I have a large amount of once-fired military 5.56 and 7.62 brass.
Any suggestions on the easiest way to remove primer crimps and re-size in bulk without spending $26k on a commercial machine?
Thanks!
Three easy choices;
Dillon primer pocket tool
RCBS case mate powered multi station tool
Small very sharp knife
Matt
Find someone with a Dillon 1050 (set up for 223) who will let you run the brass on his press. You don’t have to load it, just run it through without primers and powder. That would be the fastest.
Otherwise the Super Swage 600 from Dillon.
I don’t know anyone with a 1050. I may end up breaking down and getting one to process the brass as long as it is reliable and accurate.
It looks like I can use their case trimmer on the 1050 to fully process the brass if I am going to go that far.
You could also use an RCBS Primer Pocket Swager Die.
Pat
Yeah that would probably work. Need to figure out where the trimmer would go. You can’t do a full load with the trimmer on but processing only should be ok.
Their web site says that it will only work on a single stage press. I have way to much brass to do it on a single stage.
I would think most people like their 5.56 brass cleaned, primer removed and primer crimp removed at the least?
I don’t think I will attempt to load all of the cases at this point. I was trying to come up with a way get them in a usable state first.
My guess is that the 1050 should have plenty of die spaces to deprime, swag, rough size, final size and then trim?
I might have to use a RCBS case lube die and modify it to keep things cleaner?
The trimmer is fat so you have to make sure you stick it in a place that has enough room.
I would just spray lube the cases and stick them in the case feed. It is not too messy. Just a wipedown of the inside of the case feed and plate. RCBS lube die could work too but I would not worry about it.
The dillon trimmer sizes and trims at the same time. Just need something to gently size the neck back out.
You should be able to deprime, swage, trim and neck expand I would think.
There’s a guy who posts on nationalmatch.us, Dick Whiting. He has a good reputation for processing brass. If this is a one time deal you might try using him rather than doing it yourself.
A 1050 is over $1,000 – pretty pricey.
A Dillon swager runs $90 or so, and Hornady’s reamer run less than $10. You’d need a small primer version and a large primer version to cover your bases. I’m not sure if Dick processes .308’s but I know he’s well regarded when it comes to .223.
You’ll never regret buying a Dillon 1050. They are awesome. However, you cannot reload a rifle cartridge in one go-round, not even with the case trimmer. You have to size, decap, swage, and trim in one step, then prime, charge with powder, seat a bullet, and crimp in the next.
A Dillon Super Swage is a pretty good tool if you’ve only got maybe a thousand cases or so - doing any more than that in one sitting will wear you out.
-C
I have swagged 10Ks on a Dillon Swagger. It is the best, I had RCBS and a C-H. People trim too much off with a knife or a chamfer tool.
I have enough brass that it isn’t really cost effective to send it to someone else. I think the going rate I saw was $30/k for processing.
I am betting the 1050 would pay for itself by the time I am done processing the brass I will have and I would have a 1050 for other projects in the end.
I hear the 1050’s can be a little tricky at first. I am hoping that by stripping it down to just brass processing first, I can get a good hang of it before moving on to bigger things.
What would you suggest to size the case neck?
Thanks!
Any FL resizer backed out a turn or two would do. You might need to polish down the expander a couple of thousandths to get the neck tension you want. I use a Lee FL resizer in this manner on a 550 toolhead. All you’re really using is the expander ball.
http://www.dillonprecision.com/content/p/9/pid/25263/catid/8/Super_Swage_600
Works great if you stay with a single stage press.
1050 can be a little tricky at first, but a few minutes figuring out how everything works will take care of that. It’s just a machine.
IMO - it is no trickier to load than it is to process brass so I wouldn’t worry about processing only before loading.
Nice thing about the 1050, with the Dillon trimmer, is that it eliminates two prep steps; trimming and swagging - huge time saver.
IF you go that route I’d suggest running one toolhead for prep and another for loading. Toolhead changover is only a couple of minutes. Make sure you order a back-up die for the swage station on the loading toolhead so you don’t have to disconnect or back off the swage rod.
I HATE brass prep. I recently went from a 550, RCBS trimmer, Super Swage to the 1050 w/Dillon trimmer. Best reloading money I’ve ever spent.
brianenos.com is a good place to check for information on Dillon.
I use a Lyman M die (22 short I believe), which was suggested to me by a customer who does a lot of competitive shooting. I have it so that the bottom of the M die just goes in a bit to barely push it out. I don’t have it fully down as the Lyman instructions mention. This customer of mine said that the M die works the brass a lot less than a sizing die’s expander ball does. I did not do any tests myself or anything.
I do my trimming on a 650 and then use the 1050 to actually load. (Since I have both anyway). I have a decapper on the 650 station 1, the trimmer in the middle, and the Lyman M die on the last station of the 650 toolhead. I lube the cases, fill the case feed, and start cranking the handle.
I then tumble again to get rid of the lube and then fill the 1050 case feed. I have another decapping die on station one of the 1050 to dislodge any media that may get stuck and I go to town.
There are lots of valid variations on how it could be done but that is how I do it.
For small batches I have used a 5/8" countersink, a few turns and done.
Swaging is preferable, but even a simple mouth chamfer tool will do…just take it easy and don’t over do it.
I just sent 1k pieces to a fella that will tumble, deprime, swage (military brass), full-length size, and trim for .03/piece. For all future sizing, I will use the X-die–that way I can avoid the trimming stage altogether. That was well worth it to me!