I just got into reloading my own Ammo and I have a question regarding fire forming the brass before I work on a load. What is the best process for this. Do I need to fire form the brass before I work up the load, and do I need to worry about accuracy at this point?
Fire Formed Brass?
- Thread starter samson
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Samson
same thing, need to know are we talking about a tight neck gun or just blowing shoulder forward in standard chamber or at least where you know how much to neck turn down to.
With one you can just load a round and seat real long where it is deep in the lands and flat agaist the bolt face.
Other might method requires using very fast powder, patch, fill with cream of wheat and top with patch. This blows the case out for a tight neck chamber and then you neck turn and put the bullet in.
BH
same thing, need to know are we talking about a tight neck gun or just blowing shoulder forward in standard chamber or at least where you know how much to neck turn down to.
With one you can just load a round and seat real long where it is deep in the lands and flat agaist the bolt face.
Other might method requires using very fast powder, patch, fill with cream of wheat and top with patch. This blows the case out for a tight neck chamber and then you neck turn and put the bullet in.
BH
Mysticplayer
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jul 27, 2001
- Messages
- 1,459
Samson,
Try and chamber the brass you have now. If it will chamber, neck size and go shoot some starting loads.
Once the brass has been fireformed in your chamber, neck size and work up load for that rifle.
Once fired brass comes in a variety of sizes depending on the chamber it was shot in. If the brass will not chamber in your gun, you will need to FL resize then shoot some med. loads. Neck size from that point on. Watch for case head separation - will show up as a bright ring just ahead of the belt.
Jerry
Try and chamber the brass you have now. If it will chamber, neck size and go shoot some starting loads.
Once the brass has been fireformed in your chamber, neck size and work up load for that rifle.
Once fired brass comes in a variety of sizes depending on the chamber it was shot in. If the brass will not chamber in your gun, you will need to FL resize then shoot some med. loads. Neck size from that point on. Watch for case head separation - will show up as a bright ring just ahead of the belt.
Jerry
Ackley Man
Well-Known Member
This is what I do for my 243 and 257 tight necked Ackley Improved calibers:
Full length size with a standard caliber die (ie 243 winchester and 257 roberts) to insure the case is in perfect alignment. If you don't want to buy the FL die for the standard caliber before you start you can simply neck size. Use a good amount of neck tension if you have a neck bushing die.
Prep the necks with case neck turning tool - you don't need to do this unless the chamber is reamed less than SAMI spec minimum. The barrel should be marked with the neck diameter if the gun has a tight neck.
Use maximum published heavy bullet load for the standard caliber (ie 243 winchester and 257 roberts)
Seat bullets 30 to 60 thousandts into the lands
Lube the cases slightly before chambering - this will prevent a failure at the shoulder junction.
As it relates to accuracy, during the fire forming process you will probably see amazing accuracy which will be deminished when you start shooting the fire formed brass. This is an anomoly that just can't be explained. I have worked with several "improved" caliber experts on this and we have never ascertained why this happens. Theoretically, it should be the opposite.
Full length size with a standard caliber die (ie 243 winchester and 257 roberts) to insure the case is in perfect alignment. If you don't want to buy the FL die for the standard caliber before you start you can simply neck size. Use a good amount of neck tension if you have a neck bushing die.
Prep the necks with case neck turning tool - you don't need to do this unless the chamber is reamed less than SAMI spec minimum. The barrel should be marked with the neck diameter if the gun has a tight neck.
Use maximum published heavy bullet load for the standard caliber (ie 243 winchester and 257 roberts)
Seat bullets 30 to 60 thousandts into the lands
Lube the cases slightly before chambering - this will prevent a failure at the shoulder junction.
As it relates to accuracy, during the fire forming process you will probably see amazing accuracy which will be deminished when you start shooting the fire formed brass. This is an anomoly that just can't be explained. I have worked with several "improved" caliber experts on this and we have never ascertained why this happens. Theoretically, it should be the opposite.
Ackley Man
Well-Known Member
Just noticed that you said you have a .300 Win Mag caliber gun and have once fired brass. Forget the fire forming steps. Just full length size the brass and reload as normal. If the once fired brass was shot in your gun you can either full length size or neck size only.
