Sizing Primed Cases

[sjs]

I know a guy, who knows a guy, who did a dumb thing. He is used to reloading fired factory brass and just tried out his first batch of new Starline 38 sp brass. Because it was new, he figured it didn't need to be resized so he just expanded the mouths and primed them. The whole darn batch.

Not that it was me you understand, but he then loaded a round and, thankfully, then got the bright idea to see if it would chamber in his revolver. It would not.

So now he needs to size this stuff.

OK, OK it was me. Can I remove the decapping pin from my die and size this primed brass without blowing myself up?

 

[glenwolde]

Sure. I know I would. Size it, not blow myself up.

 

[LoboGunLeather]

Yes, you can remove the decapper from your sizing die and resize primed cases.

New factory brass seldom requires sizing. Just open up the case mouths for bullet seating, prime, charge, and seat the bullets. If you want to be really accurate you should trim new brass to the minimum length, then inside chamfer the case mouths prior to the first loading; this will typically allow for multiple uses before any other maintenance is needed.

 

[cjw3]

Sure, works fine.

Stuff happens (to all of us)!

 

[jimbo728]

Most pistol sizing dies have a decapper in them. They can be removed, unscrewed, so it is possible to size those primed cases.
I see no reason to worry about blowing anything up.
Jim

 

[Hang-Fire Hank]

SJS:
I don't think you should have to size new brass. You may have some other problem. Will a factory case chamber that hasn't had the mouth belled?

Yes, you can remove the decapping stem & resize unloaded/primed brass. Loaded rounds would have to have the bullet pulled.

If a loaded round would not chamber & you put a heavy crimp on lead bullets, you may have bulged the brass right where you crimped it. Remove the decapping stem & run the loaded round that would not chamber PARTLY up into the sizing die. That would flatten out the bulge. Now retry chambering.

Hank M.

 

[rwsmith]

Yes you can do that.....

Yes Yes Yes

 

[Alk8944]

As others have said there is absolutely no safety concern to sizing primed cases. That said, there should be no reason to do so. Factory new brass should chamber easily in any gun chambered for that caliber. If your (friends) loads wouldn't chamber it is because either the bullets used were oversized or the cartridges were over-crimped which can cause bulging just below the crimp or at the base of the bullet.

Buy a Lee "Carbide Factory Crimp Die" and post-size the loaded ammunition, this is what the die is intended for. It will take care of both problems.

 

[jag22]

As others have said, yes it can be done safely but you should spend a little more time trying to figure out where the problem originated. Chances are the brass fit before you started ( I just grabbed a new piece of Starline and it slid easily into two different pistols) so do a little investigation.

 

[Clovishound]

I recently loaded up a bunch of new Hornady .357. I don't have the deprime/size die on my turret for .357. I didn't even think about needing to size the new brass. I just ran it through the process starting at the flare/powder drop.

Of course, I am also using a Lee FCD. Still, I don't remember feeling any that felt like they were sizing in the FCD.

They feed and shot just fine in my Henry.

 

[Nevada Ed]

All new brass from any company whether primed or not should be made to that weapons Spec's...................

if it does not fit, they messed up.

A primed case is two steps away from a finished product......
if the steps are done in the correct order.

Safe loading.

 

[fredj338]

All new brass from any company whether primed or not should be made to that weapons Spec's...................

if it does not fit, they messed up.

A primed case is two steps away from a finished product......
if the steps are done in the correct order.

Safe loading.

Except he primed it.
I always run new brass thru the sizer, rifle or pistol. Often bulk brass will have dented case mouths & sizing makes every case odentical, regardless of how many diff lots are in your batch.

 

[twodog max]

Bulk packed new brass frequently has out of round case mouths or small shipping dent and dings. I always run mine through the whole process to make them all the same. Also all my carbide pistol dies are three die sets and the sizer does not have the decapping pin. That is in the case expander and case mouth flaring die. Just take the pin out for this step and running primed cases should be OK.

 

[flyrobb]

Bulk packed new brass frequently has out of round case mouths or small shipping dent and dings. I always run mine through the whole process to make them all the same. Also all my carbide pistol dies are three die sets and the sizer does not have the decapping pin. That is in the case expander and case mouth flaring die. Just take the pin out for this step and running primed cases should be OK.

I'm not quite understanding this and I just may not be interpreting what you are saying correctly. All my RCBS 3 die carbide sets have the decapping pin in the sizer. I can't picture how it can be in the expander die? I have only worked with RCBS dies though. What brand are you referring to?

 

[glenwolde]

I'm not quite understanding this and I just may not be interpreting what you are saying correctly. All my RCBS 3 die carbide sets have the decapping pin in the sizer. I can't picture how it can be in the expander die? I have only worked with RCBS dies though. What brand are you referring to?

That's sort of a...classic? (dare I say vintage?)...way of doing it. Used to be the decapper was always in the expander die. That died when progressives came along and they needed to run the powder through the expander. All the manufacturers moved decapping to the sizing die. If you look at old RCBS dies on eBay you can see it.

You have to be of a certain age (and retain your faculties!) to remember this.

Vintage set of reloading dies, size 357 mg. WC, excellent condition | eBay

 

[flyrobb]

well I'll be...

That's sort of a...classic? (dare I say vintage?)...way of doing it. Used to be the decapper was always in the expander die. That died when progressives came along and they needed to run the powder through the expander. All the manufacturers moved decapping to the sizing die. If you look at old RCBS dies on eBay you can see it.

You have to be of a certain age (and retain your faculties!) to remember this.

Vintage set of reloading dies, size 357 mg. WC, excellent condition | eBay

Very interesting. I probably qualify in age years...what was I talking about?...O yea, but not in reloading years.

So that must be the seating stem in the sizer die. It doesn't really save you any steps over todays 3 die sets does it? Referring to single stage loading that is.

 

[glenwolde]

Very interesting. I probably qualify in age years...what was I talking about?...O yea, but not in reloading years.

So that must be the seating stem in the sizer die. It doesn't really save you any steps over todays 3 die sets does it? Referring to single stage loading that is.

Er...the seating stem is in the seating die. The decapper/expander is sticking out of a die with too wide a mouth to be a sizing die. The sizing die is the one with no stems.

 

[flyrobb]

I know what you're thinking...

glenwolde, and thanks for not saying it. duh...I was looking at the die without a stem as the crimp die. Obviously the die on the left is the TC/seat die just as modern sets. Hey, they should have put the dies in the correct order in the pic for us...that haven't retained our faculties.

 

[LostintheOzone]

I know a guy who pulls bullets and sizes again after he screws something up. Primers never get touched with the decapper pin pulled. I've seen him do some pretty stupid stuff but that wasn't one of them.

 

[twodog max]

I'm not quite understanding this and I just may not be interpreting what you are saying correctly. All my RCBS 3 die carbide sets have the decapping pin in the sizer. I can't picture how it can be in the expander die? I have only worked with RCBS dies though. What brand are you referring to?

All my pistol die sets are RCBS and none of the sizing dies have the decapping pin on the sizing die. They are several years to decades old and maybe it is done different now. I can't say as I have not bought any new in 15 years at least. I do not load progressive so really don't have any idea what's what with those setups.

 

[i1afli]

Buy a Lee "Carbide Factory Crimp Die" and post-size the loaded ammunition, this is what the die is intended for. It will take care of both problems.

Thanks for this suggestion.
I had some reloads that wouldn't seat properly in a revolver so, after seeing your suggestion, i ran them through a FCD and they fit fine now. Saved me some frustration.

 

[Nemo288]

Don't remember sizing a completed round as I load a lot of slightly over-sized cast bullets for revolvers with big throats.
But I do (re)size primed cases on a somewhat regular basis after tearing down badly performing or unsafe test rounds,
also ball powder rounds over 10 years old.
I Just resize the bullet bearing neck area, usually with a Redding dual carbide die, expand with Lyman M die and then ready for a different load.

As has been stated the Starline (and other) bulk boxes leave a lot of dings so I size, load, and shoot once before length trimming.
That way I know they are all the same diameter and round.

 

[fredj338]

Bulk packed new brass frequently has out of round case mouths or small shipping dent and dings. I always run mine through the whole process to make them all the same. Also all my carbide pistol dies are three die sets and the sizer does not have the decapping pin. That is in the case expander and case mouth flaring die. Just take the pin out for this step and running primed cases should be OK.

Hthose must be pretty old dies?

 

[twodog max]

They are and so am I. They still work great. I checked and it does seem the newer dies decap in the sizer.

 

[Ole Joe Clark]

Size a couple of the hulls, (after removing the deprime stem) then seat and crimp a bullet and see if they drop into the cylinder.

I always size new brass, it only takes a half minute or so. It ain't rocket science.

Tell your "friend" to pay attention next time.

Have a blessed day,

Leon

 

[johngalt]

When sizing new brass a little lube helps, even with carbide dies.

 

[flintsghost]

Did you think to crimp the brass or just seat the bullet hoping the seater would crimp it. You can run them through a taper crimping die and it may seat in the chamber after that. If that's the case, you are probably over belling your cases. I'm not a fan of starline brass but lots like it. It shouldn't be that bad.

 

[LAA]

A few comments in favor of Starline brass.

I just opened two packages of 357 Starline for inspection. I'm out of 38 Special. Everyone of the samples I pulled from the packages were a good fit in my 357 case gauge, model 60 38/357 S&W, as well as my Ruger 357 Blackhawk. For the most part, they are also round at the mouth, and look good. Pulled some out of a package of Winchester, to check fit. They all passed too. There are five other brands of cases I use for reloads, but these were the only two handy in this caliber.

I do not size new brass, unless it's going into the hopper with a hundred or two cases in the Dillon 650. And I only size those, because the die is already to go, and I'm not individually placing them in a single stage press. All of my 38 Special & 357's are done with the SS press. I do lightly lube those going into the Dillon, even if carbide. I can tell the difference on every handle pull between lubed & non lubed. Many pistol cases on the single, never get lubed.

All finished rounds get a visual check, as well as fit in a case gauge or barrel. Any rejects go into another pile, which may eventually end up in a Lee die, or just pulled and resized again.

All in all, I have no problem with Starline. My reloads always work.