Pennsylvania Game News - August 2021 - 9

up the primer pocket and allow it to receive
a new primer.
Resize cases and hulls and remove their
primers. Be sure to use the proper size shell
holder for your caliber or gauge. With metallic
cases, the sizing/de-priming die - the
tool that re-forms a fired brass case - often
comes with a shell holder.
Place the die in the slot at the top of the
ram, which is the metal shaft of the press
that goes up and down to raise and lower
the case into and out of the die. Thread the
die into the top of the press and run the ram
with shell holder up to the top of its cycle by
pulling down on the handle. Many presses
" cam over, " meaning as the ram reaches
the top of its stroke, a little more downward
pressure on the handle will allow the ram to
back down a fraction.
Tighten your die in place at the highest
ram stroke. Lower the ram and tighten the
die down one quarter to one third more.
Note here that each die manufacturer is
different, so read their instructions to help
get things right. A couple of thousandths
of an inch too much or too little can cause
a case to not fit in the chamber or allow for
strange pressure curves when the ammunition
is fired. Brass has a tendency to " flow "
so that case necks become longer and
thinner-walled over time and with use.
Use a lubricant - I like just a little of a
wax-based variety - on the case to reduce
friction and prevent the case from getting
stuck in the die. Put a little lubricant around
the case mouth, too. That's to lubricate
inside it so nothing sticks when the expander
ball portion of the de-priming pin - used to
expand the case mouth to accept a bullet -
pushes into the case mouth.
Slide the shell base into the shell holder,
then steadily pull the handle down, thereby
raising the ram and case up until the depriming
pin begins to enter the case mouth.
Continue to apply steady pressure until the
shell holder reaches the top of its preset
stroke. Now apply steady pressure, pushing
the handle up to lower the ram, shell
holder and case down out of the resizing/
de-priming die.
The primer should have come out from
the bottom center of the case, down through
the center hole in the ram (where it will
gather in a receptacle built into the press).
Once the case is all of the way out of the
die, lower the ram completely and remove
the case. Use your case-checker tool for the
proper caliber to ensure proper resizing. If
things aren't quite right, follow the directions
with your re-sizing die to adjust the
seating of your die in the press to properly
resize your case.
Always completely resize range brass
and all brass being fired in semiautomatic
rifles. While rifles with other actions might
be able to handle rounds where only the
neck has been resized, semiautos require a
more-thorough resizing.
So now that you have properly sized and
de-primed cases, you need to check for the
primer crimp and swage it out if necessary.
Use your military crimp removal tool.
AUGUST 2021
9
Pennsylvania Game News - August 2021

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