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Reuse Federal factory ammo cases?

woo9

New Member
Joined
Oct 7, 2009
Messages
3
Currently just purchased reloading gears and ready to go this way
but just wondering any factory ammo case can be re-used for reloading?

i shot a lot federal ammos and still keep the empty brass but not sure if i can use them for my reloading?

if not that's ok i still wanna keep them for memory gun)
 
Yes, you can use brass that was formerly factory ammo. Even better is that it was fired in the rifle that you are reloading for because now it's fireformed to your rifle's chamber. JohnnyK.
 
Currently just purchased reloading gears and ready to go this way
but just wondering any factory ammo case can be re-used for reloading?

i shot a lot federal ammos and still keep the empty brass but not sure if i can use them for my reloading?

if not that's ok i still wanna keep them for memory gun)


The short answer is yes you can reload your factory Federal brass. One thing you might want to do from now on is save the cases in the factory boxes they came so you don't mix lot numbers. This may seen insignificant to you as a new handloader but as you gain experience you'll understand this and several other little tricks. However I would caution against harvesting fired brass from unknown sources, you never know how many times and under what conditions these unfamiliar cases where loaded and fired. Good luck, Don
 
If you are neck sizing or f.l. sizing that is great. ckeck for cracks on neck of fed. cases. I have found some in past of once fired brass.
 
yeah. by the time i also ordered two bags of winchester brass and recieved yesterday, however i saw many of them need to neck sizing since the shape of neck is not circle..
that's my first time of order, just wonder are they all coming like that?
 
what's the purpose to go thru the Full length die?

i ordered a lee pacesettle die set, does it include the Fl die?
 
When it comes to reloading, consistency equals repeatable accuracy. Get the cases bodies all sized the same and with the same neck tension. Brass prep is a large part of accurate handloads.
JohnnyK.
 
Federal brass has given me some headaches but if it's what you got, there is no reason you can't use it. I have found that some lots have primer pockets that seem too large and primers go in far too easily. Keep them segregated from the get go or you will end up like me with a gigantic box of them from different lots!
 
So far i've reloaded 60 federal cases 4 times each and have had only 2 with loose primer pockets in 7mm rem mag.
I know there is higher quality brass available, but if it works well, why not use it?
 
I think this is a variation of woo9's last question. I'm considering reloading and am trying to get smart on it. In preparation, I started saving my Winchester brass the last time I was at the range. It looks like reloading dies put a circular indentation in the neck. The Winchester cases from those factory loads have a series of 6 flat indentations to hold the bullet in place. Will that be a problem for reloading, or will the die work that out? It seems overworking the brass can be a bad thing, so just want to be sure. Thanks.
 
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