Do you deprime separately?

[alexs2006]

For loading precision rifle rounds. Do you deprime separate from sizing or do you do it all at once?

I just bought the Hornady ogive comparator set and the head space bushing set. I used the Hornady tool to find the lands with each of the 3 bullets I’ll use the most of and got the measurement written down.

Also, where do you guys start when doing load testing as far as bullet jump to the lands? I’ve read to start anywhere from .010 to .020.

 

[medium187mph]

I use a universal deprimer from Lee and pop all mine and then wet tumble with steel pins, a dash of lemishine, dawn soap, and a splash of jet dry for about an hour or so.

I’ll then move into cleaning up the flash holes, sizing, trimming as needed, chamfering, and set aside into a marked ready to load container. I don’t worry about lube build up as I use just enough to run smooth and wipe off when finished.

 

[alexs2006]

I have always deprimed and sized at the same time but now I’m getting into measuring shoulder bump. So I want as little to go wrong there as possible.

 

[medium187mph]

A LONG time ago I would deprime and size at the same time… and that’s when I ruined a set of dies because of dirt/crap that scraped up the interior of my sizing die…

The universal die from Lee is pretty stoute and dirt/gunk are fine for range pickups and once fired. Cheap and durable!

I’d recommend it if you’re dialing in for precision

 

[alexs2006]

A LONG time ago I would deprime and size at the same time… and that’s when I ruined a set of dies because of dirt/crap that scraped up the interior of my sizing die…

The universal die from Lee is pretty stoute and dirt/gunk are fine for range pickups and once fired. Cheap and durable!

I’d recommend it if you’re dialing in for precision

Just ordered one on Amazon!

 

[BHPSteel]

It depends - although usually I'll decap separately - but I have a semi-flexible workflow.

A1. Hose down the brass if it was collected from the range. Screen out grit, crud, steel and aluminum cases etc.
A2. Sort brass by caliber
A3. Quick wash in the tumbler with water and dawn (no pins), followed by a rinse
A4. Get 'em dry

B1. Inspect the cases and discard any that are damaged
B2. Universal decapper in station 1 of turret, Resizing die in station 2, with decapping pin removed. Run cases through with or without resizing wax depending on caliber and your dies
B3. (Optional) check case length and trim if necessary, chamfer and deburr neck
B4. (Optional) Uniform flash hole, ream primer pockets [Only ever need to do once ever to a piece of brass]

C1. Wash with pins, citric acid and a case finisher (e.g. ArmorAll Universal Wash and Wax)
C2. Dry thoroughly by tumbling with towel and then left to air-dry
C3. Plunk test in barrel or case gauge
C4. (Optional) Sort by headstamp
C5. (Optional) Anneal

I have a flowchart for this so that if I have to stop halfway thru' the process, I can just label the brass with a post-it that records what stage I've got the brass to.

Why do I do it this way?

A4. You don't want to process wet brass in steel dies. It should be obvious why.

B2. Separate decapping - saves damage to sizing die, easier to replace a broken pin if I try and deprime a boxer cartridge or brass with gravel in it. I use RCBS dies and their universal decapper. And don't cheap out - use Imperial Wax for resizing. Accept no substitute.

C1. Case finisher will protect brass from tarnish and will stop water staining. Use a wax-based compound, NOT polymer or ceramic based.

 

[alexs2006]

I only reload 3 calibers all for rifle and mostly for precision work. So my brass never touches the ground except my 223 brass. It’s usually landing on concrete and picked up right away after a 5 shot string. my brass doesn’t get dirty so I usually wipe the cases clean of any carbon, lube(I’ve always used honady’s unique) size&deprime, trim. Then they go in the tumbler for an hour with ss pins, hot water, a dab of dawn and some turtle wax wash n wax. Then sit out to dry in the sun or I put them in the oven for 30 min at 250 degrees. Then I chamfer and debur. Hand prime and load.

 

[basstracker89]

I resize and deprime in the same step

 

[Jackie Graham]

I don't reload that much for precision. However, I have a process that I like for rifle brass.
First, I wash with steel pins and citric acid for about 30 minutes. Then I run a second cycle with just water for another 30 minutes. Then dry in my dehydrator.
Next I inspect for damage and ware. Toss anything that is bad or doesn't look good.
I Then decap and swag.
They will then go through a second wash and dry cycle to get most of the carbon out of the primer pockets. Next is a 2nd inspection to make sure that there is no debris like pins or ringers in the primer pocket.
Last they get trimmed and sized and go through a dry tumble to get the case lube off.

 

[alexs2006]

I use a universal deprimer from Lee and pop all mine and then wet tumble with steel pins, a dash of lemishine, dawn soap, and a splash of jet dry for about an hour or so.

I’ll then move into cleaning up the flash holes, sizing, trimming as needed, chamfering, and set aside into a marked ready to load container. I don’t worry about lube build up as I use just enough to run smooth and wipe off when finished.

When you deprime in the universal die, do you remove the stem or the decapping pin from the Full length die