. Trim them to be the same, the shortest shouldn't be too short unless you've overdone it in an earlier trim. Any advice much appreciated. Yes, don't post with loads of spaces 😉 Scrummy Notes above in red Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meles meles Posted September 17, 2020 Report Share Posted September 17, 2020 Why all the fascination with getting your brass washed a dozen times and making it bright and shiny ? Dull brass is far more tacticool... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrumbag Posted September 17, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2020 13 minutes ago, meles meles said: Why all the fascination with getting your brass washed a dozen times and making it bright and shiny ? Dull brass is far more tacticool... Not so much shiny, just don't want to stick a case or have goup / gunk / lube or anything else upsetting powder and primers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrumbag Posted September 17, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2020 @Popsbengo 1st, thanks for taking the time to answer that. In response to your follow-on questions For my 7x64 I use an RCBS FL Sizing die and seating I use a Lee. I have an RCBS seating die but I don't like having to set it be feel of case mouth. I use a sonic cleaner rather than a tumbler as I live in a block of flats and a sonic is a lot quieter Trimming to length: I don't have something I can set the trim length to. The tool I have either trims back to a fixed length or the brass stays the length it is. Scraping I usually just use a pick to lift out any carbon so minimal stuff. Generally I find I only have to touch the primer pockets on maybe 1 in 10. Rest are clean and carbon free. I have perhaps noticed my scales wander a little. I know my powder dish is ~102.9-103.0 gr so I keep a check to see if the scale returns to negative that when the powder dish is off. Besides not needing the wash after the deburr and champfer anything else to take out? Scrummy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popsbengo Posted September 17, 2020 Report Share Posted September 17, 2020 Aggressive ultrasonics have been reported to make the inside of the neck quite rough and that affects bullet release so knock-on to velocity stability. I don't see that myself as tumbling takes any roughness away (I take your point re neighbours). I'm not knocking Lee but I prefer premium quality dies and I see results from that. Redding type S bushing, Wilson Bushing, Wilson arbor press in-line seating or Hornady comp. seating (Wilson's way better for feeling the neck tension). It's about what you expect in terms of accuracy and precision. Trimming: I use a Lyman 'lathe' style trimmer, that's settable to whatever I want, it's precise and robust. Scales are key to accurate reloading in my opinion, there's endless good stuff on here about options if you search. In a nutshell it's: clean, inspect, size, inspect, prime, load, inspect. Occasional annealing too for case life. I scrapped a batch of Lapua .308 large primer, not because of any neck or web defect but for slack primer pockets. +12 hot reloads if memory serves. Badger (meles meles) has a point, endless cleaning makes not a lot of difference (compared to sizing and weighing accurately). Cleaning does protect your dies from damage though. I just like shiny brass 😎 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrumbag Posted September 27, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2020 Hi folks, Did a batch of cases with a larger cast mounth and this is the sort of mineral salt deposit build up I tend to get: Not every case by any means but some. Ideas on how to avoid welcome. Scrummy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popsbengo Posted September 27, 2020 Report Share Posted September 27, 2020 1 hour ago, Scrumbag said: Hi folks, Did a batch of cases with a larger cast mounth and this is the sort of mineral salt deposit build up I tend to get: Not every case by any means but some. Ideas on how to avoid welcome. Scrummy Possibly insufficient rinsing in clean water. Quicker drying may also help Do you live in a hard or soft water area? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrumbag Posted September 27, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2020 Very hard water area Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin52 Posted October 3, 2020 Report Share Posted October 3, 2020 Here's a good outline: https://www.accurateshooter.com/technical-articles/reloading/complete-precision-case-prep/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted October 3, 2020 Report Share Posted October 3, 2020 Weighing charges on a jeweler's scale???~Andrew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popsbengo Posted October 3, 2020 Report Share Posted October 3, 2020 24 minutes ago, Andrew said: Weighing charges on a jeweler's scale???~Andrew My guess is cheap eBay or Amazon digital scale sold as such Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrumbag Posted October 3, 2020 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2020 45 minutes ago, Popsbengo said: My guess is cheap eBay or Amazon digital scale sold as such Yep! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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