Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles Who (re)sizes brand new brass before using?

shotgunjock,

The "technique" of resizing new cases has been discussed before on the Campfire, and I'm always surprised at the number of people who actually do it.

Or at least they claim to always full-length size new brass, though I've wondered how they deal with factory ammo. Do they break it down and resize the cases, then load the cases up again, just in case the factory didn't get it right? A lot of today's factory ammo is VERY accurate, which would seem to indicate the new cases are OK.

Running an expander ball inside the necks of new cases is one thing, since they often get dinged up, especially when sold in plastic bags. But otherwise brass is always "full-length sized" by factories, because they use full-length dies to form the cases.

Now, once in a while factories run their case-forming dies until they're very worn, usually when making brass for unpopular or semi-obsolete cartridges, because there's no profit in replacing the forming dies very often. But in common cartridges they normally replace the forming dies regularly, because they know they'll be selling .223's, .243's, .270's, .308's, .30-06's, etc. for a long time, either as component brass or for factory ammo.

I also wonder how many handloaders who always full-length size new brass have actually run tests on whether this results in smaller groups. The expander balls in the typical dies used by most handloaders tend to pull necks out line with the case body, resulting in poorer accuracy because the seated bullet will be misaligned.

In contrast, new brass is normally very straight through the case body and neck, because the necks AREN'T pulled over an expander ball. Just pushing the necks over an expander ball usually doesn't cause any misalignment, but full-length sizing often does. I know this because I've experimented with new and resized brass considerably, rather than assuming resizing brass (whether new or fired) always results in finer accuracy.

I normally do measure 3-4 cases out of a new batch to see if by some strange chance they left the factory too long I don't trim cases if it isn't necessary, for whatever reason, and after 50+ years of handloading can't recall encountering many new cases that were over SAAMI maximum length.

Oh, and I generally don't do anything more with new brass than running the neck over an expander ball, especially when loading rounds for shooting hundreds of burrowing rodents, because I generally shoot boattailed bullets that don't require case-mouth chamfering to seat easily. If loading flat-base bullets, whether I chamfer inside the case mouth depends on the bullet. Quite a few have enough of a bevel around the base to seat easily anyway.

I'll also note that a LOT of handloaders like to use time and energy on stuff that doesn't make any measureable difference, apparently because they prefer spending time in the loading room to other activities. I handload a LOT as part of my job, so don't prefer wasting time, but if handloaders who aren't making super-accurate ammo for, say, benchrest match shooting like to spend hours on irrelevant "recreation," then they should. But I'll also note that out of all the benchrest competitors I know, not a single one resizes brand new cases.

Yep. You've been doing it wrong....and once you shoot them remember to clean the primer pockets, the flash hole, and check for concentric neck thickness each time....
Then brush AND floss 6 times daily....