I love reloading...

[CJ]

I have 20 loaded G3 magazines now. That's a lot of bang. Should be enough for the apocalypse... it will get me to the bunker.

[jtm98snake]

What press are you loading on if you don't mind me asking? Are you single staging your rifle or running it on a progressive press? I've been thinking about loading @ 5k rnds of .556 on my 550 but I don't know how well it would work with needing to lube the brass.

[CJ]

What press are you loading on if you don't mind me asking? Are you single staging your rifle or running it on a progressive press? I've been thinking about loading @ 5k rnds of .556 on my 550 but I don't know how well it would work with needing to lube the brass.

I do it all with dillon 550. You do not lubrication independently unless you are using imperial sizing wax. I prefer sizing wax but you can also use the dillon spray on lube and do all your cases at the same time. Doing runs that large usually goes best with a friend to help. I am assuming you're doing your case prep and sizing separately.

[jtm98snake]

I've always ran rifle on as single as I normally only do small batches. I've even though about using the spray lube and sizing everything on the single stage and then using the 550 complete the rest.

I'm in no hurry to get it done, just trying to figure out the easiest/ fastest most efficient way to do it first.

[CJ]

I've always ran rifle on as single as I normally only do small batches. I've even though about using the spray lube and sizing everything on the single stage and then using the 550 complete the rest.

I'm in no hurry to get it done, just trying to figure out the easiest/ fastest most efficient way to do it first.

That's a real good question because it's taken me years to get it down to a quick process. I've experimented with several different ways. I'll explain it in detail as maybe it can save some people time.

My process for reloading rifle rounds:

1) Run high power magnet over all cases to be reloaded
I do this because what I pick up is range brass, it's mixed. Some of it will be steel cases. Now, even if you THINK you have nothing but brass (because they all look like brass) you could still be wrong and end up breaking a pin. The reason is there is some bastard company out there that uses a tiny head stamp similar to some Korean character which has brass plated steel cases which are Berdan primed - yes, you read that right.

2) Tumble brass
Using Harbor freight 10lb 80grit walnut blasting media with 1 tablespoon of Flitz polish. Too much brass in your tumbler will cause it to move too slowly and it will scratch up the brass making for clean but dull cases. Too little media mixed in will also cause slow agitation and burn your media out. Also tumble with your primers in - if you knock your primers out you'll get media in the flash hole - and that means you resized dirty cases.

3) Lube/resizing cases
With your freshly bright and tumbled cases separate by crimped and non-crimped primers. If using spray lube (such as dillon spray lub) place the cases on a cookie sheet, spray, then run your hands/palms across the cases to flip them 180* and get the lube all over. Make sure you wait at least 5 min before running them through the die as they are cut with Alcohol - which will stick your die, wait for it to evaporate. If you're using Imperial Sizing Wax I've found it easiest to regular apply coats to your dillon's pull handle, so your brass inserting hand is always covered in lub, then just fondle the case as you insert it into your shell plate. Then resize your cases using a go/no-go gauge (IE: Wilson case gauge) and make sure your case head lays flush with the LOWER face. I prefer to use a second single stage press for resizing (with a separate sizing die) instead of using the bulky Dillon for a single stage. After this you now have the correct neck length to trim to.

4) Trimming cases
Run each of your cases through your trimmer. This *can* avoided if you are using a large quantity once-fired of the same brass fired through the same weapon. But this is a rare circumstance, and you're probably using random range brass. I've found it best to have a second friend run each piece of brass through the Wilson case gauge and separate your cases into "trim" and "no trim" boxes. You can avoid trimming roughly 15-20% of your cases doing this check. Set your trim to the LOWER face of your case gauge and start trimming all your cases.

5) Deburring cases
Now that you've trimmed all your cases, they undoubtedly have a nasty burr on the mouth. If you are using a Wilson deburring tool (which I highly recommend) there is a little trick that will take a ton of time off your deburring/decrimping stages. If you notice the outer deburr side of the tool has a steel rod to keep the case centered while hand trimming. Believe it or not, you can grab that bar with a drill chuck. Insert the bar into your drill chuck and tighten it down while pushing it deeper, and you will now have your inner burr ready to rock and roll in your drill. First inner deburr all of your cases using this method. Then, by hand you will outer deburr all your cases.

6) Decrimping primer pockets
If you followed directions your crimped (military) brass is still separate from your commercial and has been resized, trimmed, and deprimed. You MUST remove this crimp (unless you want to waste 95% of all your primers) as it will hang up the primer and cause your machine to jam, and ruin your primer. There are 2 ways you can remove primer crimps - the cheap way, and the quicker way. The cheap way is to (again) place your Wilson deburring tool into your power drill, and push each primer hole into the inner deburring tool head. The trick is to only use slight pressure, and for the exact amount of time each time. Usually this is pretty easy once you get accustomed to the audible tone you want to deburr to. You should never have more than 1/2mm of chamfer on the pocket. Too much debur and you turn 1/2 of your pocket into a funnel, and you run the risk of blowing primers out. The second quicker way is to use a primer swaging tool - Such as the RCBS primer pocket swager combo, or the Dillon super swage. These use a die to press and form the pocket with a chamfer, instead of cutting them. The advantage being it's slightly quicker, and you don't remove any brass material and have brass shavings everywhere.

7) load your rounds

8) Tumble again.
Always tumble your brass after you've loaded it. You always want to tumble lubed cases as they will not only cause your brass to tarnish, but it will also collect dirt and debris which will cause jams, and chamber wear. Also, Lanolin (the primary agent in most lubes) will gum up your rifles, and it's flammable at high temperatures.

[CJ]

Well, I've written a good portion of a reloading how-to, might as well finish it in a sticky post soon.

[GSXRK5]

I follow that process but before I load my rounds I just tumble them to get the case lube off. Then prime and load my rounds.

[CJ]

I follow that process but before I load my rounds I just tumble them to get the case lube off. Then prime and load my rounds.

Before you load your rounds you tumble them? Oh, that's because you have a single stage. You can't do that with a progressive. I should make mention this is revolving around using a progressive press.

[GSXRK5]

Before you load your rounds you tumble them? Oh, that's because you have a single stage. You can't do that with a progressive. I should make mention this is revolving around using a progressive press.

Yea i'd be afraid to tumble them loaded? Just doesn't sit right with me.

[CJ]

Yea i'd be afraid to tumble them loaded? Just doesn't sit right with me.

nah man, nothing wrong with that at all, all your major ammunition companies do it.

[Mike]

I'm glad you're here and willing to share so much information with everyone.

[Moose242]

CJ, I have heard that tumbling loaded ammunition can be a bad thing, as it can cause powder to break up, leading to more surface area/a quicker burn and hence a higher pressure being generated.

Any truth to this? Or do you just not tumble for too long.

[CJ]

CJ, I have heard that tumbling loaded ammunition can be a bad thing, as it can cause powder to break up, leading to more surface area/a quicker burn and hence a higher pressure being generated.

Any truth to this? Or do you just not tumble for too long.

This is usually only proposed by single stage hand loaders because this is something they don't have to do. If you're reloading using a progressive you don't have a choice unless you want to wipe each of your 5,000 rounds off by hand - because a progressive resizes the case, charges, seats, and crimps all in the same cycle. It's largely an urban myth. Here is a test done:

http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=300510

He comes to the conclusion, from his test data, that if you were to tumble your loaded ammo for 10 hours he saw a mean increase in velocity of just 3%. Keep in mind 3% velocity variance is within match ammo specifications - in a progressive 3% is a normal variance between pressures. You only tumble your loaded rounds for 10 minutes at the most, just to wipe the powder off. It does nothing to them at all.

Here is another guy's conclusion of testing:

Good! Better you than me AGAIN! I say again, because I did the same thing about 4 years ago, but with only 1 powder, R-19. In a 300 WSM I tumbled for 1-2-3-4-5 hours, taking 5 out at 1 hour intervals, then at 10 hours, and then at 15 hours, where I stopped the test. I could see no visible change in the powder, no dust or broken granules.

The came the shooting over my pact chrono, while shooting groups.

To make a long story shorter, THERE WAS NO DIFFERENCE, from beginning to the end.

If you've ever purchased ammo from most manufacturers, you will sometimes find media in the box. Black Hills is a good example, I have a few with media in the hollow point. But again, if you're a progressive reloader this is how you do it. And also, you'll find your ammo tumbles much quicker and nicer when you tumble completed rounds, because they move less in the media, and allow for more movement over the exterior.

[03trubluGT]

I have 20 loaded G3 magazines now. That's a lot of bang. Should be enough for the apocalypse... it will get me to the chopper.

Fixed.

[momo]

I just watched a youtube vid of the whole process. Now I have a dillon 550 press near the top of the 'NEED TO BUY' list.