Reloading surplus brass.

[Natep]

Guys, im new to reloading Im wanting to take advantage of the Redding GB. Im looking to get some reloading dies for reloading 556 and 7.62 surplus brass. Ive got alot if this brass that is once fired from MG and it will be used in AR's and my M1A's. Im considering the National Match Die sets or the Special Small Base Full Length Dies. What have you all had the best luck with in your experiences? Any other options out there that are better and Ive overlooked? Thanks for an input fellas!

-Nate

 

[1slow01z71]

If its been fired in a MG you will need a small base die set. Buy a cheap sb set to size the brass the first time then load with the nice dies thereafter.

 

[TheGerman]

Will probably need a swager as well.

 

[ksthomas]

Good suggestions on both the previous posts. Yes, S/B dies are a must for this sort of thing, at least for the first time reprocessing them. Personally, I'd suggest sticking with the S/B dies for general use after this for all subsequent reloading as well.

 

[Strykervet]

The RCBS trim station is pretty helpful when working a lot of brass, especially military brass. It ended up being way more useful than I thought it would be.

Inspect MG brass extra carefully. I recall the SAW being particularly rough on brass.

 

[1slow01z71]

The dillon 600 is awesome for swaging pockets. I use the lyman case prep center to uniform primer pockets after swaging. Works great.

 

[lightman]

Since you are new to reloading, I would suggest loading enough commercial brass to learn the basics. Surplus brass can be a challenge. Its not rocket science, or anything like it, but between the extra steps using surplus brass and loading for gas guns, it can confuse anyone. M1-A's are pretty easy to load for, but some AR's can be picky. As far as dies go, I would buy whatever brand you favor in a full length small base set and add a competition seater later. Places like Midway run the 223 and 308 on sale, occasionally. As suggested, a primer pocket swaging tool will be a big help. The Dillon is great, and the C-H looks good, too! Lightman

 

[RHunter]

Save yourself the pain and send it out to be processed if you can afford it. For the cost of all the gadgets to do it correctly you could process 10,000 cases with these guys. That is a lot of shooting and a lot less reloading time.

Pricing - Mountaineer Brass Processing, Inc.

I don't use this company, I have a guy in MS that does mine and I am happy with his prices and work. PM me if you want his info. He charges about 1/3 less that the guys in the link.