Starline CF brass questions

[Tac-O]

I recently started using starline brass for my '06 and noticed that the force for seating bullets into the virgin brass is much higher than the Winchester I was using. Also, the amount of force needed seems to very more than I'd like for virgin brass. When I prep virgin brass, I give it the same treatment as my fired brass, I FL size it (set up to keep the base to datum length the same). I've noticed bringing the case back out over the expanding mandrel requires varying amounts of force as well.


Is starline brass harder than other brass? They say that it is annealed from the factory, but I would think it would be more consistent. The neck thickness is usually around 0.014, usually +/- 0.005. So, neck uniformity is pretty good from the start and I don't think that's the cause of the varying seating force.

Should I anneal the virgin brass before I prep it so that it's more uniform? I can't see it hurting, but my annealing skills suuuuck.

 

[Dirtrax]

What lube are you using on the inside of the case neck?

 

[Axl]

I have used a bunch of their brass with no issues, but you might try some dry neck lube it will help with the expander and seating bullets. After your first firing you will have some carbon in the necks to ease bullet seating. Also make sure to chamfer the necks. New brass has been annealed most mfg's polish them after and you can't see it.

 

[Tac-O]

What lube are you using on the inside of the case neck?

I have used a bunch of their brass with no issues, but you might try some dry neck lube it will help with the expander and seating bullets. After your first firing you will have some carbon in the necks to ease bullet seating. Also make sure to chamfer the necks. New brass has beeqqqnw annealed most mfg's polish them1 after and you can't see it.

1

I don't use any lube on the inside of the case neck when sizing or seating. It never seemed to be a problem with the virgin Winchester cases I have used.

Yes I also chamfer them. My virgin brass prep is as follows:

-Uniform flash hole I'd needed (hasn't been needed on starline!)
-thin layer of Lee case lube on case body up to shoulder allowed to dry
- FL size, wipe off lube
- trim if needed (starline lengths have been pretty darn uniform at start)
- chamfer mouth
- debur outside of mouth
- no lube used when seating bullets (if it's fired brass, I'll use a stiff brush on the inside of the neck before sizing, but that's it)

 

[Dirtrax]

Just as a comparison try either dry graphite or lanolin based wet lube on a few cases to see how it affects seating. I personally use Imperial Dry Lube prior to running the case into the mandrel sizer. The same can be done in your FL sizer. Same thing for liquid or gel lubes.
I noticed you don't lube the outside of the case neck when sizing. It's true that too much can cause problems but imo a little should be applied.

 

[Tac-O]

Just as a comparison try either dry graphite or lanolin based wet lube on a few cases to see how it affects seating. I personally use Imperial Dry Lube prior to running the case into the mandrel sizer. The same can be done in your FL sizer. Same thing for liquid or gel lubes.
I noticed you don't lube the outside of the case neck when sizing. It's true that too much can cause problems but imo a little should be applied.

Is there a specific source people usually get their dry graphite powder? I assume it's probably the same as the graphite lube stuff you might find at a hobby store, right?

I used to put a dab of Lee's case lube, which I think is lanolin based, onto my case neck brush before brushing the necks. I haven't done that with starline yet, but it made a noticeable difference with other brass. It was just very hard to be consistent in application and it supposedly screws with speeds, so I dropped the practice.

 

[Tac-O]

I guess a qtip with case lube worked into it would work well for application, probably better than my brush.

It's also very surprising how much harder the upstroke on sizing is.

 

[BoomFlop]

Redding Imperial Dry Neck Lube Applicator is all you need. A couple quick dips and a tap and you are all done.

Works awesome.

Steve

 

[Dirtrax]

I don't think there is any magic in the Imperial product, it's just convenient. Use what you can get.

 

[Tac-O]

I made up some rounds last night and went back to my old method of using some Lee case lube on my neck brush before resizing. This helped tremendously! Although they do still feel a bit tough.

I originally started not using anything inside the neck before sizing except for brushing because I thought it would help my ES/SD after reading some info by Alex wheeler.

Well..... Maybe what he was suggesting was just to not lube for bullet seating.

I don't know. I measured my ES and SD on these rounds today and got 19 ES and 7 SD. That's plenty good for me!