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Posted: 7/25/2026 8:57:22 PM EDT
| For those of you using a case feeder, how do you handle checking your cases? I moved from a Dillon 550 to a 750. With the 550 you had to handle each case by hand when you put it in the shell plate. I used that opportunity to check each case for cracks, correct caliber, etc. with a case feeder, do you check every case before dumping them into the feeder? Live life on the edge and let 'er buck? |
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I have Dillon 550 with a case feeder. Personally between wet tumbling and depriming my brass on a single stage and depending on caliber getting rid of the military crimp. I have handled and inspected the brass several times before it goes in the 550 for loading. I like to deprime before wet tumbling. Helps get the water out better. Then I usually put them in a towel roll them around followed by a hair dryer to dry them. Then sorting into caliber if I did more than one per batch. I often tumble 10mm and 40cal together. |
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I start with decapping and wet tumbling. Then lube and size on the Rockchucker, lube removed by dry tumbling. Cases trimmed on Giraud. By now bad cases are weeded out. Now fully prepped cases go on 1050 and are loaded. With the 1050, I no longer have to remove crimp manually. So to answer OP question, prep your brass, then load on progressive. |
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Shooting and Reloading, one hobby feeds the other.
Shooting and Reloading, one hobby feeds the other.
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I live life on the edge with ar15 fired 223 gets 2 toolhead full case prep on one dillon trimmer / sizer then loading on the other toolhead. Most of my case inspection is when im picking up fired cases or Lubing brass. I keep my brass separate by firings… 7th firing they become 55gr sp and stay ion the ground Bolt gun brass is handled so much its easy to find a defect. |
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The less you have to do, the better, IMHO. What caliber are we talking about? For 9mm, I run the brass through filters. https://uniquetek.com/shop/ols/products/shell-sorter Then I clean and load it. I typically catch cracked cases during case gauging, bullet seating, brass pickup, or brass sorting. Firing a cracked case is typically no big deal. This has been working well for 100k rounds. For .223, I inspect more closely during headstamp sorting (not applicable for 9mm), bullet seating, lubing, and case gauging, swaging. I only gauge 7 at a time in 223 vs 100 in 9mm, and I dump them out and roll them to look at the finished rounds. I doubt a split neck could pass a case gauge, but I'm also looking for stretch rings and other things that might indicate that piece of brass only gets fired one more time. If I was doing high pressure stuff, or if I was automated, I would probably do more at brass prep. |
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Originally Posted By pokey074: Pistol only. I haven't loaded rifle in YEARS. .32 H&R Mag, 9mm, .38 Special, .44 Special. Occasionally .357 Mag and .44 Mag. I really only reload 9mm in pistol rounds and my 9mm process is much different than rifle brass prep. For 9mm, I sorta pick through the brass looking for 40/45/380 and toss any I find and then clean the 9mm in walnut with cleaner in it. Then it gets spritzed with Hornady one shot (not necessary, but makes my press run smoother) Then gets tossed into the case feeder and I go to town. If I feel something that feels "off" when running my progressive press, I stop and check the brass/process. I then case gauge all loaded rounds in an Armanov 100 round case gauge (goes FAST). If the "off" feel isn't a press issue, it's typically one of the following: - Damn 380 case made it through inspection - Cracked 9mm case - Crimped 9mm primer pocket (easy to figure out b/c primer won't seat) That's typically it. I refuse to do more work than that on 9mm pistol loads. -ZA |
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Originally Posted By pokey074: Pistol only. I haven't loaded rifle in YEARS. .32 H&R Mag, 9mm, .38 Special, .44 Special. Occasionally .357 Mag and .44 Mag. Because pistol case prep is so easy. Sort cases to caliber. Clean case, wet or dry tumble. Then load on progressive press. For auto pistol rounds, 9mm, 45 ACP, ect no trimming is needed. I do trim my revolver rounds the first time I load them, no trimming needed in the future as they don't grow. I like the crimp to fall mid cannelure, or in crimp grove of a cast bullet. Range revolver brass varies widely in OAL and if you like nice crimps, you trim and debur. Some will say they never trim pistol cases, (to me that means auto pistol rounds, which is correct) but do they shoot revolvers and like nice crimps? |
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Shooting and Reloading, one hobby feeds the other.
Shooting and Reloading, one hobby feeds the other.
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Originally Posted By pokey074: For those of you using a case feeder, how do you handle checking your cases? I moved from a Dillon 550 to a 750. With the 550 you had to handle each case by hand when you put it in the shell plate. I used that opportunity to check each case for cracks, correct caliber, etc. with a case feeder, do you check every case before dumping them into the feeder? Live life on the edge and let 'er buck? I wet tumble with pins. So I dry the brass on a towel spread out on a table. I put a box fan at one end of the table, so it blows across the brass. A day or two later I will pick up that dry brass by hand and dump it into a .50 cal ammo can with a desiccant pack In that process of handling the brass, if there are any splits, I can hear it. The tone or “ring” is off. I’ll pick through the brass in my hand until I find the offending piece. Whoops! Let me back up… I deprime separately, so that’s when I find the other brass , like this: Attached File The Dillon universal decapping die was holding up really well, or so I thought. Then it went SNAP! the other night. And I didn’t notice it for half the batch. Luckily I had a spare squirreled away. When I was decapping a bunch of 9mm, about every 30 cases I was running into a military case with a crimped in primer. I installed the Swage It tool. The .380 brass that snuck in there will kinda fit in a shellplate meant for 9mm. But the rim on the .380 is just small enough that the Swage It tool’s upward force makes the .380 case fly right outta the shellplate. Then I wet tumble with pins. Some times just spinning the brass in the media separator I can hear that weird tin-ey sound. I’ll rock that brass-media separator back and forth and then like lock in with my ears to find the split case. With the load toolhead for 9mm, I’ll find the .38 Supers when the brass is in getting charged with powder and is getting belled or flared. I’ll be like “Jeesh, this sure is taking extra effort on the handle’s downstroke.” That’s when I’ll take a closer look at the case as it is leaving the PM station., and I’ll notice the goofed up longer case. So I will pull it off before I try to seat a bullet on it. Dump the powder back into the PM. Then when I get 100 rounds or so in the Akrobin (primer alarm goes off) I’ll go sit down in another room, set the Armanov “hundo” on a bench or table: Attached File The rounds that are not flush in the hundo get dropped into a Dillon case gauge. If they fit in that, then they get placed in one of those plastic flip lid boxes made by Berry’s or MTM. If the round doesn’t fit flush in the Dillon case gauge, then it goes into the glass fish bowl. Some rainy day I ‘ll pull the bullets. I make sure everything then gets a green sharpie marker stripe across the head stamp. Green means go. Then when I am at a match or at the range , I check the head stamps for the green stripe as they get loaded into the magazines. The brass I am going through now, is stuff I “brass whored up” after matches 15 years ago. I had it separated into 5 gallon buckets. Like I had two 5 gallon buckets of 9mm. Two buckets of Fo-Tay (one of which split open all on its own and brass is all over the floor now). And one bucket of .45ACP’s. Back then I used those plastic brass sorting baskets with the slots: Attached File But I didn’t spring for that separate metal “filter” for the .380’s . I used to be a certified RO and a certified SO. I used to work these major matches. It was made really clear before competitors signed up that these were considered lost brass matches. I remember one Nat’s that I worked, I found a transfer shovel and scooped the brass into buckets. Then when I got home I separated it from the gravel. When I go to the range now, if I am really on the ball, I’ll bring a tarp along: Attached File If I forget the tarp, then when I am picking up brass out off the gravel, I’ll flip each case over to look for the green stripe. The green stripes have their own zip lock bag. The other brass goes in a different zip lock bag or container. |
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I throw handgun brass in 5 gal pail. When full I break out the shell sorter trays. I can sort my 45 acp 625 brass as it is moon clipped. I have plenty of brass ready to load. |
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Don't be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.
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Don't be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.
R W Emerson
Global Warming Hoax Skeptic before it was cool
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Originally Posted By WeimaranerDad: I wet tumble with pins. So I dry the brass on a towel spread out on a table. I put a box fan at one end of the table, so it blows across the brass. A day or two later I will pick up that dry brass by hand and dump it into a .50 cal ammo can with a desiccant pack In that process of handling the brass, if there are any splits, I can hear it. The tone or "ring" is off. I'll pick through the brass in my hand until I find the offending piece. Whoops! Let me back up I deprime separately, so that's when I find the other brass , like this: https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/369122/IMG_8049_jpeg-3802434.JPG The Dillon universal decapping die was holding up really well, or so I thought. Then it went SNAP! the other night. And I didn't notice it for half the batch. Luckily I had a spare squirreled away. When I was decapping a bunch of 9mm, about every 30 cases I was running into a military case with a crimped in primer. I installed the Swage It tool. The .380 brass that snuck in there will kinda fit in a shellplate meant for 9mm. But the rim on the .380 is just small enough that the Swage It tool's upward force makes the .380 case fly right outta the shellplate. Then I wet tumble with pins. Some times just spinning the brass in the media separator I can hear that weird tin-ey sound. I'll rock that brass-media separator back and forth and then like lock in with my ears to find the split case. With the load toolhead for 9mm, I'll find the .38 Supers when the brass is in getting charged with powder and is getting belled or flared. I'll be like "Jeesh, this sure is taking extra effort on the handle's downstroke." That's when I'll take a closer look at the case as it is leaving the PM station., and I'll notice the goofed up longer case. So I will pull it off before I try to seat a bullet on it. Dump the powder back into the PM. Then when I get 100 rounds or so in the Akrobin (primer alarm goes off) I'll go sit down in another room, set the Armanov "hundo" on a bench or table: https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/369122/IMG_8050_jpeg-3802441.JPG The rounds that are not flush in the hundo get dropped into a Dillon case gauge. If they fit in that, then they get placed in one of those plastic flip lid boxes made by Berry's or MTM. If the round doesn't fit flush in the Dillon case gauge, then it goes into the glass fish bowl. Some rainy day I 'll pull the bullets. I make sure everything then gets a green sharpie marker stripe across the head stamp. Green means go. Then when I am at a match or at the range , I check the head stamps for the green stripe as they get loaded into the magazines. The brass I am going through now, is stuff I "brass whored up" after matches 15 years ago. I had it separated into 5 gallon buckets. Like I had two 5 gallon buckets of 9mm. Two buckets of Fo-Tay (one of which split open all on its own and brass is all over the floor now). And one bucket of .45ACP's. Back then I used those plastic brass sorting baskets with the slots: https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/369122/IMG_8051_jpeg-3802443.JPG But I didn't spring for that separate metal "filter" for the .380's . I used to be a certified RO and a certified SO. I used to work these major matches. It was made really clear before competitors signed up that these were considered lost brass matches. I remember one Nat's that I worked, I found a transfer shovel and scooped the brass into buckets. Then when I got home I separated it from the gravel. When I go to the range now, if I am really on the ball, I'll bring a tarp along: https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/369122/IMG_8052_jpeg-3802448.JPG If I forget the tarp, then when I am picking up brass out off the gravel, I'll flip each case over to look for the green stripe. The green stripes have their own zip lock bag. The other brass goes in a different zip lock bag or container. Just like the rest of the trays, you pay a lot for what you get, but after using them you find them a good purchase. |
Selling agent for Algores carbon credit scam.
Shooting and Reloading, one hobby feeds the other.
Shooting and Reloading, one hobby feeds the other.
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Originally Posted By dryflash3: I got tired of 380 mixed in with 9mm, so I got the 380 tray. Just like the rest of the trays, you pay a lot for what you get, but after using them you find them a good purchase. Tomorrow, I’m going to break down and order that metal tray for .380’s. Now, when I am on the range, “whoring up the brass”, if I find .390’s, I toss them into the weeds on the side berms. |
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Originally Posted By pokey074: For those of you using a case feeder, how do you handle checking your cases? I moved from a Dillon 550 to a 750. With the 550 you had to handle each case by hand when you put it in the shell plate. I used that opportunity to check each case for cracks, correct caliber, etc. with a case feeder, do you check every case before dumping them into the feeder? Live life on the edge and let 'er buck? One other thing that I forgot to mention about the 9mm case prep is the nickle plated steel cases I have stumbled across. They are Berdan primed. Some company does make a metal / magnetic doohickey for the casefeeder’s drop tube. As a steel case exits the hopper and starts down the tube, the magnet stops it cold. But for the interim, I think I’ll just shove my Frankford Arsenal transfer magnet meant for the SS pins into the bucket of 9mm. Not to sound like a total “shill” here, but Double Alpha Academy does sell a gadget now that goes in line with the casefeeder’s drop tube that is some how able to read the headstamp or “size up” the case’s rim, determine if it is the correct caliber. If it is not the correct caliber, it kicks that case out before it makes it into the press.  Double Alpha Academy Automatic Case Sorter Review I haven’t been to Double Alpha Academy’s website to check prices on it….yet. EDIT: i just rewatched that video in its entirety. I didn’t realize it also kicked out upside down cases. I don’t really remember that being an issue say a couple of weeks ago depriming 9mm in bulk. But lately with all the .45ACP’s I have been doing, I bet one in 50 will end up upside down. And when I deprime, I try to get my cardio in. Depending on which hand I am using / which side of the press I am standing on, some times I spot the upside down case. Sometimes there’s a crunch or a thud. |
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My brass prep process ensures I don’t have the wrong cases in the case feeder. I won’t bore the reader with all the steps I go through, but every case has been inspected and sorted multiple times before it gets anywhere near my press. So I’m not “living on the edge” with my case feeder. I know exactly what’s going into the feeder, so there are no surprises. Yes, my processes take more time, but I don’t have to clean up after having the wrong case mush up in a sizing die… |
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