I just got a $100 giftcard to cabelas.

 

Now what to buy...

 

I'm new to reloading, so thats my concentration right now. So far in my experience, the case prep part has been the most tedious aspect. What do you guys think of this case prep machine? I'm thinking of ordering it.

 

Lyman case prep machine

Are you doing rifle or pistol brass? If pistol, I just tumble the cases and load. No need to trim and prep pistol brass. For rifle I have a Foster case trimmer and use the hand deburing tool. I also have the case trimmers that you can chuck in the end of a drill. These also work very good.

 

I wouldn't spend the money on a case prep machine like that. What type of case prep are you doing and how many cases do you do at a time?

I have the RCBS and am very happy with it. Speeds up my rifle brass processing. I trim with lee stuff on a power drill

Are you doing rifle or pistol brass? If pistol, I just tumble the cases and load. No need to trim and prep pistol brass. For rifle I have a Foster case trimmer and use the hand deburing tool. I also have the case trimmers that you can chuck in the end of a drill. These also work very good.

 

I wouldn't spend the money on a case prep machine like that. What type of case prep are you doing and how many cases do you do at a time?

 

+1 Rick, I'm with you. If loading for rifle I'd spend $ on a Wilson cas guage first. I have one problem with that case prep center in general. It probably makes too much noise when I'm watching Television. BTW that's where/when I do my case prep.

I think you should spend the money on other stuff. I have never thought the need for one. Case prep is tedious, but not horrible. And as Frank wrote, it probably makes a lot of noise. Would drown out my radio.

I'm reloading .308. I size, measure, trim if needed with my Forster trimmer, primer pocket clean then deburr inside and out.

 

The primer pocket cleaning and deburring I do by hand now, and it gets old really quickly for me. Thats where I'm seeing this machine really speeding up those processes.

 

Noise is not an issue for me.

If you tumble with the stainless steel media method you no longer have to clean the primer pockets anymore. And deburring should literally be one turn left, one turn right, and your done.

 

I have no need for a prep machine, but I sure would like one of those automatic powder dispensers.

This has been working pretty well for me. I usually do about 100 cases at a clip.

 

First I wash the brass in hot water and simple green. This gets most of the dirt off. I let them air dry in a pail for a couple of days then lube and deprime. I wash again to get the lube off. I don't want lube in the cleaning media. I then tumble the cases. The primer pockets come clean. Some primer pockets have media that I easily clean out with a piece of guitar string. I then trim if necessary and debur. I can debur a case in about 2 seconds with the hand tool. The washing of the brass keeps unwanted debris out of the dies and keeps the media clean longer.

 

I don't mind the extra wash cycle because the brass is very shiney ready to load. But that's me, I like reloaded ammo that looks new.

I use a vibratory tumbler with corn media and liquid polish. I tumbled with the old primers still in there. I then lube, size/deprime, and towel wipe them of the lube by laying them out on a terry towel and using another one to wipe them back and forth. I use hornaday one shot spray lube, just a light amount, so it wipes off pretty well this way.

 

I enjoy all aspects of loading except deburring. I do a turn on the inside and outside, and I keep flipping the tool to do this for each round. Really starts to cramp up my hand. I supposed I could do the insides first, then another pass for the outside. Perhaps I will try this before buying the machine.

I also have the RCBS case prep center and the power trimmer. When I started reloading I bought 1000 cases that needed resizing and prep so I went automatic. It was worth it for me. Also not to loud, it doesn't interfere with the radio. You can stop by and check it out if you want.

+1 w/ the RCBS case prep center. It makes all my case prep operations faster b/c its like an assembly line setup. For me, case prep sucks but its a necessary evil. The faster I can get it done, the better. I use the Possum Hollow case trimmers on a $90 drill press that I bought. Works great.

 

I have the RCBS and am very happy with it. Speeds up my rifle brass processing. I trim with lee stuff on a power drill

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

 

I reloaded 50 rounds, by deburring inside in one pass, then outside in another. It was much easier on the hand than flipping the tool back and forth per round. I'm going to try it a few more times and see if I still get annoyed enough to go for the machine.

 

As for trimming, I haven't felt the need to go power on that as of yet. Do you guys measure every case, separating ones that need trimming from those that don't, or do you just throw every shell on the trimmer (preset to the proper length of course).

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

 

I reloaded 50 rounds, by deburring inside in one pass, then outside in another. It was much easier on the hand than flipping the tool back and forth per round. I'm going to try it a few more times and see if I still get annoyed enough to go for the machine.

 

As for trimming, I haven't felt the need to go power on that as of yet. Do you guys measure every case, separating ones that need trimming from those that don't, or do you just throw every shell on the trimmer (preset to the proper length of course).

 

On new cases I trim everyone, fired brass I measure a couple of the group. I try and keep my brass together, once fired, twice fired, etc. This way I know how many times each was used. I haven't been doing it long, but was told an 5.56 AR case lasts around 8 reloads. I inspect all case anyway. YMMV.

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

 

I reloaded 50 rounds, by deburring inside in one pass, then outside in another. It was much easier on the hand than flipping the tool back and forth per round. I'm going to try it a few more times and see if I still get annoyed enough to go for the machine.

 

As for trimming, I haven't felt the need to go power on that as of yet. Do you guys measure every case, separating ones that need trimming from those that don't, or do you just throw every shell on the trimmer (preset to the proper length of course).

 

I check every case and only trim the ones that need it. I use a Lyman Easy Case Gauge

I check every case and only trim the ones that need it. I use a Lyman Easy Case Gauge

 

 

Don't like it Rick! Not precise...

 

This is the only way to go! Every case goes through here. What is blowing your face off worth?

 

I have one for every rifle caliber I reload. It tells a great story of what's going on in the chamber also. Use it after

 

you resize of course but if you put your unsized cases in you get a good idea of your headspace too. Now lots of people

 

sell them and Dillon makes their own. A little pricey but the only way to go... http://www.lewilson.com/casegage.html

On new cases I trim everyone, fired brass I measure a couple of the group. I try and keep my brass together, once fired, twice fired, etc. This way I know how many times each was used. I haven't been doing it long, but was told an 5.56 AR case lasts around 8 reloads. I inspect all case anyway. YMMV.

 

Jimmy, Just wondering why do you trim new cases? I just made a batch of ammo with new brass, I measured a bunch of samples and they were well within tolerances. Do you get new brass that isn't?

Don't like it Rick! Not precise...

 

This is the only way to go! Every case goes through here. What is blowing your face off worth?

 

I have one for every rifle caliber I reload. It tells a great story of what's going on in the chamber also. Use it after

 

you resize of course but if you put your unsized cases in you get a good idea of your headspace too. Now lots of people

 

sell them and Dillon makes their own. A little pricey but the only way to go... http://www.lewilson.com/casegage.html

 

My operation consists of full length sizing every round, then measuring with a caliper to determine if trimming is needed. Would this product make the measuring part easier/quicker?

 

It seems the added bonus is being able to determine the condition of your rifle's headspace by using this on fired brass before re-sizing. Am I getting that right?

Jimmy, Just wondering why do you trim new cases? I just made a batch of ammo with new brass, I measured a bunch of samples and they were well within tolerances. Do you get new brass that isn't?

 

New brass is not always the correct case length. I would say about 1/4 of the new brass I bought had to be trimmed, not a lot trimmed off but some.

Interesting. I've yet to encounter a new brass case not at the proper length. What brand brass are you using?

My operation consists of full length sizing every round, then measuring with a caliper to determine if trimming is needed. Would this product make the measuring part easier/quicker?

 

It seems the added bonus is being able to determine the condition of your rifle's headspace by using this on fired brass before re-sizing. Am I getting that right?

 

Easier? Absolutely! More precise? Absolutely! There are two dimensions in OAL to be concerned about. One from the Datum line to the case head and one from the datum line to the case mouth. Datum line to case head measures proper head space of the CARTRIDGE (not to be confused with the chamber) and from the datum line to the case mouth determines if your case is going to enter the throat of the chamber(potentially causing high pressure).

 

Look at this drawing for explanation of dimensions... http://www.gunslot.com/pictures/308-7-62-chamber-and-headspace

 

This article is better than my expalation

Easier? Absolutely! More precise? Absolutely! There are two dimensions in OAL to be concerned about. One from the Datum line to the case head and one from the datum line to the case mouth. Datum line to case head measures proper head space of the CARTRIDGE (not to be confused with the chamber) and from the datum line to the case mouth determines if your case is going to enter the throat of the chamber(potentially causing high pressure).

 

Look at this drawing for explanation of dimensions... http://www.gunslot.c...r-and-headspace

 

This article is better than my expalation

 

Makes sense! I'll be adding one of these to my tool chest.

Interesting. I've yet to encounter a new brass case not at the proper length. What brand brass are you using?

 

Dan I was using Winchester brass. It wasn't that they weren't in spec. I wanted all the cases the exact same size. I am a little retentive, so if I was trying to make match ammo, I tried to make everything the same size. I even weighed the brass and broke it into groups.

Dan I was using Winchester brass. It wasn't that they weren't in spec. I wanted all the cases the exact same size. I am a little retentive, so if I was trying to make match ammo, I tried to make everything the same size. I even weighed the brass and broke it into groups.

 

Gotcha, i'm not quite there... yet