Nosler brass/rem.brass

[7stw]

I have a 300 saum, that I recently purchased some Nosler Brass for. Prior to that I was using the Rem. brass, but when I found out that Nosler was making brass for it, I bought some. I love the quality of it and I don't have to do hardly anything to it as far as primer holes or chamfering, or anything. The pockets are nearly perfectly square also. But what I do notice is that after about 3-4 firings, when I resize, the expander ball seems to be very tight on removal, no matter how much lube I use. I use and have always used Imperial Lube. The remington brass does not seem to do this, but it does seem to grow a little more than the Nosler brass. Could this be work hardening? (Note, I do full length resize, just off of the shoulder.) Any thoughts?

 

[Moman]

Sounds like it is work hardening the brass. Resize one with the stem and expander removed from the die. Measure the neck on this and compare to one that was expanded. That will give you an idea how much your die is working this area. Dies can be honed to reduce the amount of sizing if need be.

I would guess annealing would help with this but it's not something I do. Someone else should be able to help with this.

 

[7stw]

Sounds like it is work hardening the brass. Resize one with the stem and expander removed from the die. Measure the neck on this and compare to one that was expanded. That will give you an idea how much your die is working this area. Dies can be honed to reduce the amount of sizing if need be.

I would guess annealing would help with this but it's not something I do. Someone else should be able to help with this.

Thanks for the shout back Moman. I agree on your assessment. I have even tried another set of dies when this first started happening. Originally I was using Hornady New Dimension dies, and like the expander ball because it is less agressive, due to it's tapered construction. I then aquired a set of Redding dies and that did nothing.(although I think they may be a little tighter spec'd) I had a similar experience with a batch of Lapua brass once in .308. The concensus at that time as well, was hardening. I attemped to anneal them myself, but could not get the heat right. It is a shame because this brass is very, very uniform. I have saved it,but don't know enough about annealing to do it correctly. It does work though!I will do what you recommended with the neck measure with expander removed and go from there. Thanks for the response. AIM SMALL,MISS SMALL!gun)lightbulb

 

[Moman]

7, a couple things I'll add to original post. One is measure your fired brass at the neck and compare this to a sized, non expanded case. That will show how much the brass is being worked. It's pretty amazing how much a standard die will work brass.

Another idea is there's been a lot of talk about the bushing dies, Redding and others. I haven't tried these yet but did pick one up for my 300 Ultra. The idea is to select the right size bushing to only move the neck back enough to have proper bullet tension. With this type of die, you can eliminate the expander. Redding does recommend using the expander with this die if you are not neck turning. I think though, if the brass necks have good neck wall variance, it would be fine without turning. I'm still sorting out which way I want to go but want to try some without an expander.

 

[azsugarbear]

Annealing brass is easy, but time consuming (isn't all brass prep?). Get yourself a propane torch. Light it and then set it on a stable bench or table in a fairly dark room. I use my garage for safety reasons. Using gloves, pick up brass by the head and slowly turn the neck/mouth area in the flame. Heat the brass to a dull red color (not bright red). Note: this is difficult to see unless the room is fairly dark. Drop hot brass into box to cool normally (do not quench as this will harden). Start process all over again.

Lots of good threads on this. Kirby Allen has lots of detail in his thread on annealing 338 Lupua for his various Allen Magnums. Another member has a thread that shows how he rigged something up to hold and turn brass utilizing a drill & bit.

 

[Joaquin B]

Nothing wrong with dropping your brass cases in water immediately after annealing, as brass does not harden by quenching, unlike steel. Deformation (cold-working) is most common hardening mechanism for brass.

Regards,

 

[azsugarbear]

That's why I keep coming back. I pick up something new everyday. Thanks Joaquin B. in AZ for clarifying the quenching issue. I had no idea that brass reacted different than steel.