Email me here – Stephen Redgwell
“As Is” Military Brass – dirty, unprocessed cases
I start by depriming all the cases with a Lee universal decapping die. I can examine each piece and cull the bad stuff. After that, I clean the cases in an ultrasonic cleaner. All grit and dirt has to be removed before running the cases into any die!
Next, I swage each primer pocket with an RCBS Primer Pocket Swager Combo to remove the crimp. This tool is designed for single stage presses.
I install the primer pocket swager on a cast iron Lyman Brass Smith Ideal C Press. I do about 200 at a time. There are usually several thousand unprocessed cases in my shop, but there’s no need to process them all in one sitting.
The Lyman is a handy accessory press.
The last step is full length resizing in a 6x45mm die. But before we get to that, a quick mention of fully processed military brass.
Fully Processed Military Brass
I also use IVI once fired, fully processed military brass. For $80 or $16 per 100, this is excellent value. If dirty range brass is sold by the government for 3 cents a piece and gets to you for 16 cents a piece all cleaned and prepped, how can you go wrong? Compare this to the cost of new cases.
Full Length Sizing and Case Neck Expansion
Regardless of where you got your brass, you must full length resize the cases and expand the necks.
I start by lubing the inside of the case necks with a Q-Tip. Then I lube the outside of the cases.and run each into the full length resizing die.
| NOTE It is important to lubricate the inside of the case neck, so that the expander ball does not collapse the neck when sizing the neck from 224 to 6mm! I use bullet maker’s lube, but Hornady One Shot is good as well and easily applied. One Shot dries and does not contaminate the powder. |
| NOTE Chamfering the case necks helps bullets seat easier. This is especially true with flat based bullets. |