Bulk reloading dilemma

[TheGerman]

So I've hit a dilemma and have 2 ways to go with it. What would you do?

I have 10s of thousands of once fired brass from the same headstamp. Upon measuring the case walls, they're in the ballpark but some do differ a bit. Since the brass is in 50 cal cans randomly, there's no way to 'sort' by neck wall thickness.

The ammo made from this will mainly be 55g .223 hunting rounds as well as M193 clone rounds made in bulk. I'm not shooting 600 yards with these, possibly out to 200 out of a carbine but also don't want them to have a larger spread than real M193; these don't need to be match rounds but also don't need to be worse than Wolf or something.

All loaded on a Dillon 650 with the prep toolhead being a Universal Decap, Dillon FL die and Dillon Trimmer. Loading toolhead is neck sizer (bushing OR standard), powder, bullet, crimp.

Option A:

- Turn the necks of brass in lots (couple hundred each time) and then size with appropriate bushing in the neck die on the loading toolhead

PRO - Probably better more consistent ammo.
CON - Way more time consuming and costly

Option B:

- After regular prep, just put a standard, non bushing neck die in the loading toolhead

PRO - More cost and time effective, may not even matter at 250 yards
CON - Less consistent ammo

 

[padom]

Forget neck wall thickness. If they are matching headstamp FL size, trim and load them. Especially for hunting and plinking rounds.. My match brass for my DMR's is 1xLC matching headstamp that has been fully prepped and FL sized. That brass shoots single digit SD's and half moa groups. You dont need to worry about neck turning them. I just FL size and trim my plinking 55g ammo, dont sort brass or prep them.

I definitely would spend the $35 though and get yourself a Forster FL sizing die. I processes all mine on my XL650 in large batches. Decap in station 1 then trim die set to bump shoulder back .0035" and trim to length then they get run through a Forster FL sizing just to round out and set neck tension or a 21st Century Expander mandrel depending on the caliber.

Here's a quick video I made the other day processing some 1xHornady 6.5cm brass for my AR10 as described above. It was already deprimmed, SS tumbled and annealed though.

 

[TheGerman]

If I'm using the Dillon FL sizer on the prep toolhead, and then a neck sizer on the loading toolhead, whats the purpose of the Forster FL die then?

 

[padom]

Neck sizer? With bushings?

if you aren't neck turning and using bushings then you will have concentricity issues..

you can do it all on a single toolhead with a Forster FL die, and your necks will have virtually no run out with the Forster die..

 

[eicas]

Load 'em!!!

Dont over think this. The stuff you produce will still be better than factory!

 

[TheGerman]

Neck sizer? With bushings?

if you aren't neck turning and using bushings then you will have concentricity issues..

you can do it all on a single toolhead with a Forster FL die, and your necks will have virtually no run out with the Forster die..

Standard neck sizer, no bushing. The bushing issue is what led me to this in the first place.

Right now, I have the decapper, Dillon FL die with the trimmer on it on my prep toolhead. Seeing as how the Dillon die will bump the shoulder and do a FL size but has no expander, I'd have a standard Redding or Forster neck die on the first stage of the loading toolhead to work just the neck.

Otherwise, I have a standard, non bushing Redding FL die already on hand I can use for this; I'm just figuring the neck die is better as it will expand and give neck tension yet won't touch the shoulder again.

 

[MtnCreek]

FWIW, hornady 55gr fmj in LC or FC brass and H335 or IMR8208 (either dropped from a 650 measure) shoots better than the ammo cans of xm193. The most time consuming thing I do to the brass is cutting out the bur from flash hole punching. I've noticed this bur can cover a flash hole after swaging with a super swag. Hornady makes a 55gr SP bullet that's also available in bulk. Assuming this ammo may be stored for a while, add car polish to fresh cob and tumble the loaded ammo; this will prevent tarnish.

 

[JoeBUtah]

Load 'em!!!

Dont over think this. The stuff you produce will still be better than factory!

That's what I'm thinking too. During the election run-up, I started a 10,000 rounds for Hillary project. Kept me busy, but now I've got just under 10k rounds of 'quality' plinking ammo that I wouldn't think twice about using on a 'yote..... (And I did them all on a Rock Chucker single stage!)

 

[Greg Langelius *]

It all depends on your personal accuracy demands. Start by getting reasonable about those demands.

I shoot either PPU 55gr FMJ at 100yd, or match handloads made with that same brass fro longer distances.

My one exception in recent years was the match handloads I made for 600yd National MR competition this past Spring. I bought new Winchester .223 brass and f/l resized it first using my basic RCBS F/L die on the RL550b. That's it, and it shot well enough that I was able to determine that POI deviations at 600yd were directly associated with me, the wind, and not the ammo.

Whenever I make up 223 handloads, and 223 handloads are most of what I shoot, I recognize that even the best ammo still has to run the combined gauntlet of adverse conditions and my own blithering approach to marksmanship. As long as I stick firmly to the plan when making my ammo, it's going to be consistent. I have bigger issues than neck thickness, and settle for dong my best at the assembly process. The rest is not about the ammo.

My time, at my age, is limited. What time I have is better spent on the range than at the reloading bench.

I find that I can practically never handload better ammunition than I can buy as Federal Gold Medal Match. Do they turn necks? I think not.

Greg

 

[TripleBull]

I recognize that even the best ammo still has to run the combined gauntlet of adverse conditions and my own blithering approach to marksmanship.

I need a t-shirt with that quote.

 

[TheGerman]

That's what I'm thinking too. During the election run-up, I started a 10,000 rounds for Hillary project. Kept me busy, but now I've got just under 10k rounds of 'quality' plinking ammo that I wouldn't think twice about using on a 'yote..... (And I did them all on a Rock Chucker single stage!)

That's basically what happened to me, but over a longer time frame.

Every month I'd replace training ammo as well as add another case to the pile. Mostly 5.56 and pistol because I load almost everything I shoot out of a precision gun. When "d get below a certain amount, I'd replace the powder and primers plus add extra. I try and keep the powder to as few different types as possible.

So over the coarse of years, I ended up with literally crates of once fired LC and Rem brass, stacked 50 cal ammo boxes full of M193 55g FMJ and enough components to just keep going. But the flow of available ammo has now basically saturated the market and whatever 'it' was supposed to be, never happened.

 

[TheGerman]

Ok, so screw neck turning. Here's how we're doing this:

- Tumble
- Prep Toolhead; universal decapper, Dillon FL size die to bump the shoulder plus Dillon trimmer to trim all cases
- Quick check on the primer pocket and primer hole
- Load Toolhead; Redding 'standard' non bushing neck die, powder, bullet seat, crimp, done

Only thing I'd like to automate into this is a swager. I have the Dillon table mount one you do manually, but want to put one on the 650 to automate the process. Hell, I may end up with one of those motors that make ammo off a program on an iPad eventually at this rate as I already have the MrBulletfeeder and the automatic case assembly lol

 

[padom]

I have the swag kit for my 650. Never installed it. I ream the crimp out in large batches on my case prep center. I find even swag isn't perfect and have had primer seating issues with swagged brass which is why i cut them out. I use the RCBS mil crimp reamer.

 

[ZY100]

First, all that was said above is legit....just load it and it will be better than factory.

But.....I am a big fan on a Sinclair neck mandrel. After case resizing, run the mandrel into the case and set a consistent neck tension. I load my 6.5 ammo this way (and my Dillon powder measure, but don't tell anyone) and keep my SD right at 10 and <.75 MOA ammo all day long. With prepped brass I can crank out 250 rounds in an hour easy. But I digress.

The inside the neck mandrel does not care about case neck thickness....it simply sets the ID right where you want it and neck tension (.002) is a key factor in SD and accuracy. I don't think you said it, but if you are running this in a gas gun, you may need to crimp and that sort of blows this COA....

http://www.sinclairintl.com/reloadin...prod36422.aspx

BTW...since the mandrel probably requires you to process on a second tool head, you could run just a brass process tool head with the 650 swag kit....deprime, swag, size, trim, set neck tension and then all set for loading.

ZY

 

[Greg Langelius *]

Slightly O/T, my tee short reads "Aging: the Ultimate Extreme Sport...". I like wearing it during some of my Cardiopulmonary Rehab sessions; it gets a chuckle once in awhile.

Greg

 

[eicas]

That's what I'm thinking too. During the election run-up, I started a 10,000 rounds for Hillary project. Kept me busy, but now I've got just under 10k rounds of 'quality' plinking ammo that I wouldn't think twice about using on a 'yote..... (And I did them all on a Rock Chucker single stage!)

Funny. Ive read this about a half dozen times now every time I scroll thru this post. It never ceases to put a grin on my face.

See?