Bulk 556 Brass prep and reloading process

[PracticalRifleman]

I looked at the Giraud Power Trimmer, but decided to not spend the money. I attached a cordless drill to the drive shaft of the RCBS Trim Pro manual case trimmer and I can trim a lot of cases in a short period of time. With the RCBS 3-way cutter you don't have to worry about deburring the case mouths on the brass after it's trimmed.

I’ve got the RCBS with their power unit. I rarely use it anymore because I got so much variance in length after trimming as well as neck distortion that increases runout. Ultimately that only matters for precision loads shot at long ranges but it was enough I rarely use mine anymore.

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[hotrodder636]

Best way to describe is that the giraud is a self contained unit whereas the WFT has the same trim head but mounts to a drill. I have an old DeWalt that is dedicated to the WFT. Does high volume trim just fine.

Tell me about the WFT vs the Giraud....I just picked up a WFT and am curious.

[hotrodder636]

This is what I use and I do about 500-700 cases at a time. I first de-prime so the pins clean out the primer pocket if batching precision ammo. If just plinking, I will deprime during reloading stages. You will also need to buy a 5lb bag of pins unless you already have them. I have the same 5lbs and have cleaned probably close to 10k cases.

https://www.amazon.com/Frankford-Ars.../dp/B00HTN4R6O

Reloading 1000 .223 takes me about 17 hours.

If I start with pre-processed brass it's about 5 hours and I can do it all on a Dillon.

Save 12 hours for $150....? Two words for yas: "Worth it". BUT.......

I have yet to get processed brass that is 100% up to snuff. It's super convenient, and it's good enough for a lot of uses, but I conclude they are all using the same trimming rig and if I want perfection (and I do, or I'm not going to the trouble), I always have to deburr the case mouths inside and out. Also I universally find that they are using a push-in expander in a separate operation, going by how the necks look-- not expanded quite all the way to the neck/shoulder junction, and where the larger, expanded diameter stops, you can see that the expanding happened more on one side than the other. Not nearly as heinous as it sounds, it's pretty subtle and in the overall scheme of things / many applications, it would not matter. But I don't go to the effort of loading my own to make fodder-grade ammo for 7-yard drills..... I want my handloads to be at least somewhat up to target-grade.

My last run (4-5 years ago) was mixed brass (bought processed) with Nosler 77's and Hornady 75's. I loaded on the slightly mild side to accommodate the mixed brass. When I wanted to maximize precision I would go through several handfulls and separate headstamps but even without that this ammo was good enough for whangin' steel at 500. This stuff was 1 1/4 MOA ammo, sometimes better, rarely over and then not by much.

After asking around I found a place that would process my own brass and return it. That was important to me because I like knowing what ammo the brass comes from and what guns it was shot in. I had occasion to generate 2000 Lake City empties one afternoon this summer and wanted to get it processed and returned as opposed to "trading" it for 2000 processed cases of unknown provenance. msporcessedbrass.com made it pretty convenient to get this done and the price was good, seems like it was under $100, not sure. It came back pretty quick and it does appear to be the same brass I sent, yay. I DO still have to deburr every case mouth and I will also go through and clean every primer pocket. The brass is super clean and shiny but looks like their tumbling process does not get into primer pockets.

A question for you wet-tumbling guys. What is the preferred one-time purchase of the whole business required to do say 500 .223's at a time? I bought some stainless pins and rigged a .50-cal ammo box so I could spin it in the lathe but at my slowest speed of 60 RPM it didn't really work.

[TNTall]

This is what I use and I do about 500-700 cases at a time. I first de-prime so the pins clean out the primer pocket if batching precision ammo. If just plinking, I will deprime during reloading stages. You will also need to buy a 5lb bag of pins unless you already have them. I have the same 5lbs and have cleaned probably close to 10k cases.

https://www.amazon.com/Frankford-Ars.../dp/B00HTN4R6O

Great info! I guess I'm gonna have to get one of those and start wet tumbling. Maybe I can use my corncob tumblers to dry the brass.

[PracticalRifleman]

Great info! I guess I'm gonna have to get one of those and start wet tumbling. Maybe I can use my corncob tumblers to dry the brass.

No you won’t be able to dry them. But many like to clean lube off with them. If you want to dry the brass, throw it in the oven for 20 minutes on 160.


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[TNTall]

Hi All!
I am trying to plan and purchase for getting into reloading thousands of 556 for personal use with a Dillon XL650, a couple of corn cob tumblers, a Dillon rapid trimmer, and single presses. I am looking for a procedure that leaves me with no case lube on the finished product. If crimped primer pockets have already been dealt with,
Tell me if this procedure sounds reasonable:
1. Lay out range brass and spray with Hot Shot lube
2. Resize and trim using Dillon rapid trim and die.
3. Tumble brass in corn cob media.
4. Run thru XL650 with size die set to neck expand and decap only. Does carbide expander ball needs lube?

I made some changes from the input here. Here is what I think I'll try for brass that is not a first time prep:
1. Clean brass.
2. Spray with lube in a plastic bag or box.
3. Using separate XL650 toolhead: neck resize and decap > then FL resize/trim using Dillon rapid trim.
4. Wet tumble brass with steel pins.
5. Change XL650 toolhead and reload cartridges. This toolhead will not resize but universal decap to clear flash holes.

Hopefully the trimming burrs will be mashed down by belling the case mouth on the Dillon powder funnel and then re-crimping after seating. A boattail bullet shouldn't need a bell really - just a slight funnel pressure to mash the burr.

[PracticalRifleman]

I made some changes from the input here. Here is what I think I'll try for brass that is not a first time prep:
1. Clean brass.
2. Spray with lube in a plastic bag or box.
3. Using separate XL650 toolhead: neck resize and decap > then FL resize/trim using Dillon rapid trim.
4. Wet tumble brass with steel pins.
5. Change XL650 toolhead and reload cartridges. This toolhead will not resize but universal decap to clear flash holes.

Hopefully the trimming burrs will be mashed down by belling the case mouth on the Dillon powder funnel and then re-crimping after seating. A boattail bullet shouldn't need a bell really - just a slight funnel pressure to mash the burr.

Why are you sizing the necks twice? Once with the neck sizer and once with the FL sizer?

You need to remove the burrs. The powder funnel isn’t going to do it for you. Yes, you need deburring and chamfering even with boat tails. You end up with inconsistent seating pressure and thus it hurts accuracy. Crimping doesn’t get rid of burrs either. There is no logical reason to skip this step.

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[B52U]

I made some changes from the input here. Here is what I think I'll try for brass that is not a first time prep:
1. Clean brass.
2. Spray with lube in a plastic bag or box.
3. Using separate XL650 toolhead: neck resize and decap > then FL resize/trim using Dillon rapid trim.
4. Wet tumble brass with steel pins.
5. Change XL650 toolhead and reload cartridges. This toolhead will not resize but universal decap to clear flash holes.

Hopefully the trimming burrs will be mashed down by belling the case mouth on the Dillon powder funnel and then re-crimping after seating. A boattail bullet shouldn't need a bell really - just a slight funnel pressure to mash the burr.

Just one point to correct. Neck belling is pistol brass only. There is another insert for the powder drop die for rifle cases that doesn't bell the neck, the neck just pushes up on it to get powder. Check your Dillon manual on this.

[TNTall]

Just one point to correct. Neck belling is pistol brass only. There is another insert for the powder drop die for rifle cases that doesn't bell the neck, the neck just pushes up on it to get powder. Check your Dillon manual on this.

OH ok. I may need to add another die on my prep toolhead to do that.

[TNTall]

Why are you sizing the necks twice? Once with the neck sizer and once with the FL sizer?

You need to remove the burrs. The powder funnel isn’t going to do it for you. Yes, you need deburring and chamfering even with boat tails. You end up with inconsistent seating pressure and thus it hurts accuracy. Crimping doesn’t get rid of burrs either. There is no logical reason to skip this step.

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Gunnerblue said separating neck sizing and FL sizing will work the cases less. The real reason though is that the Dillon trimmer does not inside size the mouth. It only contacts the outside.