Brass

[TonyD]

Anyone have any experience with NPA 5.56x45 brass? I've got a metric ass-load of it but I don't know of it's quality. It's apparently S. African or Taiwan contract stuff. Not real sure it would make good match loads.

 

[Nickle]

I found some info at AR15.com:

NPANational Police Administration, ammo loaded by Olympic Ammunition of Greece; cases made by Sellier and BellotDecent brass, but may not be worth the hastle (primer need to be swaged) some oler lots may be out of spec

http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=1&f=9&t=455788


Tony, I suggest using Lake City myself. Sorry, but I keep all that I find, so I don't have any to ship you.

 

[TonyD]

Thanks, Nickle. I have plenty of brass at the moment. I was just given this crate of once fired LEO brass and just looked at what it all is. My LC and WCC has to be swaged also, so that's no big deal.

 

[Nickle]

I bought a Dillon Swager recently, and LOVE it. Nice tool.

 

[TonyD]

How does it differ than RCBS?

 

[Nickle]

Check the bottom of the page on the link.

http://dillonprecision.com/template/p.cfm?maj=15&min=0&dyn=1&

 

[TonyD]

Looks like a nice tool. I just don't see how it's $60+ better than a RCBS die that does exactly the same thing - Insert brass, pull handle, done.

 

[Nickle]

Less setup time and works faster. Also, the RCBS tool doesn't like my RockChucker. The ram on the press is a little too wide. My father has the RCBS right now, so he can do small primer pockets. He has an older Lyman setup (on a Spartan press) that's dedicated to swaging Large pockets. It's very quick.

 

[TonyD]

How does it work faster? The only advantage is the dedicated setup - which you can do with an old press. My RCBS RS press works perfectly (the reason I picked up the press for $20) and the set up is screwing the die in and setting the depth - like any other die.

Like I said, it looks like a nice tool - Just not sixty bucks nicer.

 

[Nickle]

Yeah, it works good on an RS, that's what it was made for. Of course, it also depends on how much brass you do as well. That's the other pay off for me.

I am going to have to find a Spartan press for a dedicated bullet seater, though. And a Dillon 550 for pistol ammo.

 

[TonyD]

I swaged just shy of 400 pieces the other day in the time it took to insert the brass and pull the handle - did a nice job.

I like the idea of that Spartan press, though. Quite honestly, I've noticed this RS holds better tolerances than my bigger press does (RCBS 4x4).

 

[Nickle]

The RS is a good press. Compound Leverage and bigger bulk is really only needed for Case Forming. On the sager, I also was against buying the Dillon. I just couldn't find a cheap used press locally to dedicate for swaging at the time, and I needed a better solution now.

 

[bpm990d]

TonyD,

I have used both the RCBS and the Dillon. I still have the Dillon, but I got rid of the RCBS. The only advantage with the Dillon is that you can mount it on a board and put it on your lap and sit on your couch and watch TV at the same time you are taking care of crimps. If you have a nice setup in your reloading room that’s comfortable; it's probably a moot point. I prefer the couch to my stool. It's just more comfortable for me.

However I haven't used the thing in years. I try and stay away from the military stuff or just buy it with the crimp already swaged out.

Brian
ymmv