Reloading steps questions

[maninthemaze]

Hello, I am wanting to step up my game when it comes to brass prep and reloading. I currently just full length size/Decap, clean in Stainless steel media, then prime, charge and insert bullets. Anyways, I have recently purchased the stuff needed to turn necks and have made an annealing machine. I feel I need to neck turn because of huge inconsistencies with measurements of fired rounds diameters. As far as annealing, I have loaded these same brass 3 times now and 7wsm brass isn't cheap or easy to aquire, so I want it to last as long as possible.

Here's the steps I've currently planned out. Please critique my plans and offer any suggestions you might have.

1. Decap using Lee Universal decapping die
2. Clean brass using stainless steel media
3. Anneal brass
4. Full length size bumping shoulder. 001 -. 002
5. Trim to length, chamfer and debur necks
6. Expand necks for neck turning
7. Turn necks
8. Clean brass again using Stainless steel media and Dawn
9. Neck size only
10. Prime, charge and inert bullets

I'm thinking I'd Decap and then clean, just to keep my full length dies clean. And I assume that I won't have to turn the necks on this batch of brass again. Once turned, they will stay the same thickness.

Any help or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

 

[dig]

You have a great process down. Yes, start with deprimeing and then stainless media it cleans the primer pockets and saves the dies. Your order looks fine, I would question why your necks are so inconsistent. Is this Winchester brass? I load Norma in 270 WSM and find little issue in thickness.

 

[maninthemaze]

Yeah its winchester brass. It just seems like there isn't any consistency with any of it. All the fired brass measures different, as well as resized brass. There is a .002-.003 difference measured over 25 rounds. It would be different is if was just a couple out of 100 that measured different, but it's not. Out of 100 fired rounds 20 will measure .0318, 20 will measure .0319, about 50 will measure .320, with the remaining 10 being all over the place. I just measured one fired round that was .315. Seems a bit crazy. I hate to start chucking brass that's almost $2.00 a piece nowadays.

Thanks

 

[maninthemaze]

I thought I was losing my mind so my first purchase was another set of calipers. I was thinking maybe my digital ones were flexing or something. I ended up purchasing a set of Certified Mitutoyo ones. Found out quickly the problem was the brass not the calipers.

 

[Timnterra]

I would cut out step 8. There is no need to tumble the brass again after cleaning up the neck and case mouth. It seems like you are risking deforming the case mouth that you have already invested time to improve.

 

[dig]

If you can find Norma brass stock up. My groups closed way down after half as much prep work. Have you looked at the flash holes on Winchester. If not......don't. Have you weighed them? If not.......don't.

 

[RobStar]

I just started reloading this week so I have nothing to contribute here but I do have a question:

If the Winchester brass is causing you so much extra work, time and expense for something to turn the necks, etc plus a $180-$250 +/- set of certified calipers, why not just buy a better brand of brass to start with? I'm not saying the Winchester is bad brass because I don't know, but from reading some of the other comments here it sounds like you're trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

I'm not being judgemental just trying to understand where you're coming from.

Thanks! ~Robert

 

[maninthemaze]

Unfortunately, none of the good brass manufacturers makes brass for my cartridge, 7WSM. I would have to buy 300WSM, neck it down, then fire from it before I could begin loading for my rifle.

And if I cut out step #8, how would I remove the case lube before loading ammo?

 

[BountyHunter]

I thought I was losing my mind so my first purchase was another set of calipers. I was thinking maybe my digital ones were flexing or something. I ended up purchasing a set of Certified Mitutoyo ones. Found out quickly the problem was the brass not the calipers.

If you are measuring necks with calipers that normally does not work and is probably the source of your inconsistency. You need a neck micrometer to get accurate measurements NOT a caliper. Not that expensive normally around a $150 or so.

http://www.sinclairintl.com/reloadi...r-starret-case-neck-micrometer-prod38096.aspx

You will find that you will get inconsistent neck tension with SS media cleaning unless you use some graphite in the necks after. SS media actually is a little too good in the cleaning and makes seating bullets without something in the neck very difficult to control seating and tension.

http://www.sinclairintl.com/reloadi...ube/imperial-application-media-prod33148.aspx

the WSM can be loaded to 65,000 PSI, you will need to FL size. You are not giving anything up FL sizing over NS. Plus you load towards the max and when you have to FL size finally, you will find it very difficult to push the brass back as it will have taken a set and always be tight anyway.

 

[rcoody]

I believe I would buy norma or nosler 300 wsm brass and neck it down. Might have to check neck thickness and do a little neck turning but you would have much better brass.

my reloading steps

decap and dump in the ultrasonic (I anneal every 3 to 5 firings if I am annealing I do it after decapping and before cleaning)

spread them out on a towel and let them dry

Size and put in the tumbler (I tumble the case lube off in corn cob media. Really shines the brass up nice)

Pick the corn cob media out of the flashholes, chamfer and prime. (this is when I check trim length. Don't trim till they need it. Then I trim that whole group of cases together)

then charge and seat bullets.

 

[RobStar]

......Pick the corn cob media out of the flashholes....

I just finished tumbling my second batch of cases and for this batch I decapped them first thinking it would clean up the primer pockets. Well, it sort of cleaned the pockets but not really. I also just discovered the joy of picking the corn cob media out of the flash holes for the last ten minutes!

lightbulb

~Robert

 

[maninthemaze]

Thanks for replies.

I figured that calipers would be fine to measure the outside diameter of case necks but I could be wrong. I know they don't work very well measuring measuring neck thickness because of the circumference of the inside of the neck is too small for the caliper to sit flush.

However, since I have decided to neck turn I just ordered a set of neck thickness mics from Midway that is similar to the one you suggested.

Also, great tip on the graphite for the case necks. I never would have thought that SS media would get them too clean. I switched to the SS because I was tired of digging corn cob out of the primer pockets.

Thanks again for all the suggestions. I am still learning about all the finer points to case prep.

 

[maninthemaze]

I just finished tumbling my second batch of cases and for this batch I decapped them first thinking it would clean up the primer pockets. Well, it sort of cleaned the pockets but not really. I also just discovered the joy of picking the corn cob media out of the flash holes for the last ten minutes!

lightbulb

~Robert

Precisely the reason I have a DIY tumbler that uses SS pins instead of corn cob.

 

[Barrelnut]

Do you have accuracy issues that you are trying to fix, or just concerned about neck thickness consistency of the brass? Asking because neck turning may not help the accuracy and may not be root cause of neck tension issues. I would investigate weight sorting and annealing before I tried to turn the necks. Is your Winchester brass sorted by lots or is it just several pieces of brass from different lots? My Win 300 WSM brass has very thin necks to start with much thinner than my Norma
300 WSM brass. So much so that I have to use a different neck bushing to get my neck tension right.