Quote:
Originally Posted by 1sailor
The last time I remember reading anything on it they mentioned applying the lube with your fingers and I thought "geez that's got to be messy". So before going back to my Lyman cast bullet manual to do some reading let me ask this. Do most guys Lube, resize, trim and decap as one step then after cleaning the cases come back to do the actual loading.
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My usual procedure is:
1. Deprime, clean primer pockets (to assure uniform primer seating).
2. Inspect brass (cracks, excessive head expansion, noticeable damage).
3. Lube cases (case bodies only, no lube on case necks or shoulders). I use wax-based lube, no grease or oily stuff.
4. Resize. I remove the expander buttons from my sizer dies, relying on the Lyman M-dies for most consistent neck expansion with much less wear and tear on the brass.
5. Neck expansion using Lyman M-die.
6. Clean off case lube. Wash hands thoroughly.
7. Prime cases.
8. Charge cases.
9. Seat bullets (crimp if required).
Might sound cumbersome, but I load rifle ammo in 100-round batches and usually perform only one or two of these steps at a time, completing the batch over the course of several days. Some calibers that I like to shoot a lot (like .30-06 for the M1 rifles) I will process several hundred cases at a time so I always have brass ready to just charge with powder and seat bullets.