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| Answers to your most commonly asked questions regarding reloading of new brass. |
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| Does one need to full-length size brass prior to loading? |
| Generally speaking, Starline cases require no resizing prior to loading.
Due to variances in diameter of different bullet types, it is a good practice
to size the case only as far down as the bullet seating depth. When full length
sizing is required, it will be noted in the box with the brass. The only Starline
case that requires full sizing is the 454 Casull. |
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| Why is it very hard to get expander and powder funnel back out of case? |
| There are two situations that create this problem. The first is one we have just recently identified. It seems to be associated with the dillon powder funnel and only a couple of calibers (45 Auto and 40 S&W). The land for expanding case mouth is too long and when you begin to bell mouth the bottom of expander gets into the thicker taper of case and wedges causing it to be very hard to get back out. We have modified several by increasing radius on end and slightly shortening expanding land and this eliminated the problem completely. Call Starline and we will take care of it if you wish. One other cause can be a burr at case mouth created by the final trim operation, which grabs onto expander as it comes back up. This situation does not often appear and can be fixed by deburring case mouth or inside lubing cases. |
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| Why is Starline, Inc. brass shorter than the trim-to-length in our reloading manual? |
Trim-to-lengths given in most manuals often confuse people if they are unsure of their actual purpose. Most manuals generate their own trim-to-lengths from SAAMI maximum cartridge drawings. They usually pick a number just below the SAAMI maximum and state this as the recommended trim-to-length. Depending on specific caliber, some cases will shrink and others will grow when fired and reloaded. The trim-to-length is trying to say: "If case is longer than trim-to-length, then trim back to this." The confusion comes in when people purchase new brass and want to trim it back to trim-to-length stated in the manual. One must understand that a manufacturer will not produce cases at maximum length and that we as manufacturers must have a reasonable tolerance to work with. Most people do not wish to trim brass, so at Starline, Inc., we operate a tolerance of .005 below SAAMI maximum and that window ranges from .003 to .010 below, depending on the caliber. All auto-feeding cartridges are held within .004, and revolver normally is within .005.
The trim-to-length we recommend for peak performance is a variation of no more than .005 and length within .010 of published trim-to-lengths, but never exceeding trim-to-lengths.
Remember, consistency in length relating to consistent crimp is more important than all cases being the same length as the trim-to-length in manuals, assuming it is not too long. |
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How can I soften case mouth to allow case to properly seal when using black powder
in 45-70, 45-90, 45-2.6 (45-100) and 40-65? |
1.) Be aware this is not always necessary. Only if cases are extremely dirty and a lot of unburned powder is consistently found in chamber would you need to anneal.
2.) First place case in proper container filled with approximately 1 inch of water so head of case is submerged in water. (Reason is you only want to soften mouth of case and not head area as this can ruin strength at base and primer pocket where case must remain rigid to handle pressure.)
3.) Next heat case mouth (approx. top 1/2 inch of case) uniformly just to where it begins to turn a dullred and then knock over in water. A propane torch is usually used for heating device. MOST IMPORTANT: Remember if case gets too hot they are ruined and there is no way to make hard again. So, try a few out and get a feel for the proper color and softness required for your application. If they get bright red, you probably went too far. |
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| Why is length of the 7.62 NAGANT .060 shorter than Russian cases? |
| During testing of the NAGANT cases, it was discovered that when firing cases (1.520) long with the Graf 98 grain bullet the mouth would flare on one side making extraction difficult. Secondly, when the mouth is deformed, most cases were deemed un-reloadable. The cases that could be reloaded split due to overworking of case mouth after third firing. We decreased powder in the load thinking this would help, but it had no effect. We then began decreasing case length until we reached 1.455 to 1.460. At this length, cases extend beyond cylinder, enter forcing cone, extract easily and reload fine. |
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| What is the best system to load and reload NAGANT cases? |
| Initial loading prime case, drop powder, hand drop bullet, and full length size. Note: Case must be well lubed and may need to go 1/2 way, back-up, re-lube and go again to achieve sizing without ripping head off. Reloading technique – Knock out primer (no sizing desired) then prime, drop powder, seat bullet (approx. .200 below case mouth using extra long seating stem provided in NAGANT die set) and full length trim size again. Note: They will size much easier this time. |
