Case Inspection

This part of the reloading process can be done throughout the reloading process. I would look at the cases after cleaning and then again after resizing and de-priming. I would measure them right before priming them. The cases should not be over max length. My LEE dies came with a spec sheet but you can find all this information in many reloading manuals and on line as well. Another good manual to have is in magazine for and is called Hodgdon's Annual. It will have the latest information on many loads, cases and bullets.

You can trim them if they are too long and get them to all the same size. They really should not elongate the first couple of times you reload them and especially not after firing factory loads. 

Usually the cases that have been loaded hot or at max will start to exhibit stretching and deforming. Also if your using brass that you have scavenged from somewhere, maybe the range or bought used somewhere. 

Look for cracks at the mouth of the case and look at the base of the case for deformities. The case pictured above has a crack or dent in the mouth and will be discarded. Why take a chance!

I have seen deformities at the base of shells from cowboy action shooters using lever action guns. The best is usually your own brass or new brass. 
Auto loaders need certain case length and need smooth cases in order to load and eject without jamming. Depending on the pistol or rifle they can be picky on which cases will properly cycle through the gun. This is not the case with revolvers or bolt action guns.
At the next level say for competition shooting having all the cases exactly the same as far as size and weight are important but that is another topic and best discussed for advanced re-loaders in a future article.

For Now Good Shooting!

De-Capping and Re-Sizing 44 Mag. Shells with The Lee Hand Press

In a previous post I showed how I clean brass shell casings. This is the next step in reloading. I'm doing this series for my 44 Mag. and I'm using a Lee 44 Mag. carbide die set. If you buy the carbide die sets from any manufacture it should fit the Lee Hand Press. They should be pretty much standardized. I use the Lee dies here and have used their scoop which comes with there dies to load a basic load. It works fine but that will be another post. Here I plan to de-capp and re-size the cases that I have previously cleaned.

Here is the Lee hand press ready to go.

 

Insert the 44 Mag. shell holder that came with the Lee carbide dies.

Screw in the carbide sizer and de-capper until it touches the the shell holder.

Screw it in enough so that handle stop does not completely close and the handle has about 1/4 inch before it closes or touches the stop.

Adjust the lock nut on the sizing die and the de-capper depth. When you have the correct gap between the handle and the stop cinch the locking nut down.

See how clean the cases are? Even months later, no corrosion!

Place the shell in the shell holder and guide the shell into the sizer as you start to bring the handles together.

Slowly bring the handles all the way together so they touch the stop.

Watch your fingers. Make sure they do not get pinched in between the handles.

Bring the handles back apart.

And there is your re-sized and de-capped case. Now keep going and get faster. In minutes you will have quite a few done.

Ammo boxes make good shell holders so don't discard them.

After you have de-capped 20 or so cases you will need to get rid of the spent primers.

Take off the shell holder and tilt the Lee hand press.

And there you have it. In the next episode we will expand the case and go through a few more steps. Your almost there.

Good Shooting