In this article we will teach preparing cartridges for reloading. The first thing is to tell you this disclaimer:

DISCLAIMER: For reloading information: WARNING: Reloading can be dangerous if you have not been properly schooled in how to reload ammunition. The loads shown are for informational purposes only.  They are only safe in the rifle shown and may not be safe in yours. Dangerous chamber pressures can occur resulting in serious injury, damage to rifle, or even death if proper reloading steps are not followed.  Consult appropriate load manuals prior to developing your own handloads.  Craigsoutdoorsports.com and its authors, do not assume any responsibility, directly or indirectly for the safety of the readers attempting to follow any instructions or perform any of the tasks shown, or the use or misuse of any information contained herein, on this website.

In our first article on our series of how to learn to reload your own ammo found here: https://craigsoutdoorsports.com/learning-to-reload-ammo/ we taught you the basics of what is needed to start reloading ammuntion.

Today, we start with case preparation. First, and foremost, the cartridge you are going to reload MUST BE MADE OF BRASS OR NICKLE COATED BRASS! Steel or aluminum cartridges cannot be reloaded, period. Brass cartridges are needed to properly resize, crimp, and form safe reliable ammunition with today’s reloading equipment available to the average consumer.

Now that we have determined to use brass only casings (or cartridges) we will teach you how to prepare cartridges for reloading ammo for personal use.

First, look in your reloading manual for the cartridge you want to reload. You will find information regarding primers used, powders used, bullets used, and at what velocities for each. You will also find information on case length. This is the proper length that your cases will need to be before reloading. When the loaded round is fired, the brass on the end of the cartridge will stretch. After repeated times of stretching, the casing will be too long to properly fit the chamber and need to be trimmed back to the correct length. There are several different ways of accomplishing this depending on each companies case trimming tools. Below is a video which looks at Lyman’s Case Trimmer.

This video showcases the Lee Trimming tools….

After cases have been trimmed, all dirt, oil, or debris needs cleaned from the cartridge. This is done several times throughout the reloading process to make sure no foreign matter is introduced into the loaded round.

In the next article, we will teach how to resize, de-prime, and re-prime the case.

Look here for the first article in the series : https://craigsoutdoorsports.com/learning-to-reload-ammo/