Keeping it simple with reloading

[CrankyYankee]

Yep. I polish the expander ball as well. I'm now experimenting with depriming and sizing, then pushing the ball down through the neck vs pulling it through the neck on the way out. It adds another step. So far I haven't seen a difference.

I think I'm gonna buy a mandrel next.

 

[Alex Wheeler]

Gotcha. So his video appears a little misleading. I don't turn necks.. Seems like there is more than just run it through a F/L die, touch the primer pocket, prime, and load. Gotta turn the necks and get the right bushings, 21st century tool...etc.

More time and $$$ than the way I guess I originally thought.

Good info though if I decide to take it to the next level.

Its not misleading at all, see post #20. I do the exact same steps for my no turn chambers, you do not have to turn necks. I dont use a mandrel or expander on anything. Many of the top shooters in BR have gone to no turn necks. And I use no turns in all my hunting cartridges. It does seem like on an unturned neck that the mandrel would be the way to go, however in actual testing the bushing alone leaves nothing on the table for me. This is all stuff you should test in your own rifle to see what it prefers, dont just do what in theory should work best. I have seen that not work out a lot. Oh and you dont need the 21st century tool either, the point was he seated by feel, not the tool he used. You do need a way of adjusting neck tension though.

 

[CrankyYankee]

Ok. I remember reading post #20, but apparently didn't remember it when I posted above. My apologies.

I'm in this to learn as much as possible. Maybe if I have time, I'd like to compare results from a shoulder bump and deprime with a F/L sizer without expanding the neck and let the bullet seating expand the neck vs using the expander ball or mandrel. Is that what you mean by no turning necks?

 

[asd9055]

Its not misleading at all, see post #20. I do the exact same steps for my no turn chambers, you do not have to turn necks. I dont use a mandrel or expander on anything. Many of the top shooters in BR have gone to no turn necks. And I use no turns in all my hunting cartridges. It does seem like on an unturned neck that the mandrel would be the way to go, however in actual testing the bushing alone leaves nothing on the table for me. This is all stuff you should test in your own rifle to see what it prefers, dont just do what in theory should work best. I have seen that not work out a lot. Oh and you dont need the 21st century tool either, the point was he seated by feel, not the tool he used. You do need a way of adjusting neck tension though.

With all these other arguments about every reloading step, yours is a breath of fresh air!

 

[cajun]

The only issue I see with using a bushing and not using a mandrel on unturned necks is you are pushing any inconsistency in neck thickness to the inside where it contacts the bullet and can create runout issues. Using a mandrel as a final step eliminates this. If you are using very consistent brass like Lapua its not as much an issue.

 

[mooredj]

Good stuff and I will incorporate this into my reloading practices. But I always remember no matter how good the equipment is, you still need the right techniques and practice to do what Glenn Kulzer has done.

 

[WildRose]

The only issue I see with using a bushing and not using a mandrel on unturned necks is you are pushing any inconsistency in neck thickness to the inside where it contacts the bullet and can create runout issues. Using a mandrel as a final step eliminates this. If you are using very consistent brass like Lapua its not as much an issue.

On all of my dies I have either a mandrel or an expander ball of some sort that of course is the last step on the backstroke after resizing with the die.

 

[Alex Wheeler]

The only issue I see with using a bushing and not using a mandrel on unturned necks is you are pushing any inconsistency in neck thickness to the inside where it contacts the bullet and can create runout issues. Using a mandrel as a final step eliminates this. If you are using very consistent brass like Lapua its not as much an issue.

Thats what they say. I say test it both ways and do what the target likes best.

 

[Deleted member 119066]

i don't expand if I use bushing dies but I'm a nobody. Nice to know big players are doing that too


I don't clean cases either unless they are actually dirty.

Or check for runout.

 

[WildRose]

i don't expand if I use bushing dies but I'm a nobody. Nice to know big players are doing that too


I don't clean cases either unless they are actually dirty.

Or check for runout.

I hear this more and more and I can't understand the theory behind it. It just makes no sense to me to use dirty brass to load new rounds.

I wish someone could explain it to me because cleaning brass is so easy and inexpensive I can't see not doing it.

If nothing else soaking it in a five gallon bucket with some warm water, purple power and Dawn for five minutes then stirring it up with a stick, dumping and rinsing gets most of the carbon and dust/sand removed and just makes the whole process cleaner.

Other than saving a few minutes what is the advantage in not cleaning your brass?

 

[nealm66]

How do you clean off the lube if you don't clean the brass?

 

[QuietTexan]

I leave it on If I use One Shot once it's dried before charging and seating it's pretty much gone anyways just from handling. For real though, regardless of if I clean or don't clean brass or whatever I lube with, I always wipe each loaded cartridge with a microfiber towel before putting in the ammo box. Get's any case lube and graphite neck lube off.

The brass that comes out of some of my rifles is cleaner than factory stuff out of the box, why mess with cleaning it every time? Wipe it off, lube it, size it, load it.

I tumble in corn cob, walnut, or with SS pins as needed. But it's not needed every time in every case. Kind of like trimming. Something it seems like every one does, yet not something everyone always thinks about should they be doing.

 

[L.Sherm]

How do you clean off the lube if you don't clean the brass?

Wipe it off with alcohol on a rag

 

[WildRose]

I leave it on If I use One Shot once it's dried before charging and seating it's pretty much gone anyways just from handling. For real though, regardless of if I clean or don't clean brass or whatever I lube with, I always wipe each loaded cartridge with a microfiber towel before putting in the ammo box. Get's any case lube and graphite neck lube off.

The brass that comes out of some of my rifles is cleaner than factory stuff out of the box, why mess with cleaning it every time? Wipe it off, lube it, size it, load it.

I tumble in corn cob, walnut, or with SS pins as needed. But it's not needed every time in every case. Kind of like trimming. Something it seems like every one does, yet not something everyone always thinks about should they be doing.

For probably the first ten years I reloaded I never did anything but wipe my brass down, once I got convinced to buy a tumbler I saw consistently better results. I also found it much easier to closely inspect my brass which was pretty critical because I was stretching it as far as I could to save money. I ended up shooting a lot of it till it got so thin I could see cracks starting to form. I wouldn't have seen a lot of those if I hadn't cleaned it.

What I'm trying to figure out is the advantages if any in not cleaning it and I can't see any. I hope someone can explain it to me.