Worthwhile Brass Processor

[MAHLMAN]

I have been through three processors now and all three promised fully processed brass. All three have delivered primer pockets with no discernible swagging I can see. Seating primers is a nightmare and all I get is crap answers like yes they are swagged or they are swagged as much as I can before my customers start complaining about loose primer pockets. One had the gall to tell me primer pockets packed full of walnut media was just part of it and run them through a vibratory tumbler. The other two had nice looking brass and all three had 223 brass that gauged well. No neck chamfers on any of them.

What I want to do is find a processor that actually swages those primer pockets for reloading on a Dillon 750 and hopefully does the inside of the neck chamfer as well. I don't want to process brass in the amount I am doing and I don't want lousy processed brass I have to follow up on. 223 and 308.

 

[nn8734]

I have been through three processors now and all three promised fully processed brass. All three have delivered primer pockets with no discernible swagging I can see. Seating primers is a nightmare and all I get is crap answers like yes they are swagged or they are swagged as much as I can before my customers start complaining about loose primer pockets. One had the gall to tell me primer pockets packed full of walnut media was just part of it and run them through a vibratory tumbler. The other two had nice looking brass and all three had 223 brass that gauged well. No neck chamfers on any of them.

What I want to do is find a processor that actually swages those primer pockets for reloading on a Dillon 750 and hopefully does the inside of the neck chamfer as well. I don't want to process brass in the amount I am doing and I don't want lousy processed brass I have to follow up on. 223 and 308.

You want something like brass prep done right, you have to do it yourself whether you may want to or not, IMO as it’s tough to find someone who cares as much about your brass as you do. That said, there’s someone on here that offers brass prep service but can’t recall who it was or if he still does it. Perhaps someone else will chime in with the guy’s user name.

 

[Cascade Hemi]

If time was important to you you wouldn't be loading on 650/750. The 650/750 is terrible for high volume milspec ammo. Move to a 1050/1100 or Mark 7 and use a Lyman M Die in the station before seating. The press will swage the brass before seating primers.

 

[Bigfatcock]

I used to do that, but stopped because nobody wants to pay what it costs to get the quality they want. It’s not as simple as tumbling it and running it through a super 1050 set up with swager and trimmer.

All the little variables that impact loading, also impact prep.

 

[BuildingConceptsllc]

@Dave__th3__ss does brass and will do what you want, just tell him exactly what you're after and he will do it.

 

[MAHLMAN]

You want something like brass prep done right, you have to do it yourself whether you may want to or not, IMO as it’s tough to find someone who cares as much about your brass as you do. That said, there’s someone on here that offers brass prep service but can’t recall who it was or if he still does it. Perhaps someone else will chime in with the guy’s user name.

Sadly beginning to think this is true.

 

[hlee]

Yeah, if you want it done right, do it yourself.

 

[MAHLMAN]

If time was important to you you wouldn't be loading on 650/750. The 650/750 is terrible for high volume milspec ammo. Move to a 1050/1100 or Mark 7 and use a Lyman M Die in the station before seating. The press will swage the brass before seating primers.

Yeah that sounds good and maybe one day. To set up for four calibers is more then I care to spend. If the brass is prepped right the 750 works fine and I can grudgingly process a lot of brass myself for the multiple thousands the 1050/1100 would run.

It's funny how much work we can make for ourselves by trying to avoid some work which is exactly what has happened to me with poor processed brass. I just need to bite the bullet and quit being lazy. I hate my Dillon swagger but it treats me better then the people I have thrown money at.

 

[hellzna]

Dumb question, but are there any automated machines that will chamfer the neck?

All processing I’ve seen was best case m die on finally step to accept bullet from a bullet feeder.

 

[Bigfatcock]

Dumb question, but are there any automated machines that will chamfer the neck?

All processing I’ve seen was best case m die on finally step to accept bullet from a bullet feeder.

The problem is inconsistent neck wall thickness. You end up with uneven chamfer, which people complain about.

The M-Die is the way to go for mass non-match brass prep. The issue is that case lengths have to be very consistent for the die to work on all of them. This is where the next issue comes in.

Which trimmer? When bulk prepping brass, shoulders are not that consistent. So now you have inconsistent trim length of using trimmers that register off the shoulder.

So what do you do? Sort all cases with a comparator and then adjust the trimmer to the different batch shoulder specs? Hmmmm. Lame.

Or do you use a trimmer that registers off the rim of the case? Did you sort by brand/year or measure all rim thicknesses? Probably not, but this style of trimmer/registering is better for mass prep than the type that registers off the shoulder.

Even swaging is impacted by the case brand.

One case being off in a batch of 2,000 will get a customer complaint. Not worth it, which is why I quit doing it.

People don’t think mass brass prep be like it is, but it do.

 

[BuildingConceptsllc]

Dumb question, but are there any automated machines that will chamfer the neck?

All processing I’ve seen was best case m die on finally step to accept bullet from a bullet feeder.

Seems like an AMP MATE type of device could be made to chamfer and swage if needed.

 

[Cascade Hemi]

Yeah that sounds good and maybe one day. To set up for four calibers is more then I care to spend. If the brass is prepped right the 750 works fine and I can grudgingly process a lot of brass myself for the multiple thousands the 1050/1100 would run.

It's funny how much work we can make for ourselves by trying to avoid some work which is exactly what has happened to me with poor processed brass. I just need to bite the bullet and quit being lazy. I hate my Dillon swagger but it treats me better then the people I have thrown money at.

How much do you want to process? The difference between a loaded 750 and a 1050 isn't that much. Now you're paying someone plus all of your wasted time and the slowness of the 750. If you need to load as much as you're implying in your first post the 750 is the wrong tool for the job.

 

[hlee]

How many times do you need to swage the pockets? This is usually a one time affair. Over the useful lifetime of a piece of brass, swaging/reaming/chamfering/etc the primer pockets- once- isn’t that big of a deal.

 

[MAHLMAN]

How much do you want to process? The difference between a loaded 750 and a 1050 isn't that much. Now you're paying someone plus all of your wasted time and the slowness of the 750. If you need to load as much as you're implying in your first post the 750 is the wrong tool for the job.

I can't argue against what you say. I started off not intending to reload nearly as many rounds as I have and the situation kind of crept up on me and by then my money was tied up. Yes I could have had the 1050 in retrospect. I did find some 1050's for sale used which might or might nit be a mistake to get. 1300 to 1500 seems to be the price and maybe you get someone else's problem as a bonus.

 

[Bigfatcock]

I can't argue against what you say. I started off not intending to reload nearly as many rounds as I have and the situation kind of crept up on me and by then my money was tied up. Yes I could have had the 1050 in retrospect. I did find some 1050's for sale used which might or might nit be a mistake to get. 1300 to 1500 seems to be the price and maybe you get someone else's problem as a bonus.

1050’s are a heavy use machine. I’d buy new.

 

[MAHLMAN]

How many times do you need to swage the pockets? This is usually a one time affair. Over the useful lifetime of a piece of brass, swaging/reaming/chamfering/etc the primer pockets- once- isn’t that big of a deal.

Just once but brass recovery can be a problem often. Ridgetop pasture shooting range and grass eats this stuff up.

 

[hlee]

Just once but brass recovery can be a problem often. Ridgetop pasture shooting range and grass eats this stuff up.

Brass catcher. Factor your hourly wage into your reloading cost and a brass catcher pays for itself in one shooting trip…

 

[BuildingConceptsllc]

Brass catcher. Factor your hourly wage into your reloading cost and a brass catcher pays for itself in one shooting trip…

Yeah there's several different ones with different attachment methods that work very well.

 

[StaveyIL]

1050’s are a heavy use machine. I’d buy new.

1050 also don’t come with the same part replacement warranty as the others Dillon machines. Dillon considers it a commercial machine. At least that was their policy.

 

[Bigfatcock]

1050 also don’t come with the same part replacement warranty as the others Dillon machines. Dillon considers it a commercial machine. At least that was their policy.

Which is why I recommended buying new.

 

[StaveyIL]

Irregardless it’s still not covered. Just thought that was worth mentioning. I do
agree on buying new,

 

[Cascade Hemi]

I can't argue against what you say. I started off not intending to reload nearly as many rounds as I have and the situation kind of crept up on me and by then my money was tied up. Yes I could have had the 1050 in retrospect. I did find some 1050's for sale used which might or might nit be a mistake to get. 1300 to 1500 seems to be the price and maybe you get someone else's problem as a bonus.

How many rounds are you reloading per month?

I have eight complete 650 tool heads and conversions. I really only need three. If I had to do it over I'd have bought a 1050 and 550. Now that I've loaded hundreds of thousands of rounds on my 650 I can tell you it is a huge waste of money from start to finish. Cut your losses.

 

[Bigfatcock]

How many rounds are you reloading per month?

I have eight complete 650 tool heads and conversions. I really only need three. If I had to do it over I'd have bought a 1050 and 550. Now that I've loaded hundreds of thousands of rounds on my 650 I can tell you it is a huge waste of money from start to finish. Cut your losses.

100% agree. Not having the “No BS” warranty is a non issue if you’re not using the 1050 for commercial reloading.

I’d load a years worth of ammunition for bullseye competition in a 3 week period for 45 acap on the 1050 just doing an hour or two a day of pulling the handle.

 

[99mpower]

I process brass on a large scale. Everything said here is dead on.

If u want to work something out, shoot me a PM. Located in virginia (Hampton Roads area)

 

[jb0311]

I process brass on a large scale. Everything said here is dead on.

If u want to work something out, shoot me a PM. Located in virginia (Hampton Roads area)

I might keep you in mind myself, if that’s ok. I’m just south of you across the border and come up to Hampton Roads about once a month for VA appointments.

 

[99mpower]

I might keep you in mind myself, if that’s ok. I’m just south of you across the border and come up to Hampton Roads about once a month for VA appointments.

Easy.. shoot me a PM.. I’ll send you email/#

 

[TreyMeTrey]

I have been through three processors now and all three promised fully processed brass. All three have delivered primer pockets with no discernible swagging I can see. Seating primers is a nightmare and all I get is crap answers like yes they are swagged or they are swagged as much as I can before my customers start complaining about loose primer pockets. One had the gall to tell me primer pockets packed full of walnut media was just part of it and run them through a vibratory tumbler. The other two had nice looking brass and all three had 223 brass that gauged well. No neck chamfers on any of them.

What I want to do is find a processor that actually swages those primer pockets for reloading on a Dillon 750 and hopefully does the inside of the neck chamfer as well. I don't want to process brass in the amount I am doing and I don't want lousy processed brass I have to follow up on. 223 and 308.

If you want it done right..Ya gotta do it yourself...Or $$$ PAY $$$.
I'm so picky about my reloading/brass prep that Id spend about as much time Double Checking someone else's work that I'd just as soon do it myself.

 

[MarinePMI]

Ditto what a lot of folks said about prep'ing brass. It isn't easy, or as straightforward as some would think.

Sorting is the primary issue, and is absolutely critical for processing brass in bulk. Personally, I think if you're not using an Autodrive of some sort, your consistency is going to be lacking. It's also not a cheap endeavor if you want to minimize time spent processing it.

A 750 will work, but will require multiple toolheads just for processing (as well as set up time between the tool heads). An 1100/CP2000 is a better way to start, but even there, you're going to be "upgrading" a lot of stuff to get it done right.

 

[Cynical]

So what’s the going rate per thousand for “good” processing of 223? Including swaging and trimming/chamfering.

 

[BuildingConceptsllc]

So what’s the going rate per thousand for “good” processing of 223? Including swaging and trimming/chamfering.

@Dave__th3__ss

 

[99mpower]

So what’s the going rate per thousand for “good” processing of 223? Including swaging and trimming/chamfering.

$55 per thousand, but does not include chamfering. This would be for "plinking" 223/556 brass, ran on a ammobot/1050 or Mark 7/1050 set up. You are not going to get chamfering for this price though, as that requires 1 by 1 processing.

-De-primed
-Full length sized
-Trimmed to 1.750 (+ or – 0.004in) for the most consistent length
-Swaged to remove military crimps
-Wet tumbled to remove burrs and clean primer pockets
-Checked in a Lyman case/head space gauge for quality control
-Polished in corn cob media for tarnish protection and shine

 

[MAHLMAN]

I do have some news on the processed brass front. Brass Monkeyz has sold me 223 and 308 now. 10k 223 and 4k 308.

308 was same head stamp with no oddballs at all and the primer pockets were swagged for the most part. I had to rotate a few to get the primer seated without undue force and a few ended up needing swagging. Inside of neck would need to be chamfered if you are fussy but at $95 per 500 + shipping for real once fired same head stamp mostly processed good looking brass is the cheapest I have found and cuts down process time considerably.

223 was 95% or so Wolf brass and the remainder CBC and $95 + shipping per 1K. Primer pockets needed swagging as enough of them were problems that rather then screwing around, as others have pointed out, just plan on doing this. Chamfer if using square base bullets or you don't want shavings piling up. Being lazy and not after that last step in accuracy I don't chamfer the ID and let the crimping die worry about any edge on the neck OD.

All the brass I have spot checked with Dillon gauges were just fine. I have not checked neck tension other then I can't push a loaded round in by hand and technically I guess they could be to tight or loose.

 

[Dave__th3__ss]

So what’s the going rate per thousand for “good” processing of 223? Including swaging and trimming/chamfering.

I prep brass in my free time for those that need it. I can do as much or as little as you need. I can anneal, swagge, and size to your specs no problem.

I do if all by hand on my single stage. I treat your brass as it was my own.

 

[MAHLMAN]

Just to clarify the three other processors besides Brass Monkeyz were some local people. Brass Monkeyz is not one of the three I won't use again. I am not saying this because of the above post but rather I had gone back to reread the whole thread again and thought my initial statement might lead to some confusion.

 

[enichols]

I prep brass in my free time for those that need it. I can do as much or as little as you need. I can anneal, swagge, and size to your specs no problem.

I do if all by hand on my single stage. I treat your brass as it was my own.

I can vouch for Dave's work. He has done several thousand 6.5 Creedmoor cases for me, cleaning, resizing, depriming, annealing, trimming, and primer pocket uniforming. Every time the work has been impeccable with quick turnaround. I highly recommend that you contact him for your brass processing needs.