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Old November 22, 2004, 04:30 PM   #1
partyguy816
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Newbie has questions

I am new to reloading and I have a couple of questions. I went out today to the local store and bought some brass for my .300 cheap. I bought 60 pieces and there are 10 or 11 of them that are WW Super brass and the mouths are not round like a normal piece of brass should be. Some are not major, but others are. Will the die's straighten this out or should I just throw them away?

Also most have primers in them already and I do not know what kind they are. Should I just put them in the press and deprime them or just load them as blanks and shoot them?

Thanks.
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Old November 22, 2004, 04:53 PM   #2
Jim Watson
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I run new brass through the entire process just as though they were fired. Brass will, as you see, get dented in packaging and shipping. The sizing die and expander ball will round them right out. If the neck is mashed so bad that the expander ball won't go in as the case enters the die, use a smooth rod to iron it out manually, then resize and load.

I don't understand why "most" of this brass was primed. Some brass comes from the factory primed, some doesn't, but it should not be mixed. Were you buying different brands or lots? Why?

Anyhow, factory primers are fine. Take the decapping pin out of the sizing die, process them, load them up and shoot them.
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Old November 22, 2004, 05:01 PM   #3
partyguy816
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I guess I should have been a little clearer earlier. This brass that I bought was from my gun shop that had gotten it from an old man who just died and I guess the wife didn't know what to do with it. They have about 4 buckets full of brass sitting in the store. I just went in and picked out about 60 pieces that didn't have any corrosion or any outside defects. I didn't realize the mouths were bad until I got to work and started sorting them out. I would guess he used to reload and he primed these up and was planning on using them. I have no clue what primers are in them right now, or if it even matters? The brass is a mix of WW Super, Federal, R P, and something else I can't remember. With this I have no clue how many times it has been shot, but as soon as I get my caliper, I'm gonna start running measurments off on them.
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Old November 22, 2004, 08:19 PM   #4
partyguy816
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I should probably start a new post on this, but I guess I'll just continue on my thread. Could I substitue the tumbling media for bird litter? I see that Petco has 100% crushed walnut shells for 5.49 for a 5lb bag. Seems pretty cheap if this will do the job as good as the stuff from RCBS and other companies.

After posting this I see that they have 100% corn cob also. About the same price as the walnut. Any thoughts on this?
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Old November 22, 2004, 08:38 PM   #5
Jim Watson
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Mixed brass started through the process by somebody else with who knows what primer?
I didn't get that from the first post.
Resize and decap them just like they were fired. Feed them into the sizing die gradually so the live primers are pushed out, not knocked out sharply, and you will be ok. Wear glasses or goggles, of course.

Use 'em for starting loads and practice.
Squander the money on a hundred new cases for serious shooting.
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Old November 22, 2004, 09:32 PM   #6
eka
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All my loading manuals caution strongly against depriming live primers with your resizing die. You may have had success with this technique Jim, but for me, I will be satisfied heeding the cautions. I would suggest chambering the brass in a .300 rifle and firing the primer. Then clean and process the cases as usual. Inspect this brass closely, you have no way of knowing if this brass has been fired once or many times. Look for split case mouths. Also look for a bright ring just above the case head. This is the beginning of head separation. That is a bad thing. You can also check for this condition by straightening a paper clip and then benting a small L shape on the end. Slightly sharpen the end of the L. Stick the L down into the case through the case mouth. Run the L up and down the area of the head of the case. If you can feel a groove, the head is beginning to separate. Throw away any cases that are suspicious. As for the case mouths being bent. If they are slightly bent, no problem, the die will correct that. If they are bent rather extensively, you can use a small dowell or the like to round it back out. A bag of brand new factory brass will have some bent mouths. Don't forget to check length of the cases also. If you haven't already, invest in some good reloading manuals, such as Hornady, Speer, etc.
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Old November 22, 2004, 09:38 PM   #7
partyguy816
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I already have the hornady and speer books. I guess I might just chamber these and fire them. I don't want any problems that could occur. Becides after going back and looking, there are only about 10 or 15 that are primed so no big deal. I have heard about using a paper clip, so I might find one laying around the house somewhere's.
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Old November 22, 2004, 11:13 PM   #8
Jim Watson
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You are right EKA, I was obviously misled by 35 lucky years with never a primer popped by any procedure in any loading tool. But I know it can happen, and it is safer to just fire them in the gun and then run them through the mill. It is not as though a dozen unidentified primers would be of any use.
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Old November 30, 2004, 02:11 PM   #9
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Another technique

For firing primers--rather than dirtying up one of my weapons, I've successfully put 'em in a vice and fired 'em wth a nailset and a hammer. Outdoors, of course--primers contain lead--and with eye/ear protection and heavy work gloves.

I once fired a set of primers by chambering and firing them in a weapon--couldn't believe the mess they left in the bore!

The other way is quick, handy, safe--if noisy--and no mess.

Processed the cases as usual once the primers were fired.
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Old December 2, 2004, 11:49 PM   #10
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trashing primers

If you don't want to push them out live, or dirty up the gun, drop a little oil down the case and let it sit overnight. Kills them, but then you need to clean the cases, which should be done anyway. I used to get a lot of dud shells from bad primers before I got a auto primer feed just from case lube on my fingers loading the primer in the ram.
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