Thread: New Brass. Prep before first use or after ?

When people buy a new set of brass, do they just load them up and fire once like you would if starting from factory loaded ammo?

Or do you all go the whole 9 yards, sizing, trimming to length and cutting primer pockets to length, maybe even weight sorting before you fire them at all ?

Would you use brand new brass for load, zero and trajectory work up ?

This is .223 for hunting goats and small deer. Not BR, varmint, LR.

Many thanks for all advice.

Unless the necks are dented I just load and shoot.

I run everything through full length die, and chamfer necks first

Neck size and chamfer.

I do everything after first firing

223, ADI brass, I just load and shoot. This is for both AR and rifle shooting.

I trim and debur then load and shoot you'd be surprised how much the lengths vary ill size them if if theres a dodgy one
I tend to just load and shoot for the 1st fireing apart from that to let them fire form then do all the flash shit primer pocket and flash holes etc if I'm going to bother next load

Hi thanks guys for so many quick replies.

This is what i think i'll do:

Chamfer all cases inside and out of neck in case any burrs.

Check half a dozen for cases length and headspace ( at shoulder) to make sure the within saami spec and not horribly variable or different from old fired cases from this gun.

Check current powder charge is towards the lower end of ADI boook range.

Load up the 100 new brass and use them. Should last this summer plus.

After fired once and formed to this chamber then trim to length rechamfer deburr and cut primer pockets.

I neck size then trim to length and chamfer before first loading. Even so, new brass is seldom as large case capacity as once fired in your rifle.

Don't bother trimming them to length for your first loading. Do that after first firing otherwise when the case fireforms in your chamber it most likely will shorten a tad and then be shorter than what you trimmed to.

After seeing what winchester brass is like out of the bag full length resize trim to length then use
loading for a 270win new win brass shells were between 1.5 and 2mm longer than max length not good its the last winchester brass i will be buying

Nothing I load for hasn't Lapua brass
I always resize every case before load development.
Give's me a Standard