Resizing revolver brass

[carl418]

I recently started reloading for my 357 and 44 mag revolvers. Initially, I bought new Starline brass, and now all have been shot. So, it's time to clean and resize. I read in The ABC's of Reloading that only the first one-third of the case should be resized, since the used case now fits my cylinders perfectly. That is the only time I have read that, and it does seem to make sense, but I thought I would ask here.

So... what are your thoughts?

Also, sorry if this is a stupid question... I plead ignorance.

 

[arkie2]

That's the case with rifle brass but I've never heard that with pistol brass. I'll be interested to see if there is such a thing. It's not a stupid question as far as I'm concerned. We'll both learn something.

 

[Ruger4570]

I set my dies up to simply size about 1/3 myself. The shells fit all cylenders of my guns and help keep them centered in the chambers. At least I believe so and help with accuracy some. Try it, what harm can it do. you might find it enhances the accuracy.

 

[carl418]

Do you ever completely resize? I mean, like every fourth time, for instance.

 

[Ammo Junky]

I have not been happy with partial sizing of revolver brass. All six of your chambers are not the same. You will have difficulty chambering some rnds in some chambers even in the same gun. I have done testing and have found no increase in accuracy for the partial sized cases. The mouth will usualy split first on your case and brass life will not be improved for partial sizing. That said, I do not like the excess sizeing. I do not like the looks and the ratteling in the chamber does not help my deer hunting stelth. Sadly yes, it does need all the help it can get. I am not a fan of what I consider the second rate quality of lee products, but they do work and nobody else makes a second stage sizer for straight wall cases. The lee factory crimp die is a briliant idea and my compromize between partial and fl sizing.. If you can live with full length sizing your brass, you will not have any negitive side effects. It is the simplest way to go and works fine. If, like me, your just real picky about your loads and want them exsactly the way you want them becaus you want them that way . Try sizing 1 to 2 turns below where the base of the bullet seats in to the case then finish up with the lfc die. You can use the fcd as intended as a crimp die and the sizing takes care of its self or before the partial sizing if that works for you. I like 3/4 turn of crimp on the fcd for revolver loads that need crimped. I only crimp mag loads. For semi auto loads I run the sizer die 1 turn off the plate and the fcd 1/8 turn off the plate. The rnds have a straight not hour glass shape, plenty of bullet tension and feed 100%. Honestly I have ran the sizer die all the way down with no real problems but cosmeitic. I have also ran the sizer die 1 turn off without the fcd and still had 100% feeding, but the 1 turn off followed by the fcd is now my standard for all semi auto loads and probably will stay that way untill somone builds a two stage sizeing die into one die. It just a mater of time for that one. As a note, It seems that 9mm had more issues with bullet tension than larger cal, so you might want to double check your rnds or just be less anal than me and run the sizer down and forget it.

Good loading
AJ

 

[rnovi]

Bullets don't stick well in straight wall cases that haven't been resized - the bullets tend to drop straight into the case.

To answer your question: I fully resize ALL my pistol brass every time I reload them - .357, 9mm, .45acp, .45 winmag, .41 mag, .38 special. Some of those .38 special cases have been reloaded 10x with no issues. Some of the .45acp cases have been reloaded 20+ times.

Go and fully resize the pistol brass and don't worry about it.

 

[Ammo Junky]

Go and fully resize the pistol brass and don't worry about it.


Probably the most sound advice for most people.

 

[JB696]

Depends on the guns. The three cylinders on my FA's have bores within .001. So the cylinders re-size the cases perfectly when fired and the reloads fit all three guns. However, these rounds will not go into the cylinder of my S&W 696, so all of the brass for the 696 has to be re-sized. Also, the wall thickness and hardness of the brass at the case mouth can affect springback after firing. So occasionally the case will be too big to hold the bullet in place for the crimping operation. So these get a partial resize. As others have said, you can just re-size every time. That way they fit everything. The advantage to only re-sizing when necessary and using a light crimp is that in some calibers the brass will last almost forever. I shoot only .44 Special and have a batch of 200 Remington cases that have been reloaded 42 times. I just threw out a few of them because they got a little bit short from numerous "clean-up" case trimmings over the years. The other 400 cases I load are mixed brands and have been reloaded 25 times. Never one split case mouth. I don't think I am going to live long enough to wear out this brass. It's a little different for you Magnum guys, ehh???

 

[pumpkinheaver]

I always full length resize revolver brass, six chambers, six different dimensions.

 

[KW-Bane]

Maybe I can add a little twist to this subject. I've been a "bench jeweler" for almost 25yrs. And I've learned something interesting about soft metals.

When you heat it, it gets softer and more plyable (annealed, molecules relaxed). When you compress it, it becomes more firm and stiff (molecules constrict [kinda obvious so far]). My point, after the heat and stress of firing the rnd, the "case" becomes a little softer. If you don't compress it to make firm, it will develope weak spots quicker.

I can take a melted blob of gold, silver or brass (soft metals) the size of a nickle in dia. and roll it down to a fine wire that can be 20-30 ft long, thru the process of compression and annealing. Hopefully this helped

I resize my cases fully

 

[Mike Irwin]

I've been fully resizing all of my pistol brass for as long as I've been reloading.

It must be working because I've got some PMC .38 Spl. brass that has going on 50 loadings through them.

 

[amamnn]

I don't know where they came up with that 1/3 business anyway. When I saw that the first time I wondered how you were supposed to set that up. It's silly. I've never partially resized a case in 57 years. I don't know anyone who does that. It's certainly not a benchrest thing.

 

[JJB2]

i always have resized .38 spls and .357 mag full length. i've never even considered only partial resizeing... my hot loaded .357s kinda swell the bottom of the case out so they must be full length resized i'm thinkin.....

 

[JB696]

How do you partially resize a case......easy. I've done it thousands of times. Take one of your resizing dies (I know most of you guys have several in each caliber), remove the de-priming assembly, and cut off the portion of the die you don't need. The die will be slightly bigger at the bottom than it is the rest of the way up. Keep trimming until you get just enough squeeze on the case mouth so the bullets won't fall in. I resize the top 1/4 inch of the case, then hit them real lightly with the expander die. The bullets sit nicely on top of the cases without falling in and the reloaded ammo fits snugly in the cylinders of my guns. Of course, if the cylinder bores of your guns are different sizes, this won't work. Incidentally, I don't recommend trying to saw or mill off the carbide dies. Grind them off with a large diameter stationary disc grinder, dunking frequently in a can of cold water. Bevel the bottom edge and opening of the die with an abrasive cone on a hand held grinder or drill motor and you now have a custom case mouth resizer.

 

[JJB2]

jb i use lee speed dies so all i'd do to partially resize a case is not screw it so far into the press.........................

 

[JB696]

Sure, that might work. But where is the fun in that?? On the old die I cut off, it felt like I got a better "squeeze" if I put it a little farther in the hole. The bottom of the die may have been slopped out a bit.

 

[Smokey Joe]

Sizing revolver brass

Carl--Size it whatever works for you. (Though it would seem as if only sizing 1/3, and modifying dies, etc, etc, is kinda putzy.)

I use a carbide sizing die on .357magnum cases, and .45ACP's, push the case all the way into the die, and it sizes about the top 2/3-3/4 of the case; about down to where the base of the case meets the sides. And this level of sizing works nicely for me, thank you. Carbide dies are nice because they don't wear out, and don't need lubrication.

With handgun brass, emphasis, BRASS, what normally wears out first is the case mouth where the case gets bell-mouthed and then crimped with each reloading. Wear and tear on the rest of the case body is kinda beside the point. Nickel-plated cases will sometimes fail along the side of the case body instead; the nickel plating makes the whole case more brittle.

So in reloading, the most important thing for case longevity, is to bell-mouth and to crimp, as little as the case and the load in question, require.

Higher pressure loads will age cases relatively fast. Target-level loads allow cases to last close to forever.

 

[JB696]

The un-resized cases fit snugly in the bores of the cylinder. When fired the case expands slightly and forms a gas seal. The rear of the cylinder and the recoil shield stay nice and clean, even after 200 rounds. With fully resized cases or factory ammo, which has a smaller case diameter, the rear of the cylinder and the rear of the frame get covered in soot after 50 rounds. But with my tight cylinder to barrel gap, jacketed bullets and un-resized cases, after shooting two to three hundred rounds there isn't really anything to clean. There is usually a little bit of soot on the front of the cylinder and around the tip of the forcing cone. When I get home I run a couple of oily swabs down the barrel, just for a goof. After 500 rounds there is a little copper deposited in the first inch of the barrel to clean up. Putzy? I suppose.

 

[amamnn]

The things some people's kids will do..................

 

[T. O'Heir]

"...I've done it thousands of times...cut off the portion of the die..." Horse hockey. That's absolute nonsense.
carl418, set your dies up so the shell holder just kisses the bottom of the die when the ram is all the way up. You have to resize fully or you'll have no end of feeding problems. Even with a revolver. Then set the seating die rod to the OAL given in your manual with no crimp until you have your bullet depth established. This'd be a trial and error thing. Unless you're using hot loads in either cartridge, crimping isn't really required. If you are using hot loads, adjust the seating die to seat and crimp in one step. Then lock the die.