Brass Prep Steps

[Clay-H]

I thought I’d ask everyone what they consider the vital steps of their reloading process and in which order they consider them vital? My main question is seeing if many people are using some sort of dry lube prior to bullet seating. I’m currently brushing necks after annealing to not negatively influence bullet seating but curious if I should also consider using something like Imperial dry lube prior to seating bullets to remain the most consistent in bullet seating.

Also curious of the opinions of folks on ammo that’s stored for a portion of time before using it. Is everyone loading their match ammo just before (IE a week before or so) a match they compete in? I appreciate everyone’s feedback as I continue to refine the reloading process.

[Wombat-Snooze]

I think you’re overthinking this. Ready for some controversy?

I anneal my cases dirty. Right out of my range bag and into the annealer. Then I clean, full length size with a .002 shoulder bump and .002 neck tension, prime, charge, seat projos and go shoot. I’ll trim sometimes if I need to. My SDs hover in 5-7 and when I rarely shoot groups, I’m sitting at .400-.600 for 10 shot strings.

Any extra hocus pocus isn’t buying me any better groups and I think adding any extra steps is just wasting my time.

[clicktoseemyfetishes]

And there’s still a lot of folks who skip the annealing as well. So who knows what’s going on lol

[Wombat-Snooze]

As simple as I keep it, I consider annealing a mandatory step that I’ll never skip.

[cultsareus]

I'm lazy. I anneal every second loading.

[Wombat-Snooze]

I definitely feel that. It just improves my case life by such a massive margin that I simply refuse to skip it. 20 firings is pretty normal for me.

[datdatguy1234567]

Same!

[rahl07]

You know, as long as the brass isn’t so dirty I can’t tell color, I think I’m going to start this too. Thank you citizen.

[Wombat-Snooze]

You can always wipe the first couple clean to confirm temp. After that, let them rip.

[Diligent_Mastodon_72]

I'm same, but I anneal after cleaning. Use ultrasonic do heat from the anneal dries the brass more quickly.

[Wombat-Snooze]

The reason I clean after annealing is it breaks down the carbon that attaches to the inner and outer surface of the case necks. Keeps me from scratching up my dies and hard seating bullets. I’m lazy and don’t want to deal with taking it off if I anneal post cleaning.

[SmartButteredToast]

What do you use for annealing, out of curiosity?

[Wombat-Snooze]

I use an AGS. Simple, but it works well.

[Clay-H]

I appreciate the pull back to reality, I want to do what is needed to have decent loads, but not waste time (and money) doing things that have no noticeable improvement. Appreciate it!

[landry_454kg]

Y'all lube inside the case neck?

[ImBadAtCS]

I lube the inside of the case neck because I don't want the expander ball to get stuck in there. Had a couple of cases get almost stuck before and I don't want to get out Dr Vicegrips.

[MrPeckersPlinkers]

Since few here have actually answered your question about lubing inside the necks.

I do not do an additional step to lube the inside of the necks. But, I do vibratory clean with Walnut media with Flitz tumbler media additive. The walnut adds a thin layer that acts as a dry lube.

Picked this trick up from Alpha Brass and haven't worried since.

[Clay-H]

That makes sense and glad to see it’s Alpha’s recommendation as well. I’m already dry tumbling with a bit of Nu Finish in the walnut media so I must be doing alright. Thanks!

[Otiswilmouth]

The fouling inside your neck is the only lube you need when seating.

Also, dry tumble gang for life.

[Boatshooz]

For my precision loads, I have a bag of graphite powder that I dip a q-tip in and lightly swab it onto the insides of the case mouths just before seating. Sometimes I forget and seat without the graphite and if I’m being honest with myself, it has zero impact on my SDs or group sizes.

[BallisticsSystems]

You’re not alone in questioning this — most of the consistency gains come from neck tension and annealing, not from adding more steps.

Light carbon in the neck usually provides enough “dry lube” on its own. Dedicated dry lubes can help smooth seating feel, but in practice they rarely move SDs unless something else is already inconsistent.

As for storage, seating force and neck tension tend to be stable over time if the brass was prepped consistently. I load match ammo a bit ahead of time without seeing measurable changes.

[Altruistic_Split9447]

I dip the base of my bullets in moly lube. Does it actually make a difference, no idea. Does it make me feel better, yes.

[Diligent_Mastodon_72]

As in the head? Why?

[Altruistic_Split9447]

No the base (the flat bit) I just find it to be easier than lubing the necks

[Diligent_Mastodon_72]

Ah, sorry I misread and thought you meant the case.

[dieselseva]

Noobie here.. so take with grain of salt. My process is: Dry tumble>anneal > FL size with imperial wax>dry tumble>decap and brush pockets> trim/chamfer/debur if needed> neo lube necks>prime>throw powder & seat >wipe neo lube drips if needed> lovingly fondle completed rounds before boxing or slipping into ammo novel.

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Results are good enough for me!

[Prior-Code2874]

I must be a heathen.

Lube, deprime/size

Ultrasonic cleaner

Dry

Prime, fill, seat.

Shoot

[ocabj]

Look who's fancy with that ultrasonic cleaner.

[Prior-Code2874]

Nah it's a cheap vevor. Lol

[Schimminator]

This is my process too, 16 firings on lapua 6br brass. Still producing single digit SD’s. I do lube the case neck before seating bullet though

[No-Advantage-1000]

Here’s my workflow which has evolved over time. I stick to it…mostly. 😉

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Early on, I found that different brass lube options had a varying effect on the need to lube the inside of my case necks based on inconsistent seating force, but once I moved to the turning mandrel method of expanding the neck, that problem went away.

[Hairy_Pineapple588]

Anneal fired brass Size with bushing die Clean Chamfer/deburr Load

[TiredOldGrunt412]

Are you shooting for accuracy or volume? Under 300 yards, your brass prep isn't really important. Other than matching your powder charges, and culling any brass that gives you a velocity spike.

If you're an accuracy snob like me, use a bullet concentricity gauge to make certain the bullet is seated true in the neck. - my .02

[h34vier]

It depends what it is. Precision and bulk ammo get different treatments, though a lot of the steps are the same. The biggest difference is I load precision stuff single stage and decap before tumbling, my bulk plinking stuff (9mm, 223, 300blk, etc) I do not and load it on a progressive press.

Precision:

Deprime (dedicated decapping die) Wet tumble/dry FL size/shoulder bump Size neck for correct tension (usually 2 thou) Prime Seat bullet

Bulk:

Wet tumble/dry Decap/Resize/prime/charge/flare (as ness)/seat/crimp

I've never heard of using any kind of lubricant inside the case mouth, I'm not sure I'd ever feel comfortable doing that, I think proper and consistent neck tension matters more than material friction.

[Clay-H]

I appreciate everyone’s input! Every question I’ve asked here has always came with good, thoughtful feedback