Question about my reloading process

[Jamnanc]

In the past, I have deprimed using a lee die on a single stage press, then tumbled, trimmed, deburred and moved on to resizing, priming, powder and seating on my .223. When I use this process, i get media stuck in the primer pocket and it adds time inspecting for and removing. This last go around and possibly for all my future reloading, I tumbled, then resized/deprimed, trimmed, deburred, primed and moved onto powder and seating. Does anyone see a potential problem with this order? It seems to eliminate the step of checking and removing the media from the process. Most reloading manuals I've read reccomend the former, but I can't see a problem with the latter. Thoughts?

[Hoser]

Tumble then deprime. Problem solved.

[Zombie Steve]

No need to decap first. Tumble dirty brass, then go to work.

[Great-Kazoo]

ditto x 2

[Jamnanc]

Good, thanks, I didn't see a problem. It's how I do pistol, but reading other people's process sometimes makes my eyes cross, then I start over analyzing.

[husky390]

I tumble rifle brass twice. The first time to clean it up before sizing. The second time to clean off the case lube and brass shavings from trimming. Media does get stuck in the primer pocket but a quick look and a stab with a flash hole cleaner takes care of it. This is also a good time to inspect the case for damage.

Pistol brass gets cleaned prior to sizing and that's it. I inspect each case prior loading it into my machine.

[TRnCO]

seems to me that if you trimmed before resizing, it would be possible to end up with cartridges that are below COAL specs.


This last go around and possibly for all my future reloading, I tumbled, then resized/deprimed, trimmed, deburred, primed and moved onto powder and seating. That is the correct order, IMO, so stick with it.

[JackRyan]

I just added a case trimmer to my reloading equipment. When Should I trim my brass? Before or after sizing?

[Great-Kazoo]

After.

[Tim K]

Well, maybe. I trim some before sizing when I'm loading on a progressive press. You need to experiment a bit to find out what length to trim to to yield the desired length after sizing, but that is a two minute job. I have case holders for my Giraud trimmer for both sized and unsized brass and I use whichever is appropriate to the day.

[Not_A_Llama]

Unless you can guarantee that the brass you recover is from your guns, I would size, then trim. Especially with the shoulder-indexing designs.

[whitewalrus]

I tumble rifle brass twice. The first time to clean it up before sizing. The second time to clean off the case lube and brass shavings from trimming. Media does get stuck in the primer pocket but a quick look and a stab with a flash hole cleaner takes care of it. This is also a good time to inspect the case for damage.

Pistol brass gets cleaned prior to sizing and that's it. I inspect each case prior loading it into my machine.

I do the same, just never liked the idea of leaving the lube on the case. If you use bigger media, they don't get stuck as much.

[whitewalrus]

I just added a case trimmer to my reloading equipment. When Should I trim my brass? Before or after sizing?

I always trim after sizing.