Question on sizing.

[King carp]

Hello to the forum: Even though I have been reloading for 45 years I can count on one hand how many times I bought new brass. I usually had brass donated or reloaded once fired factory ammo. With the high price of Krag factory ammo I picked up 200 new unprimed hornady cases. Should I full length size them or just flare the necks a little and load as sized from the factory? I am loading them with cast bullets. Thanks in advance, KC

[Whig]

With the durability, dimensional inter-changability of and generosity of the Krag chamber and head spacing on the rim, I rarely full length size before shooting new brass in my Krags. You can be assured that the brass will be fire formed after shooting it the first time.

Stick with lower or moderately charged loads the first time and I think you'll be safe. Krag brass has always been easy for me to work with.

Good luck. See what other people's experiences have been and give it a try.

[butlersrangers]

I have used 'new-unprimed' factory Brass right out of the bag, without sizing.

Occasionally, a case-mouth may be slightly 'bent' in shipping. I just 'true it up' with the shank of a Philip's-Head screw-driver.

I seat primers with a Lee hand-tool. Load the new cases with measured powder charges and go right to the bullet seating Die.

With Cast Bullets, you will want to 'flare' the case mouth a bit.

[Griff557]

Pulled the Hornady brass out of the bag loaded and fired just fine using jacketed bullets ...just neck sizing now. FWIW Winchester brass is about 2/3s the price of Hornady

[King carp]

Thanks: That's what I was hoping to hear. I will split ithe brass between my rifle and carbine and neck size after firing. When I bought this brass it was the only 30-40 in stock with no wait. Butlers rangers, I also use the Lee hand priming tool. I tried a few other priming tools but found the Lee to work best for me. You are able to apply just the right amount of pressure to feel the primer fully seat. I have some 30-40 loaded in Winchester brass already. I hope the hornady brass is as durable as the winchester.

[psteinmayer]

The Hornady brass is supposed to be good stuff!

The only new brass I ever purchased is 200 GRAF cases from Graf & Sons. I haven't used them yet though because I still have a couple hundred Winchester cases and several hundred Remington cases... some dating back to the early 1980s and with more than 20 reloads on most of it! I lose a couple cases to neck cracks every year... but most of it is still going strong!

[King carp]

I have gotten many reloads from my 30-06 brass. Almost all my shooting is done with cast bullets. I do not hotrod the loads and anneal the necks when they start spliting. It's good to hear you are getting good service from your Winchester and Remington Krag brass. I hope this hornady brass lives up to its price! Thanks and take care.

[Culpeper]

What mold are you using for the bullets in your cartridges? I have a couple hundred pounds of WW and eighty pounds of lino I need to get to in the next few years.

[King carp]

Hi Culpepper: I use an old Ohaus mold that casts a 180 gr. Loverin style bullet. My other mold is a N.O.E. 311-222 RN. This mold drops 210 gr. Bullets. This is their version of the Lyman 311-331. I own several older Lyman molds that work fine but have been told their new molds suffer from quality control and poor customer service. I have to say the N.O.E. casts great and the few questions I had were answered quickly by one of their techs in Utah. Take care, KC

[butlersrangers]

Wow, lots of 'grease grooves' and flat base.