New Brass - Do You Size It?

[redhawker]

Just wondering if anyone takes brand new, never fired, brass and runs it through the sizing die. I am of the opinion that if its new factory brass that it should be the correct size already and you can skip this step. Just prime, powder and seat the bullet. Or am I wrong?

 

[Divernhunter]

Some people do size new brass. Some also trim to lenght and do other things such as uniform primer pockets etc. I do not. I just prime/charge and seat a bullet. It has provided excellent ammo and accuracy for me over the years.

 

[slippingaway]

I size new brass, just because I know enough about manufacturing to know that new brass probably isn't the right size. It's probably close enough that it will work most of the time, but it's probably not exactly right. Of course, I use a progressive press, so it's more work to run it through without sizing than to size it.

 

[Stubshaft]

I usually size and chamfer new brass. Chamfering for me is a must to insure the bullets seat and don't hang up on the neck. I resize because I have found dented cases in bags of bulk brass.

 

[wixedmords]

I size new brass for consistency.

I'd rather size and make sure a round will chamber than have to chance taking the rounds apart.

 

[Yosemite Sam]

I tried not doing it and had problems with neck tension. Also, doing at least a partial resize makes it work with the other dies better. I had some cases that would hang up the powder-through die/measure on my Lee press.

-- Sam

 

[Robb Barnes]

I size it then trim it to consistant length just to make sure I have repeatable crimps in the crimp band.

 

[sourdough44]

I usually do & for reasons like Yosemite Sam. You may need to for proper neck tension. When you get good neck tension after bullet seating you may not need additional crimp much of the time. This depends on the particular load of course.

 

[Iron Mike Golf]

I size, trim, and chamfer. I also inspect the flash hole and if needed hit it with the flash hole tool.

 

[contender]

You didn't mention if it was pistol or rifle brass. Straight wall or bottleneck? Usually,, the best thing to get uniform loads,, it's best to size new rifle brass, as it can have dents,, etc. Of course,, we also trim to a uniform length as well. Straight walled brass is a bit more forgiving.
Of course,, most of the time brass is manufactured,, I'd bet the ammo makers get the same brass as what we do to start with.

 

[redhawker]

I'd bet the ammo makers get the same brass as what we do to start with.

That's kind of what I was thinking. I'm betting they don't size the brass when they're making new ammo. Does anyone here know if they do? I'd be interested to find out.

 

[Rick Courtright]

That's kind of what I was thinking. I'm betting they don't size the brass when they're making new ammo. Does anyone here know if they do? I'd be interested to find out.

Hi,

My bet is NO.

Examine new brass before it's sized. Then size it. No matter how carefully you do so, telltale marks will remain. Ever see those on factory brass? Now, I 'spose they COULD polish it later to remove those marks, but why would they add extra cost?

Anyway, back to the original question, standard practice w/ new rifle brass has always (in my memory, at least!) been to size and trim it before loading it. Chamfering the mouth, and possibly "uniforming" the flash holes are additional step many loaders take.

W/ pistol brass, the practice is arguably effective. I'm gonna toss out a number that probably half of the loaders I've known never size or trim new pistol brass, while the other half performs one or more prep operations. Both schools of thought appear to be happy w/ their results.

For myself, I size, trim and chamfer all my new pistol brass. The results are marginally better when I do that, on paper and over the chrono. But the big result is in my head, knowing I've eliminated a few more variables in the process of trying to make good ammo.

There's the other issue that's been mentioned, too: brass gets banged around a lot in transit, so a resizing step is sometimes required just to get the mouths round...

Rick C

 

[Vecco]

Just wondering if anyone takes brand new, never fired, brass and runs it through the sizing die.

Yes but I have a dillon 650 so its just part of the process, would be more work to skip it.

 

[WESHOOT2]

I always size new cases; it ensures consistency, and a flash hole........ay?

 

[btrumanj]

I only reload for handguns and resize all new brass but only trim revolver brass for consistency . Some new brass will let one insert a bullet with only thumb pressure or less. If you don't have enough neck tension, no amount of crimping will make up for it.

 

[Bucks Owin]

My routine is to FL size, trim mouths square & chamfer with Forster trimmer, and uniform primer flash holes. Then those new cases are ready to load. Kinda "finicky" I know, but I enjoy the whole process....

 

[Yosemite Sam]

My routine is to FL size, trim mouths square & chamfer with Forster trimmer, and uniform primer flash holes. Then those new cases are ready to load. Kinda "finicky" I know, but I enjoy the whole process....

I do this for bottle neck rifle rounds, but not handgun. But then, I load a lot fewer of the rifle rounds, and expect .5 MOA consistency out of them...

-- Sam

 

[Pal Val]

Call it having too much time in my hands, but I have bought new brass and measured it just to find that factory tolerances can be pretty wild. That's why I make it SOP to size, trim, debur/chamfer, clean up the flash hole and true up the primer pocket on all the new brass. It's more important for bottleneck cartridges, but I still do it for all. Once all that work is done, all I need to do is trim the bottleneck cartridges when needed (usually after 5 loads or so), inspect the straight-walled ones and measure after the 5th reload. Few ever need trimming. The edges usually split before the shells need trimming.

 

[ra]

As long as the case mouth is round I load them straight out of the bag.
With bottle neck brass I like to trim after the first firing. I did have some Silver State 6.8SPC brass that I had to chamfer before loading because it was not chamfered and was hard to seat a bullet.

ra

 

[Shoot44]

I only reload for handguns and resize all new brass but only trim revolver brass for consistency . Some new brass will let one insert a bullet with only thumb pressure or less. If you don't have enough neck tension, no amount of crimping will make up for it.

+1. I seldom buy brass, preferring to just buy ammo and re-use the brass. But recently, when I have had to buy the brass, I've found that the neck tension is often NOT enough to hold the bullets in place, so have resized to make it correct. Note: this makes it a bit dicey when one buys PRIMED brass, as then you must be careful to resize withOUT removing the primers! (AMHIK....)

 

[daveg.inkc]

I just loaded .45ACP with new Winchester brass. Did not resize it. Chamfered primed and it loaded just fine. I did drop each round into chamber. No problems. Then I bought 100 new Starline .44 Mag. 240 XTP's loaded perfectly. No need to resize. Not been fired. You think Remington takes new brass,, sizes it before loading?

 

[Chuck 100 yd]

Yes !

 

[Twoboxer]

I will either Neck Size or Full Length Size new brass depending on the manufacturer, caliber, and rifle. Taking the position that it *should* be the "correct size" turns out to be just wrong.

Most new brass matches SAAMI specs or is undersized.

If that turns out to be the case, Full Length resizing will do nothing to the body or shoulder of the brass, but it will set the necks exactly as they will be set after the next firing. This is important for consistency with later reloads, and oh by the way it will correct any dings in the necks that occurred during shipping. Even Lapua brass is likely to have one or two of those per 100.

I'll neck size the cases instead for the same reasons given above if I intend to neck size this brass in the future. Could FL size them, but I'm already set up to neck size them and the body/shoulders don't need to be touched.

Bottom line: new case necks should be worked to your specs.

 

[Chuck 100 yd]

I will either Neck Size or Full Length Size new brass depending on the manufacturer, caliber, and rifle. Taking the position that it *should* be the "correct size" turns out to be just wrong.

Most new brass matches SAAMI specs or is undersized.

If that turns out to be the case, Full Length resizing will do nothing to the body or shoulder of the brass, but it will set the necks exactly as they will be set after the next firing. This is important for consistency with later reloads, and oh by the way it will correct any dings in the necks that occurred during shipping. Even Lapua brass is likely to have one or two of those per 100.

I'll neck size the cases instead for the same reasons given above if I intend to neck size this brass in the future. Could FL size them, but I'm already set up to neck size them and the body/shoulders don't need to be touched.

Bottom line: new case necks should be worked to your specs.

^^^ Dito ^^^

 

[7mmreloader]

This is a necessary step in your load development. Always inspect and resize new brass. After you full length size your brass, check COAL, flash holes, neck diameter, shoulder set back using a Wilson gauge, and primer pockets. Tumble and reload. After you fire your reloads, neck size them only. They have been fire formed to your guns chamber. Full length resizing at this point returns them to the dies SAAMI specs and not your chambers. This is where most reloaders make mistakes. I could go on about brass flow and temperatures, but keep in mind that brass prep is the most important step in load prep.

 

[daveg.inkc]

I bought Starline .45 C. It required more pressure new than fired and sized brass, to seat .452 XTP's. Deburr, prime and load. Starline states their brass is sized, ready to enjoy.

 

[Buckeye Bill]

I too size new brass. I have been inspecting my new brass and I normally find dents and other issues. Most of the brass that I buy is packaged in plastic bags and does not offer much protection from the outside world.

Bill

 

[RandyP]

All brass, new or used, gets put through the same process on my Lee Classic turret. So..Yes, I size new brass.

 

[greenmtnguy]

Add another vote to size, trim, chamfer, and deburr new brass. Then I know it is all consistent and will chamber and perform consistently. I do this for all cartridges, rifle and pistol.

 

[Rclark]

Yes I do resize new brass. Usually chamfer/deburr as well. I've not had to trim any new revolver brass.