FW Arms makes some of the best industrial-grade reloading equipment in the industry. We put their products to the test, processing over 40,000 mixed .223 cases, and all passed with flying colors! Watch or read on to learn more about their entire product portfolio.
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About FW Arms
FW Arms offers a variety of dies, case preparation equipment, and reloading accessories. (Use code UR10 to save 10% on your entire purchase!)
Will, the founder, started FW Arms to offer products to refine and improve brass processing. He has personally processed significant quantities of brass and identified weak points in the process. Will then created products to address these issues.
Bulk .223 Processing
We finally finished processing a 55-gallon drum of .223 brass from Mojo Precision with help from FW Arms and Mark 7. One thing we were all incredibly impressed with was the quality of FW Arms’ equipment. Over 41,000 pieces of brass and zero broken decapping pins!
We held a contest to see how many decapping pins the audience thought we would break. Will from FW predicted three to four pins. We were all impressed with the flawless results!
It is also important to note that the mixed brass from Mojo Precision had less than a 1% error rate!
Typically a 3% to 4% error rate is expected with previously-fired cases. We observed between 25% and 33% of that.
FW Arms Products and Demo
FW Arms has two main product categories: dies and press upgrades/accessories.
They offer three types of dies: decapping dies, expanding dies, and hold down dies.
FW Arms offers several different decapping dies. The simple decapper works up to .338 Lapua Mag and comes with two double-ended decapping rods of your choice.
It is the most affordable of the FW Arms decappers, costing only $35 shipped! The standard and full size primer popper decapping dies feature a patented Auto-Centering shuttle that eliminates primer pull back and case tipping. We used the FW Arms standard auto-case centering decapping die (up to .308 Winchester) for our bulk processing project.
The full size primer popper decapper has the same features as the standard decapper but works for cases up to.338 Lapua Mag.
Pairing the standard decapper with the new Berdan Sentry (available around the holiday season) is likely why we didn’t break a single pin. The sentry stops the press before failures happen, reducing wear and tear.
We used the sentry with a Mark 7 Apex 10 AutoDrive, which stops the press even faster than by hand.
We used dynamic hold down dies in our bulk-processing project, though FW Arms also offers static hold down dies. These are helpful during swaging and priming. The dynamic die adjusts to the case head thickness of each piece of brass and runs a guided hold down to the bottom of the case.
With so many different headstamps, we wanted the greatest flexibility possible. It is universal and works with all calibers plus sized .223 brass. It is recommended for use with progressive presses. We had an older version of the dynamic hold down die. New, shorter “micro” versions are currently being shipped. The static version is nearly the same but is best with single-stage and turret presses and doesn’t adjust to case head thickness.
Our upcoming 9mm bulk-processing project will heavily use the FW Arms 9mm carbide expanding die. It has a simple design for easy use and a cupping profile to prevent overexpansion and the bullet from falling over during index. The near mirror finish carbide will outlast tool steel.
On the press side, FW Arms makes shell plates, locating tabs, the PrimeTime, and the new Berdan Sentry (mentioned above). The FW Arms #5 shellplate has enhanced geometry for case feeding.
The wider opening is designed to prevent jams, one of the top failure issues we had during our project.
Station labels are laser-etched onto the plate, which also has specific channels for the ball and debris, making it essentially self-cleaning. This plate is compatible with the Dillon Super 1050, RL1100, and CP2000 and includes station tabs for less spillage and a 4140 heat-treated steel indexing pawl.
Though Kyle has yet to do extensive work with the plate, he’s already noticed a significant difference compared to the RL1100 OEM plate.
FW Arms’ PrimeTime replaces the stock Dillon primer cam arm on the RL1050, Super 1050, and RL1100.
It has a safety disengage for quickly clearing jams and no hard stops on the cam arm if the primer shutter jams. Kyle installed the PrimeTime on the RL1100, a dynamic hold down die, and a decapping die to knock out any debris or tumbling media before priming.
The entire process went smoothly at 2,000 cases per hour, running it a little faster will require a little more investigation.
Conclusion
The sheer endurance and quality of FW Arms dies while bulk-processing .223 made us believers in their products. We look forward to using the expander die when we kick off our 9mm bulk processing project—date to be determined.
We demonstrated priming on the Dillon RL1100 with FW Arms upgrades and noticed much smoother operation with less case wobbling. Will from FW Arms set out to find solutions to common reloading problems and he did just that!
Get the Gear
FW Arms – Use Code UR10 for 10% Off Your Entire Purchase!
Mojo Precision – Use Code UR10 to Save 10% on All Casings
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Thanks,
Gavin Gear
