Preparing 204 Ruger Norma Brass

Quick bio on Phil Taylor

Family man, 49 years old, living in the Midlands Nr Birmingham,  full time job working in horse racing looking after Jockeys, this is a job I’ve done for over 30 years. How did I get into shooting? I’ve shot all my life from a very early age, naturally started off with Air rifles in a mates back garden lighting matches & shooting targets as a kid 40+ years ago. Moved on from there when about 16 to shooting a 410 shotgun on my friends farm i went to school with, then from there I got the odd invite on a small walked up mini driven pheasant & Partridge days which i loved, from there I applied for my own shot gun certificate & took a lot more interest in shooting clays & also driven & walked up days as well as pigeon shooting. A couple of years later I moved onto Rifles, I’ve been very lucky to help a few keepers along the way with their Pest Control & also travelled the country Shooting deer, I’ve managed red stags, fallow bucks, roe bucks & does, Chinese water deer bucks & does & muntjac bucks & does & I am also a member of a deer syndicate in Scotland. I’ve also tried my hand at boar shooting but so far they have alluded me but hoping to put that right very soon.

204 Ruger Norma Brass & loading

For years i used Norma factory Ammunition with out any problems, so once i got into loading the natural choice of brass was always going to be Norma as you can always guarantee its consistency. I’ve put together a short video of my prep stages for loading for my .204 Ruger

Step 1.
Sonic Clean brass, you can add some sea clean to the water and I normally clean it for 30 mins to lift all the dirt, grease & grim from the cases. Once cycle has finished put brass either in a warm cupboard or on a radiator to thoroughly dry. Check cases for split necks and head separation.

Step 2.
Lube the outside of case either using a lube pad & case lube or imperial sizing wax, I always use some graphite powder on the inside of neck also (personal choice) wiping excess off the neck.

Step 3.
De-prime cases and do a partial full length re-size, bumping shoulders back around 2 thou.

Step 4.
Pop the de-primed case into the case trimmer & trim accordingly.

Step 5.
De-bur/ Chamfer the inside and outside of the neck and clean the primer pocket, then run a brush through primer pocket (the brass Boss from RCBS makes this a very easy job).

Step 6.
Pop your prepped cases into the dry tumbler with either corn/ walnut media leave it to run for around 4 hours (cases like new again). You’re now ready to prime your cases, load with your chosen powder & seat your bullet head.

Where you can find FoxstoppersUK

FoxstoppersUK Facebook

Phil Taylor's Instagram