Winchester 12 ga brass.

Discussion in 'Reloading' started by Ranger6, Jun 21, 2021.

  1. Ranger6

    Ranger6 Administrator Staff Member Administrator Global Moderator Forum Moderator

    Started the 12 gauge brass tonight. The Winchester brass was in pretty bad shape from corrosion and most of the mouths were out of shape. I de-primed the hull and put it in the tumbler with corn cob media for about 6 hours. I added some fritz to the mix, which works very well for brass( liquid fritz). Once done there was still some corrosion inside the cases and in the primer pockets. To clean the inside I used an engine cleaning kit that I bought at Orilleys. It has brass and some sort of white bristle brushes in the kit. I chucked them in the drill and made short work of cleaning the inside. I used one of the bristle brushes with 00 steel wool wrapped around the end of the brush to clean the pockets.

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  2. Ranger6

    Ranger6 Administrator Staff Member Administrator Global Moderator Forum Moderator

    Dealing with the mouths out of round is just a pain. I can remember as a kid my grand dad doing the same thing. He had a brass round stock that was just slightly smaller then the case mouth. He would heat the brass, and he had this contraption that spun the brass case, operated by a foot pedal. Then a piece of leather was attached to his bench on one end and the other he would wrap over the brass case, and then he would lightly tap the case, with a small brass hammer.
    Wa..lla the case mouth would return to a rounded shape. I used a slightly different approach, but pretty much worked the same.

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    Last edited: Jun 21, 2021
  3. Ranger6

    Ranger6 Administrator Staff Member Administrator Global Moderator Forum Moderator

    I got the new priming unit from midway(rcbs). It looks to be made better but still kinda a pita to prime these brass cases. One of the problems is there isn’t much feel when inserting the primers. It don’t take much to go to deep. The tool needs some sort of a stop that’s adjustable for primer seating depth. The Winchester 12 gauge cases take the 2 1/2 pistol primer.

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  4. Ranger6

    Ranger6 Administrator Staff Member Administrator Global Moderator Forum Moderator

    I bought 25 more Winchester 12 gauge brass so I could have a total of 50. The description was like new and the pictures didn’t do justice, after close inspection. I thought I would hopefully save someone that wants to get into brass shot shells some headache or at least give them warnings.
    Most of the brass had bulging and a couple were split. If you remember the valmet brass had a bulge after firing, which turned out to be the powder charge.
    If your loading riffle brass, sometimes you will load and shoot then inspect the case for how the round preformed. I have loaded until there is a bulge or gas blow by from the primer. This was common practice, as brass don’t lie if you know what to look for. Understand this is not for new reloader’s and unless you know what your doing can be unsafe.
    So back to the 12 gauge brass, the bulge can be removed with a little work and patience. If you buy brass that has been crimped you will have to deal with it, cause firing the shell will not remove the crimp completely, and when loading the next time, your wad will not fit. The pictures that follow are what happens when you try to remove the crimp the wrong way. A split brass shell and finally a brass shell that was split and will be loaded again. It took about 2 hours to fix this case. The last picture is a brass case that is loaded with a crimp.

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  5. Auzzie

    Auzzie 20g

    Question. So does the new die put the tiny roll chamfer on top to hold overcard in place? Have couple of old alum Alcan shells in my shotshells collection that look the same.
  6. Auzzie

    Auzzie 20g

    Neat Post. Your becoming quite an authority on subject matters and reloading posts. I see the audience views are up on numbers considering the ghost town the reloading section was. Well done.
  7. Ranger6

    Ranger6 Administrator Staff Member Administrator Global Moderator Forum Moderator

    Yes the 2 piece die from CH has a crimping die, but I don’t use cause the crimp is a pain to remove and wears out the brass faster. Glue on the over shot card works for an o/u. No need to have a crimp to drop in a tube.
  8. Ranger6

    Ranger6 Administrator Staff Member Administrator Global Moderator Forum Moderator

    Yea I have been a member here for couple years now and never understand why people become members and never post. Or post a question and never come back to see the answer or report anything. Some places the attitudes can get to be a little much, but it really is different here!
  9. Ranger6

    Ranger6 Administrator Staff Member Administrator Global Moderator Forum Moderator

    Auzzie:
    The Pt 1253 wads are on the way. I’ll PM you when they are in hand.
  10. Ranger6

    Ranger6 Administrator Staff Member Administrator Global Moderator Forum Moderator

    Got enough brass cleaned to load a couple and test. These 12 gauge brass take 11 gauge over powder cards, wads and over shot cards. They are a good tight fit. I screwed the pooch and only have a few over powder cards, until next week. I know 18 grains of red dot is safe in a straight wall hull. I have old load data for brass shells that list the same grains. I dropped a little, as these will be shot in an old sxs. I will fire them tomorrow and read the brass for evidence of to hot of a load and adjust from there.
    I wanted to have a slick tool to prime these cases, I should have stuck to the way I was taught by the old timer. So because I have yet to find a tool that works( new one ordered ) I will describe the method I was taught. It’s simple, fast and works. Insert your primer by hand. Use a suitable tool( steel drop tube) put it inside the case, around the flash hole, and a the case on the flat steel of a bench vise. Smack the drop tube with a hammer. The primer will go in flush, and you are done. I will say this cause common sense isn’t common anymore. The suitable tool has to be hallow on the inside in order to not smash your flash hole and or primer. There is no need to beat it into submission. Hit it hard enough to seat the primer flush and be done. Little practice makes perfect.

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  11. Auzzie

    Auzzie 20g

    Ranger,
    No worries. Thanks for organising. Let me know on post when you send a PM. Never done the PM thing before so will have to work out how that side all works or get bit of guidance. IT not my strongest point.
  12. Ranger6

    Ranger6 Administrator Staff Member Administrator Global Moderator Forum Moderator

    Auzzie: at the top of your page where you get your alerts you will see a tab that says inbox. You just click on it instead of the alerts. The pm ( private message) only you and whoever sent it will be able to see it. You just respond like you normally do.
  13. Ranger6

    Ranger6 Administrator Staff Member Administrator Global Moderator Forum Moderator

    Here is what it looks like. This is when I wanna send one to you. Then click start conversation. Type message and hit start conversation again. It will come to my inbox and will show a red #1. To check click inbox and it will display message. Only the people in the conversation will see it.

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  14. Ranger6

    Ranger6 Administrator Staff Member Administrator Global Moderator Forum Moderator

    Back to the brass. Pattern results with Winchester 37A single barrel full choke, at 40 yards off a rest. The second picture is a factory 1 1/8 oz load. The brass was loaded with 17.5 grains of red dot, fiber wads and 1 oz of #8. As suspected the fiber wads open the pattern up. The last picture is only a visual comparison.

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  15. Auzzie

    Auzzie 20g

    Got it have sent you a PM

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